User Reviews

There is nothing about this movie that can be taken seriously but unlike the ugly mess "King Kong Lives" this movie is bright, colorful fun that adults will enjoy as a comedy while the kids will get a blast out of the crazy mayhem.

Just thinking about the plot makes me laugh and watching it is never dull, it has such a no holds barred silliness about it and the new DVD release is stunning. I had no idea just how impressive the look of the film was.

The complaints about the film are rather misguided in many ways and there is some serious confusion about it. The female lead Linda Miller was dubbed by another actress, so the complaints about her performance are a bit moot (though the combination of nutty dialog and weird delivery actually help the film for most since it is so funny).

Also this is not a sequel to King Kong Vs Godzilla, Kong in this film is a myth found to be real (and utilized to dig out a cavern for bizarre reasons that just get funnier the more you think about it).

As a last note for anyone interested in King Kong in any of his incarnations seek out Ray Mortons book "King Kong The History of a Movie Icon" released recently. He actually set aside a chapter of the book detailing this film.

This movie is a follow-up to 1962's "King Kong vs. Godzilla." This time, King Kong was kidnapped by a mad scientist, who planned to use him to dig up Element X (a key ingredient for a nuclear bomb). Along the way Kong battles a giant sea snake, Gorosaurus (Godzilla's buddy) and a replica of himself called Mecha-Kong. The directing and special effects were OK, and the story was serviceable. I think that Toho intended to give this movie a James Bondish treatment, since "You Only Live Twice" (1967) was released the same year and actress Mie Hama, who appeared as bond girl Kissy in the 007 flick, appeared in this movie.

The movie could have used more suspense and human action. The monster scenes were OK, though some scenes, especially with the helicopters, were really cheesy. If Kong was almost the same size as Godzilla, I wouldn't think that he would be dwarfed by the Tokyo Tower (and having the ability to climb it). Nonetheless, I think the tower scene where the two monsters duke it out was a pretty remarkable special effect.

Four major problems I have with this movie are about the characters. First of all, Commander Nelson (Rhodes Reason) is supposed to be one of the heroes in the story, but he basically didn't do anything important. He lost a little Karate-fight to the main villain, and then played chess with him afterward while his two friends were confined to a below 0 degree cell! Also, his acting was plain. Second, Lieutenant Watson (Linda Miller) was a very annoying character and had such an irritating voice. However, her role is of some importance (especially in the parts where she told Kong to stop shaking the sub she and the crew were in and where she calmed Kong down while he was on the loose in Tokyo). Third, the part where Lt. Nomura (Akira Takarada) told an official he's Lieutenant Nomura (he's not in uniform) and asked to let him take command is a bit awkward. How would the official be sure he's who he claimed to be? Fourth, the henchmen in the movie were just stupid. To sum it all, the better acting actually goes to the two main villains! Dr. Who (Eisei Anamoto) gave an outrageously cruel performance. He's wildly funny, with his wild white hair and long black cape, and he's pretty darned skillful with the trigger. And, Madame Piranha (Mie Hama) steals the show. She's bewitching, spellbinding and beautiful. She is the true hero of the movie *spoiler* since it was she who destroyed Mecha-Kong's control system, thereby, defeating the robot completely. I wish she would have had a better fate in the movie.

The monster action was OK. City destruction was limited, though, and King Kong looked pretty dumb. The costume used for the monster was hideous, but still better than the one used in "King Kong vs. Godzilla."

Above all, this movie was very average - not the best from Toho. The plot lines really go all over the place. What made up for this movie was Akira Ifukube's great, haunting music score and Mie Hama.

Grade C+

As it states under 'Trivia', 'King Kong Escapes' was a tie-in to the Rankin-Bass 'King Kong' cartoon series, and to be honest, this film is very much a children's movie, featuring a cartoonish super-villain, a faintly ridiculous plot and comical fight scenes. This shouldn't be taken to mean that I hate the film, however. While it's not as good as Toho's previous Kong outing, 'King Kong VS Godzilla', it's still okay if you're in the mood for that kind of thing. I've never seen the cartoon, but the plot of this film is straightforward enough that you don't need to.

