Movie Review: King Kong Escapes (1967)

The movie stars Rhodes Reason, Mie Hama, Linda Miller, Hideyo Amamoto and Akira Takarada.

I managed to get my oldest daughter hooked on classic Japanese monster movies some time ago and watch them with her on occasion. We ended up picking this movie largely because we got a chuckle out of the bad guy's name (we're also both fans of the television series Doctor Who). While it wasn't as good as some of the other monster films we've watched, it did prove to be somewhat entertaining.

One thing I did find I liked about this movie was the fact it had a faster pace than some of the others we've watched. Most of the classic films seem to take forever before the monster is introduced and something happens. That wasn't the case this time around and we got to see King Kong or his robotic doppelganger right away.

Granted, some of the monster fights were more comical than exciting (I'm not a dinosaur expert, but I'm pretty sure a T-Rex couldn't jump in the air and do a karate kick). But, that's something that adds to the fun.

The final battle between King Kong and the robotic King Kong also proved to be somewhat entertaining, especially since Kong's love interest, Susan Watson (Miller) was in danger for a good portion of it and, as is often the case in movies like this, Tokyo was in danger of being destroyed as a result of it.

I think my biggest complaint about this movie (and it is one my wife shared) were the obnoxious noises. The robot Kong had a constant beeping noise that grew irritating after a very short while, as did Susan's calling out to Kong in that shrill voice. As a result of that, you may want to consider watching the final battle with the sound turned down or off.

As I said, it's not quite as good as some of the other classic monster films. However, it still did prove to be worth watching and I would recommend it.

My Grade: B