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The King of the Kongo

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For the 1952 serial film, see King of the Congo.

The King of the Kongo
Directed byRichard Thorpe
Written byHarry Sinclair Drago
Wyndham Gittens
Produced byNat Levine
StarringJacqueline Logan
Walter Miller
Richard Tucker
Boris Karloff
CinematographyErnest Laszlo
Ray Ries
Distributed byMascot Pictures
Release date
  • August 9, 1929 (1929-08-09)
Running time
10 chapters (213 min)
CountryUnited States
LanguagesSound (Part-Talking)
English

The King of the Kongo (1929) is a Mascot film serial, and was the first serial to have sound,[1] although only partial sound ("Part Talking") rather than the later (and now standard) "All-Talking" productions with complete sound. The first episode was a "three reeler" with the remaining nine episodes being "two reelers" (approximately 15 minutes per film reel).

Plot

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Independently, the two protagonists, Diana Martin and Secret Service agent Larry Trent, are searching the jungle for missing relatives, her father and his brother. Tied up in this plot are ivory smugglers and a lost treasure hidden in the jungle.

Cast

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Music

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The serial featured a theme song entitled “Love Thoughts of You” which was composed by Lois Leeson (words) and Lee Zahler (music).

Production

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The King of the Kongo was the first film serial to have any sound element. Larger serial-producing studios (for example, Pathé and Universal Studios) were reluctant to change away from silent production (although Universal released their own Part-Talking serial, Tarzan the Tiger, later in the same year) while smaller studios could not afford to do so. Legend has it that producer and studio owner Nat Levine carried the sound discs in his lap from Los Angeles to New York City, by train and aeroplane, for them to be safely developed. For financial reasons, these discs could not have been repaired or replaced if anything had gone wrong.[1] This was two years after the first Part-Talking film, The Jazz Singer (1927), had been released and a year after the first "All-Talking" film, Lights of New York (1928).

Despite an announcement that two versions of this serial would be released, (a "Part Talking" version and a silent version intended for theatres not yet equipped for sound), no evidence for a silent version's ever being released exists. All current (as of 2024) transfers of the film are the sound version without the sound. Some have the sound credits excised.

King of the Kongo is sometimes misreported as an alternate title for the 1931 serial King of the Wild, which also starred Boris Karloff.[2]

Stunts

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Chapter titles

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  1. Into the Unknown
  2. Terrors of the Jungle
  3. Temple of Beasts
  4. Gorilla Warfare
  5. Danger in the Dark
  6. The Fight at Lions Pit
  7. The Fatal Moment
  8. Sentenced to Death
  9. Desperate Chances
  10. Jungle Justice

Preservation status

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<-- Updated status as of 6/2014. The complete picture for this serial exists, but the sound does not. This is a current listing of the sound known to survive. -->

Chapter 1 (three reels) • Into the Unknown (reel 1 and 2 missing, reel 3 exists)
Chapter 2 (two reels) • Terrors of the Jungle (both reels exist)
Chapter 3 (two reels) • Temple of Beasts (no sound exists)
Chapter 4 (two reels) • Gorilla Warfare (both reels survive)
Chapter 5 (two reels) • Danger in the Dark (sound discs for both reels survive) restoration was finished in 2013
Chapter 6 (two reels) • The Fight at Lions Pit (sound discs for both reels survive) National Film Preservation Foundation project began fall 2014 finished 2015
Chapter 7 (two reels) • The Fatal Moment (sound disc for reel 2 survives)
Chapter 8 (two reels) • Sentenced to Death (both reels survive)
Chapter 9 (two reels) • Desperate Choices (sound disc for reel 1 survives)
Chapter 10 (two reels) • Jungle Justice (National Film Preservation Foundation restoration project began as of June 2015, finished 2016)

In 2011, collector/historian Eric Grayson, owner of a 16mm silent print, restored the sound to several scenes of the film, using discs from Ron Hutchinson's Vitaphone Project. These reels were Chap 5 r1, Chap 5 r2, and Chap 6 r2. The results of some of the talking scenes have been posted on YouTube.[3]

In 2012, a Kickstarter[4] successfully helped fund a restoration of Chapter 5. National Film Preservation Foundation grant is underway for Chapter 10.[5] A grant for Chapter 6 was issued in June 2014.[6]

In 2019, preservationist Grayson initiated a massive search for surviving materials and has an updated restoration scheduled for 2024. This includes mostly 35mm footage and a few 16mm inserts plus all of the surviving discs.

In 2024, restoration completed, and released on DVD and dual-layer Blu-Ray discs.

References

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  1. ^ a b (Re)search My Trash: Mascot Pictures retrieved June 29, 2007
  2. ^ a b Harmon, Jim; Donald F. Glut (1973). "14. The Villains "All Bad, All Mad"". The Great Movie Serials: Their Sound and Fury. Routledge. p. 351. ISBN 978-0-7130-0097-9.
  3. ^ "King of the Kongo clip (with sound!)". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
  4. ^ "King of the Kongo film and sound restoration".
  5. ^ "National Film Preservation Foundation: 2013-09-18 Summer Grants".
  6. ^ "National Film Preservation Foundation: 2014 Federal Grant Winners".
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