The film does have a number of flaws, the most notable being King Kong himself. I personally thought the ape suit from KKVG looked pretty impressive, but KKE's version is more than a little silly, particularly the face, with its wide, staring eyes and permanently open mouth, which makes Kong look like he's high. Also, the fights with the other monsters aren't overly impressive; the battle on Mondo Island (Kong had obviously moved from Skull Island after it was destroyed at the end of Son of Kong) with Gorosaurus is actually quite funny, particularly when Kong gets repeatedly drop-kicked, but the showdown with Mecha-Kong is a bit anticlimactic, particularly compared to the city-destroying smackdowns of KKVG and the best of the Godzilla series.

The plot is some silly gubbins about mining a radioactive element, and King Kong comes into the story after the evil Dr Who (not the time-travelling character from the long-running British T.V series) builds a robot ape, only for it to fail. He then kidnaps the real Kong, but he escapes (hence the title) and the usual Kaiju action ensues. The human element is rather bland, although this is probably the fault of the script rather than the actors. Linda Miller is the ersatz Fay Wray of this picture, her role generally consisting of being picked up by Kong and trying to save the big ape from getting into trouble. Rhodes Reason is solid if unspectacular, and Dr. Who makes a good, over-the-top villain.

Having said that, I do think it's a shame Toho never made any more Kong movies. Personally, I would have loved to have seen Mecha-Kong come back, perhaps in a Godzilla movie. Given that Godzilla battled so many monsters over the years, it might have been interesting if he had come up against King Kong again, maybe in a scenario that forced them to work together against one or more of the many monster that big G faced.

I've seen this film a number of times growing up. Most recently in '94. I can't wait to see it again! I loved it. Loved it all. The bad guy was scary when I was young but was down right hip when I saw it when I was older. The characters were pretty much weak and the story was weak but when "Kong" gets mad and starts kicking butt; I just enjoy the ride. I don't recommend this as a "feel good" movie. Nor is it a "cinema experience" of note. It is entertaining and fun if you're a "Kong" fan like me. The props and costumes are old school and cheap! Brings back all sorts of fun memories. The soundtrack was also cool too. Excellent inspiration for aspiring Avant-Garde types. I loved this film!

The first thing that stuck out in my mind is that the costume looked much better than the dumb-looking one in "King Kong vs. Godzilla". It still is cheesy in a fun way. A UN sub stops for repair of the shore of an island, which is the home of Kong. Kong is captured by evil Dr. Who to mine a rare, radioactive element which a small country is going to use to make atomic weapons. Kong escapes and puts an end to Dr. Who's plans. The dubbing is average in some spots and very good in others. Popular voice-actor Paul Frees provides the voice of Dr. Who. Rhodes Reason(brother of Rex) is the UN sub commander. The action is typical of any Godzilla movie. The miniatures are very good as usual for this type of film. If you like Godzilla movies, you may enjoy this as well.

I had to move this review over from "Kingu Kongu tai Gojira." Hard to keep the Japanese movies straight when the same monsters keep reappearing. I saw this one under the title "King Kong versus Doctor Who" (that's this one, right?) and cheap though the movie was-- and evidently completely unrelated to the famous Doctor Who of British TV-- I was impressed that Kong and his karma are faithfully characterized in a new story. The writers here understand that the thing about Kong is how his power makes him attractive to ignoble exploiters who, although he could crush them with a finger, have technology and craftiness that level the playing field for them against Kong, more or less. The "more or less" is where the tension of the story comes from. That and the second thoughts about whether civilization is using its dominion over nature wisely. In the original movie Kong was exploited by humans for entertainment; here he is exploited for labor and finds himself in the role of a John Henry whose strength is matched against that of his mechanical counterpart. The symbolism of the original film is not violated but only enriched.

This is the kind of monster flick I would have loved as a kid – and I still enjoy it today. Nothing about the film has any quality, but there's a kind of enthusiasm in the telling of the story that is infectious, and some unintentionally funny moments that are quite endearing. At its best, the model-work resembles one of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's off days.

