What Ever Happened to Carl Denham?
I have often asked myself that question after viewing the '33 King Kong and the sequel Son of Kong.
A fictional account, Carl Denham's Giant Monsters, written by Frank Dello Stritto, gives us some insight. The book is a fascinating read, as you recount images of the '33 film in your mind.
It was published in 2019.....as a fan of this film, I must have been in suspended animation to have missed this book.
Here is the information provided on the books dust cover:
Carl Denham is forever remembered as the man who captured the giant ape, King Kong, and brought the creature to New York. This book, for the first time, tells of Denham’s life, as told by Denham himself.
After Kong’s night of destruction in Manhattan, and the public’s outcry for Denham’s head, he fled U. S. jurisdiction, and “was never seen again.” Yet rumors of his whereabouts and doings spread among the small close-knit and closed-mouthed community of explorers and adventurers.
Forty years after Kong’s night on the town, Frank Dello Stritto, an oil company engineer, and his wife Linda were living in Jakarta, Indonesia, and occasionally spent weekends on the small resort island of Kotok. There they met an 80-year-old man who had been living in a fenced-off and guarded house for many years. They soon learned that their new friend was Carl Denham.
Denham had outlived any statutes of limitations on Kong-related lawsuits and criminal charges, as well as any relatives of Kong’s victims who had searched for him. He knew that he was near death, and wanted two things: to tell his story and to find one last adventure.
Over the next two years, Frank and Linda met with Denham often, and learned of his many adventures before, during and after Kong.
In the early 20th Century, Denham gained fame as a fearless adventurer and documentary filmmaker. As a young man, he accompanied two-seasoned explorers to South America (Theodore Roosevelt on the 1914 “River of Doubt” expedition, and George Edward Challenger on the 1925 “Lost World” expedition to find missing explorer Maple White). Denham then traveled across the Indian Ocean to film Lost Lemuria, and to Africa for On Safari with Gorillas. Both films are now lost, but contemporary reviews testify to their thrilling footage of exotic lands.
Those early adventures prepared Denham for an expedition to unknown Skull Island, where he encountered and subdued Kong.
Those early exploits are well-documented, but Denham’s journeys continued after he vanished. He made another trip to Skull Island, then back to Africa and South America, then to the Himalayas, and to an unknown island whose location Denham refused to divulge.
Between exploits, he hosted visits from explorers and scientists whose odd quests rivaled his. Denham sought more than adventure. Guilt over what he had done to Kong, and what Kong had done to many innocent people, haunted him. He looked for an exploit that might somehow, at least in his own mind, redeem him, and stay the memories that gave him no peace.
++++++++
This certainly sets the appetite to learn Denham's backstory, as well as his exploits after leaving the US, does it not?
For fans of the '33 film, this book is highly recommended.
A fictional account, Carl Denham's Giant Monsters, written by Frank Dello Stritto, gives us some insight. The book is a fascinating read, as you recount images of the '33 film in your mind.
It was published in 2019.....as a fan of this film, I must have been in suspended animation to have missed this book.
Here is the information provided on the books dust cover:
Carl Denham is forever remembered as the man who captured the giant ape, King Kong, and brought the creature to New York. This book, for the first time, tells of Denham’s life, as told by Denham himself.
After Kong’s night of destruction in Manhattan, and the public’s outcry for Denham’s head, he fled U. S. jurisdiction, and “was never seen again.” Yet rumors of his whereabouts and doings spread among the small close-knit and closed-mouthed community of explorers and adventurers.
Forty years after Kong’s night on the town, Frank Dello Stritto, an oil company engineer, and his wife Linda were living in Jakarta, Indonesia, and occasionally spent weekends on the small resort island of Kotok. There they met an 80-year-old man who had been living in a fenced-off and guarded house for many years. They soon learned that their new friend was Carl Denham.
Denham had outlived any statutes of limitations on Kong-related lawsuits and criminal charges, as well as any relatives of Kong’s victims who had searched for him. He knew that he was near death, and wanted two things: to tell his story and to find one last adventure.
Over the next two years, Frank and Linda met with Denham often, and learned of his many adventures before, during and after Kong.
In the early 20th Century, Denham gained fame as a fearless adventurer and documentary filmmaker. As a young man, he accompanied two-seasoned explorers to South America (Theodore Roosevelt on the 1914 “River of Doubt” expedition, and George Edward Challenger on the 1925 “Lost World” expedition to find missing explorer Maple White). Denham then traveled across the Indian Ocean to film Lost Lemuria, and to Africa for On Safari with Gorillas. Both films are now lost, but contemporary reviews testify to their thrilling footage of exotic lands.
Those early adventures prepared Denham for an expedition to unknown Skull Island, where he encountered and subdued Kong.
Those early exploits are well-documented, but Denham’s journeys continued after he vanished. He made another trip to Skull Island, then back to Africa and South America, then to the Himalayas, and to an unknown island whose location Denham refused to divulge.
Between exploits, he hosted visits from explorers and scientists whose odd quests rivaled his. Denham sought more than adventure. Guilt over what he had done to Kong, and what Kong had done to many innocent people, haunted him. He looked for an exploit that might somehow, at least in his own mind, redeem him, and stay the memories that gave him no peace.
++++++++
This certainly sets the appetite to learn Denham's backstory, as well as his exploits after leaving the US, does it not?
For fans of the '33 film, this book is highly recommended.
