Because so many loved RKO's King Kong, the studio figured that a sequel would be a sure-fire success. Thus was born Son of Kong. Unfortunately, the son never reached the heights of his cinematic father. Perhaps if the movie had been given more than a six-month production time, it might have succeeded. But with a cheesy plot, barely functional acting, and stage sets that looked distinctly backlot, the movie crashed and burned. Like everything else about the production, composer
Max Steiner was given very little time to write the music: two weeks. That he could do it is a sign of his professionalism and that he could do it so well is a sign of his talent. As superbly recorded here by Naxos and featuring the first-class performances of the
Moscow Symphony Orchestra conducted by the indefatigable
William Stromberg,
Steiner's score has most of the elements that made his score for King Kong -- the brutal fight music, the primitive jungle music, the weird monster music -- plus a few elements that the original lacked -- whimsy, charm, and wit in depicting the snowball-colored title character. Unfortunately, it also lacks the one thing that made the earlier score great: a sense of awe, mystery, and majesty. Coupled with
Steiner's slightly earlier score for The Most Dangerous Game, the music of Son of Kong is fine as far as it goes, but for the real thing, seek out Naxos' release of
Stromberg and the
Moscow Symphony's recording of King Kong. Even after three-quarters of a century, it's still the eighth wonder of the world.