The story begins on an expansive but austere submarine. Everything's grey. Machines line the walls and have one or two lights that blink occasionally, but other than that the props department was clearly on its annual leave when most of the film was shot. There's a couple of American actors at the head of the cast, but you've never heard of them. One of them is an actor with the unlikely name of Rhodes Reason while the other is a fetching little thing called Linda Miller who was either a model in Japan or Jackie Gleason's daughter. Nobody seems to be sure, but everyone agrees that she's a cutie. Anyway Rhodes and Cute Linda must have attended the same acting school, because they are both equally awful. They play the commander of the sub and presumably his secretary, and you'd expect them to become romantically entangled at some point during the film but they don't. When Cute Linda isn't fighting off the attentions of the big furry fella, she's trying to catch the eye of the Oriental bosun or co-pilot or whatever the second-in-command is called on a submarine.

It's sad to report that Kong seems to have let himself go since his glory days back in the 30s. His coat is definitely looking a bit patchy and it's clear he hasn't cared for his teeth. He's let his acting skills slide as well. Mind you, it can't be easy maintaining standards on a remote island where your only company is a crazy old guy running around in a grass skirt and scaring off visitors. In fact, Kong reminded me of that monster that used to rampage through a cardboard city in that ad for Chewits back in the 70s. Anyway, like the rest of us, Kong takes a shine to Cute Linda, and it has to be said that, after initial doubts, Cute Linda doesn't seem too upset about the fact.

There's an evil villain involved, a kind of Asian Raymond Massey with bad teeth and poor planning skills. He builds a giant mechanical Kong to mine for Element X but forgets to shield MechaKong's circuits against radiation. What a doofus. And he thinks he's going to rule the world? Well, no, he doesn't actually – he's going to sell Kong to a cute Japanese chick so that she and her bosses can rule the world, so not only is he a doofus, he's a doofus with limited ambitions. His name is Dr Who, but I couldn't see any resemblance. Distant cousin, probably

While there are some truly fun elements in this movie(The villainous Doctor Who makes for an highly entertaining adversary, MechaKong is a neat creation and there's some great Ifukube music), the bad unfortunately will outweigh these for most people particularly Linda Miller's absolute awful!!! acting and the sad moth-eaten Kong suit. This elements trust me will turn most off leaving only tried and true giant monster fans to stick them out.

Yes, there is a difference in American King Kong and Japanese King Kong. Japanese Kong is much bigger and stronger and would be ashamed to be taken down by planes. Also, he would not climb the Empire State building, he would most likely annihilate it. He is back after his fight with Godzilla to once again save the day to some extent. It has been awhile since he last grace the screen since that fight, but somehow he manages to get tangled in a plot by some madman to dig up stuff in a mine. This madman already has the formidable MechaKong at his disposal, but MechaKong is incapable of digging in said mine thanks to something down there that causes it to malfunction. So they capture the real monkey and somehow hypnotize it to dig for them. Still you know in the end there is going to be a showdown between Kong and his mechanical counterpart. A fairly decent movie from the company of Toho, however I will always like Godzilla the best. Still, they have enough monsters and some pretty good fights to keep one entertained. I do believe this was Japanese King Kong's last movie, which is a bit sad, I would have loved to have seen a reemergence during the Hensei Godzilla movies and had Godzilla get some revenge for that earlier loss. MechaKong is rather cool, but not as cool as MechaGodzilla, mainly because MechaGodzilla just had way to many cool weapons and was a way more impressive fighting machine.

As a kid i watched this one over and over on Wor-TV new york,sure its corny and silly,but entertaining in a different way the original was. i just happen to like the early Japanese Godzilla and friends movies. this one is poorly dubbed but so bad its good,it sure beats the 1969 mighty Gorga.there's Kong,a jumping t-Rex,aka;Gorosaurus,a sea serpent, a robot replica created by a mad scientist named Dr who(not the good English Dr who,but an evil scientist that resembles a Japanese version of count Dracula.its all guys in monster suits destroying miniature sets. its silly but hey this is Saturday matinée stuff,goofy fun brought to you by;Toho studios.the ones who gave us Godzilla,Mothra, Rodan,and the triple headed King Ghidrah,not to be missed,5 out of 10.

