176 - KING OF KONG ISLAND (1968)

Bob Sargent joins Troy and I to discuss KING OF KONG ISLAND (1968). Or is it just KONG ISLAND? And what connection to King Kong does this movie actually have? Spoiler alert – none!

Because Mr. Sargent has a soft spot in his heart (and head) for this bizarre Italian production we examine it for signs of sanity. None were found, but along the way we learned a little about ourselves. Sort of. And for some reason we also talked about 70’s rock group StoneGround. I can’t understand why.

For the curious, KING OF KONG ISLAND (1968) is a movie of many parts. It is roughly 20% jungle mercenary movie; 20% mad scientist tale; 20% revenge story; 20% jungle girl adventure and 20% family melodrama. It is also 100% nuts! While much of the advertising for the film centers around the jungle girl sections of the story we come to the conclusion that Eva (or the Scared Monkey as she is referred to most often) could be removed from the film with little detriment to the story. Of course, this would have eliminated the film’s nudity so I don’t think anyone involved would have agreed to do this. But the film has so much going on that it is difficult to stop watching as the madness unfolds. We see stuntman turned actor Brad Harris beefcake up the place with his exciting dance moves and flinty abs. We see veteran Hollywood tough guy Marc Lawrence play a mad scientist/Bond villain using surgically altered gorillas to control a jungle cave. We witness plenty of animal stock footage. It all adds up to a featue length movie. Really.

Even if you haven’t seen this cinematic epic there are things in the episode to entertain you. Troy’s alternate title suggestions are inventive and arguably better than any of the ones actually used. Bob’s attempts to explain his lifelong fascination with this whacky film lead us from a sweaty apartment in the 1980’s to modern 21st century life – pity his poor wife! And bonus points to the listeners that can pinpoint the moment when I gave up on presenting a plot synopsis. Eventually you have to accept that things have gotten away from you.

If you have seen KING OF KONG ISLAND and have something to add to our discussion [email protected] is the place to send your thoughts. Thank you for listening!