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
Sacred 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 thebloodypit@gmail.com
is the place to send your thoughts. Thank you for listening!
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