Kaiju fans like me always know well enough to check our desire for (a) believable dialogue and (b) completely realistic special effects at the door when we settle ourselves down to watch what Japan has specialized in for five decades now. As quality filmmaking, King Kong Escapes is of course laughably bad, especially to those who deify the 1933 original. But in the context of Japanese giant monster kaiju, King Kong Escapes is one of the better entries to be found, coming in the 1960s when the focus was less tounge in cheek, more action-oriented, and free of the kiddie thrust that REALLY made Japanese monster movies annoyingly bad in the 1970s (Gamera sequels and Godzilla vs. Gigan anyone?). In a ways, after the dark,brooding seriousness of the original "Godzilla" in 1954, the 1960s saw movies more in the Armageddon-Mummy vein of action, special effects and empty-headed scripts. And while those weaned on GCI will find this hard to believe, the work of Eiji Tsuburaya was considered top of the line for its day (when you stop to think of it, how different are the SFX of Japanese monster movies all that different from American movies, pre-2001: A Space Odyssey? Not much really). And truth be told, I find these kaiju movies of the 60s to have a lot more charm than their 90s American counterparts like "Armageddon" or the Tri-Star "Godzilla."

Eisei Ammamoto, a veteran of Japanese sci-fi, deliciously chews the scenery as the villainous "Dr. Who" while Bond girl veteran Mie Hama ("You Only Live Twice") provides lovely visual distraction as "Madame X", and is far more appealing than the bland non-actress Linda Miller (badly dubbed by cartoon voice Julie Bennett who also dubs Hama!) as the object of Kong's affection (and let's set the record straight, this is NOT the woman of the same name who is Jackie Gleason's daughter, no matter what the erroneous IMDB data base says). The most amusing part of the script is how they almost seemingly plagiarized from "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea" in their basic premise (a sub commander named Nelson for goodness sake!). No matter though. Bad dubbing, lame script notwithstanding, "King Kong Escapes" is pleasantly mind-numbing fun from the peak period of kaiju cinema.

Incidentally, I'm glad to note that Rhodes Reason, who by his own admission "knew the film was lousy but couldn't pass up the trip to Japan" to make it, was able to overcome this in the long-run and earn better notices as Daddy Warbucks in numerous Broadway productions of "Annie."

It would seem that the Eight Wonder of the World isn't just popular in America. After clashing with his biggest rival Godzilla, the big ape made another appearance in Toho Co.'s long line of kaiju films. Originally, King Kong was supposed to star in a film where he does battle with the sea monster Ebirah, but was ultimately replaced by Godzilla and the resulting film was "Godzilla vs the Sea Monster". However, at the time there was a Kong TV series, so Toho decided to loosely adapt that into film instead. The result was a fun kaiju thrill ride that is known to this day as "King Kong Escapes".

Plot: Somewhere in the North Pole lies a secret base, where lurks the nefarious criminal mastermind Doctor Hu (spelled Who in America, not to be confused with the TV show of the same name). Under the employment of the mysterious Madame X aka Madame Piranha, he builds a robotic version of King Kong to harvest a highly radioactive material called Element X. When Mechani-Kong proves less than reliable, Doctor Hu goes to the prehistoric jungles of Mondo Island to kidnap the real Kong to harvest the Element X. However, the great ape escapes (get it?) and with the help of his newfound human companions who discovered him on the island, King Kong does battle with his robot double in a giant-sized fight to the death in the heart of Tokyo.

This movie is cheesy and the acting is on par with the Adam West "Batman" series, but that's why I like it. The human characters stand out at least and have distinct personalities, from the level-headed Commander Carl Nelson, his trusted companion Jiro, and the beautiful Susan (Kong's love interest). Doctor Hu is a fun villain, over-the-top and being delightfully despicable (even if he has some ugliest bottom teeth in history). The effects are the standard guys-in-suits and miniature sets that are to be expected by Toho and, for the most part, they look good. The music by Akira Ifukube is also nice, great to hear and adding to the thrills and great action scenes throughout the film.

