The Roar and Awe: The Music of King Kong

The topic of films involving giant monsters will inevitably lead to a conversation about King Kong, originally released eighty years ago. While the special effects work of the film made a great impact on the industry, so did the musical score composed by Max Steiner. RKO Pictures originally did not want to put in original music to the film, but Steiner was able to give the movie an original score with the help of director Merlan C. Cooper. That decision drastically changed the mood of King Kong and of the viewer as well.

The power of Steiner’s score comes from two parts. The first is that Steiner had a chamber orchestra at his disposal, unheard of at the time. The opening theme is a great example of its importance with its instrument comparison at the forefront. In place of a simple piano, tune is a booming brass section accompanied by a string section that shifts in accordance with the moment. One can notice how the strings change from a furious speed until it sweeps into a calm melody that fits the sleepy docks of the first scene.

The string section makes other changes to fit particular scenes. The harp gives the fog-drenched approach to Skull Island a sense of mystery. It is also the very same instrument that increases the romance in the waltz melody playing when the rugged Jack Driscoll reveals his affections to ingénue actress Ann Darrow. There is a specific part of that scene when Driscoll voices his concern for Ann’s safety where the viewer can hear an audible shift from the romantic melody to the lower strings playing foreboding tunes.

That scene in the movie is also a good example of the other important part of Steiner’s score – the leitmotif. It is a musical form created by German composer Robert Wagner that takes short pieces and attributes them to a certain aspect of an opera, which is then used when that aspect is present onstage. Steiner, a strong follower of Wagner’s works, uses that idea and affixes select melodies or rhythms to parts of King Kong. The music in the aforementioned scene is an example of the leitmotif created for Ann Darrow, titled “Stolen Love” (Steiner). It is head again next when Kong takes Ann deep into the caves of Skull Island.

The most important leitmotif is, of course, the one Steiner composed for Kong. It is in the very first parts of the opening theme – three ominous notes played with low strings and the entirety of the brass section. Multiple variations of the leitmotif exist throughout the film. There is the strong three-note version that plays when on the first close-up on Kong’s face. A majestic flourish is added to the leitmotif when Kong is displayed in New York. Then there are the violent and dangerous variations played during the log attack and Kong’s rampage through New York.

There is another motif of note, made for the jungle dance scene, which shows the creativity Steiner places in the score. It is rhythmic in accordance with the tribal drums of the islanders, using trumpets and tubas to work along with the beat. It becomes dizzying, mixing with the shouts and stomps of the ceremony into a climax cut short when the islanders notice the intrusion of Carl Denham and the rest of the crew. What is interesting in the next scene is in the way the tuba plays in perfect unison with the heavy and deliberate steps of the tribal chieftain. It adds an element of suspense to the encounter between the people of the island with the crew. Towards the end of the scene the chieftain moves forward quickly, which is accompanied by a menacing burst coming from the tubas yet again.

This technique is played similarly in the scene with the brontosaurus, as the first suspenseful melody is cut short by trumpets signaling the beast’s charge. Every time the brontosaurus falls from the gunfire, the music crashes with it via the brass section. These techniques are present in the battle Kong has with the prehistoric snake as well, as the cymbals crash in accordance with Kong smashing it against the cavern rocks. Like the chieftain, there are moments when Kong’s feet have the added weight of the brass section playing each time the beast stomps on the people of the island.

The epitome of Steiner’s use of leitmotifs in King Kong is best heard in the finale with Kong fighting the airplanes. While most of the Kong motif variants are faster and evoke a sense of danger, that scene has a slower version. This has a two-fold purpose – not just to have the viewer feel the last moments of Kong, but also to see the true beauty-and-beast theme of the story come to fruition. This is achieved by the combination of the slow Kong motif with “Stolen Love”, which converge as Kong places her in a safe place and falls from the Empire State Building.

Steiner’s music for King Kong enhances the drama and story of the gargantuan ape from the perils of its discovery to the tragedy of its fall. Every scene in the film that includes his work has an added emotional portion to it, whether it is fear at the might of Kong or sadness at its doomed connection to Ann Darrow. His pioneering use of orchestra and leitmotifs is not only integral to the score but to this day remains a standard for the countless films that now use the technique in their projects. One would be hard-pressed to dig up any music criticism for this score. The lush, original sound of King Kong is yet another reason why the film still remains important eighty years later.

Work Cited

Steiner, Max. “Stolen Love.” King Kong Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.Rhino Records, 1933. CD.