Adventure film director Carl Denham (Armstrong) hires lovely out-of-work actress Ann Darrow (Wray) to travel to a remote isle called Skull Island in hopes of lensing his next jungle pic there.

But once they arrive, Denham and his film crew discover the joint is ruled by the awesome power of a mighty, humongous-sized ape named Kong!

Dubbing Kong the 'Eighth Wonder of the World,' and hoping to capitalize on his miraculous find, Denham transports his monstrous behemoth back to NYC - where all hell breaks loose.

Can anything stop the awesome wrath of this titanic gorilla?

Tightly paced, wonderfully acted, and with charming special effects, the strength of Kong is its ability to conjure themes reflecting both the best and worst of human nature - love, greed, compassion - all within a magical realm of fantasy terror.

Kong's tragic ascent to Manhattan's Empire State Building remains a permanent pop culture coda to this day, but personally we always enjoy his mad rampage through the native village of Skull Island (squish, squish!)

King Kong is a masterpiece that expertly combines poignancy, suspense, and raw creativity in equal measure.