Now for the monster roll call! Kong looks kinda silly, looking a little more like Donkey Kong without the bow tie, but he definitely looks better than his appearance in "King Kong vs Godzilla". The filmmakers at least got his gorilla proportions right and he can still show emotion and character. He has the same roar as before too, which itself is cool. Now, a robot version of the ape might sound ridiculous (and it is), but Mechani-Kong is a good nemesis for his flesh-and-blood counterpart. If it weren't for Mechani-Kong, there wouldn't be a Mechagodzilla, so props to this movie. The mighty dinosaur Gorosaurus makes his first appearance in this film, putting up a good fight against King Kong, a homage to the original 1933 version. Gorosaurus would later have a role as Godzilla's ally in the hit kaiju classic "Destroy All Monsters" and gain a small bit of fame. I guess prehistoric reptiles gotta stick together, especially with those dang dirty apes around!

King Kong Escapes is an unforgettable kaiju film that definitely surpasses the dreadful "King Kong Lives" any day by a mile. It's full of nice characters, cool monster battles, fun cheesy effects, a memorable score, and a silly story too good to resist. Even if you're not a kaiju fan or a Kong fan for that matter, definitely check this one out for at least a few good laughs and thrills.

After 1962's Godzilla vs. King Kong, Japan had not had enough of the big ape. After all, Kong was the first beast to both defeat and not be killed by Godzilla. Four years later, Toho paired up with Rankin/Bass, the creators of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and The King Kong Show, a cartoon where Kong battled aliens, monsters and mad scientists. Interestingly, the designs for that show were by Jack Davis of EC comics fame. The show was the first cartoon produced in Japan for American audiences and was so successful, Rankin-Bass partnered with Toho for a first film called Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (or Ebirah, Horror of the Deep which is a much better title). Rankin- Bass rejected this movie as a starring role for Kong, but a lot of moments throughout point that the script was barely changed when Godzilla entered the picture. He's revived by lightning (Japanese Kong, for some reason, gets power from the cloud…err, clouds) and the big lizard is in love with female character Dayo, which is also a Kong trait.

Finally, Rankin-Bass consented to this film, featuring Dr. No. No, not the Bond villain, but a character from the cartoon, here played by Hideyo "Eisei" Amamoto, who you may know as Dr. Shinigami/Deathgod from Kamen Rider. His voice is from Paul Frees, who listeners will recognize from many a Rankin/Bass holiday special. Interestingly enough, the German distributor of Toho's movies often used Dr. Frankenstein's name to sell these new monsters, claiming that he was creating all of them. So in Deutschland, the doctor goes by Dr. Frankenstein to try and tie all of these together. What does this have to do with the Frankenstein monster in Frankenstein vs. Baragon (1965) and his spawn in War of the Gargantuas (1966)? Absolutely nothing, thanks for asking!

Dr. Who's boss is Madame Piranha, who works for an undisclosed country that wants weapons. She's played by Mie Hama, who would go on to play Kissy Suzuki in You Only Live Twice (1967). Dr. No has invented a mechanical Kong that malfunctions just before getting that oh-so elusive Element X. Instead of rebuilding the robobeast, No decides he needs the real Kong. Again, you may ask why. You are permitted after all. However, I have no answer for you. These things just happen in these films and you shouldn't be watching a kaiju movie if you're looking for logic, dear reader.

Meanwhile, Carl Nelson — our hero — and his sub get to Mondo Island, where Kong lives. Almost instantly, Kong falls in love with Fay Wray analogue Lt. Susan Watson and prepares to fight Gorosaurus (who shows up again in the greatest of all Toho movies, 1968s Destroy All Monsters!). For some reason, this beast fights like a kangaroo, but Kong gives him a headlock takeover and demonstrates a kaiju form of MMA ground and pound, punching the rubbery dino again and again until a giant mutant Big John McCarthy moves him away. Just kidding. Kong beats his chest, picks up the girl and the humans just watch and wonder what to do next. They find a very Commander Scarlet mini-sub and Kong gives chase, finally being delayed by a sea monster.

Actually, come to think of it, Carl Nelson is thisclose to Admiral Nelson, commander of the mini-sub Seaview on the TV series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964-1968). Coincidence?

Here's why I love this movie. In this scene, Kong's head has grown to way larger than before proportion. Continuity be damned, by the next scene, as he catches up to the big sub, his head is back to normal and his eyes are not bugging out. Everyone finally figures out that Kong will listen to Susan and all is as well as it can be when you're dropping anchor off Mondo Island, which one assumes is relatively close to Monster Island.

Read more at bandsaboutmovies.com/2017/06/29/king-kong-escapes-1967/

This is a monster movie that truly has everything you'd want from the genre: A man in a rubber costume, a bunch of destructible environments, an insane villain in a cape and a heroic trio that border on a love triangle... Not forgetting the secret base, the insane plot and the multitude of henchmen in the trademark white gloves.

There is monster on monster action, campy dialog and such a wonderful feeling of childlike adventure and exploration that'll make you feel like you're a kid again as you watch the movie.

I couldn't help but smile through the whole film and after viewing it I just wish more of the monster movies out there could be this good.

Probably Ishiro Honda's best monster movie. Go watch it!

The visuals, the style, the story... all of them just scream "60s". Surprisingly fun to watch! But it's not all good. The major downside of this movie is the pacing, which could have been slightly better. And towards the end, a character does a 180 turn out of nowhere. Besides this, it's a fairly enjoyable movie. It's almost an 8/10. Almost...

Inane, live-action derivative of the Rankin-Bass "King Kong" cartoon (1966) fusing Japanese kaiju aesthetics with Bond-like spy shenanigans. Although the Toho production is directed by Ishiro Honda with music by Akira Ifukube and special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya (all known for 1954's "Godzilla"), this juvenile outing is far from their best work. Briefly, 'supervillain' "Dr. Who"* (an over-acting Akira Takarada) builds a robot King Kong to mine a rare radioactive material. When this doesn't work out, he ape-naps the original Kong to dig, which also fails and eventually results in a showdown between the two giant simians in Tokyo. Filling in the gaps is an intrepid American submariner (Rhodes Reason), his heroic 2IC (Akira Takarada), and eye-candy nurse Lt. Susan Watson (Linda Jo Miller), all of whom travel from the tropics to the U.N. to the arctic to Tokyo, always managing to be the thick of things. Not much in this movie works. Neither the miniatures nor the optical special effects are very effective, especially the interactions between the humans and the apes (such as when Lt. Watson is picked up or dropped). Similar to the suit used in "King Kong vs. Godzilla" (1962), Kong has a cartoonish, rubbery face and arms that change lengths (long and ape-like when standing or walking, short and man-like when climbing or fighting). Mechani-Kong is slightly better (but not as impressive as the various MechaGodzillas Toho has fielded). The other two kaiju in the film, a giant sea-snake and "Gorosaurus" are not bad, and the fight between the great ape and the latter, while a little overly-kinetic, is typical Toho for the era (Gorosaurus' 'jump kicks' presage the disemboweling kicks of the Velociraptors in Jurassic Park, 1993). The script and the acting (especially by the American leads and by Takarada) are abysmal. English speaking Linda Jo Miller is dubbed and given that the dubbed voice is awful, I can't imagine what her natural voice must have sounded like (although given the fatuous lines she delivers, it probably wouldn't matter). Her principal role is 'helpless screaming female': despite being a nurse and a Lieutenant in the Navy, she dives for the nearest male comfort when encountering an injured man and is introduced to the UN as "Miss" by her CO. She also establishes early on in the story that Kong (like all foreigners) will understand English if you speak slowly and loudly (a key plot point, as Kong's ability to follow instructions is essential to both Dr. Who's evil plan and to his ultimate, righteous comeuppance). Generally, while perhaps a notch above the cartoon from which it was spun, "King Kong Escapes", IMO, is one of the lowlights of Toho's kaiju legacy and watchable only by hard-core fans of the genre (or of 'camp'). (*no official relation to "The Doctor" although perhaps intentionally similar in look to William Hartnell's contemporaneous character).