--- description: As documented by LIFE magazine, the 'gigantic whatnot' has lived many lives onscreen since the 1933 film that made him famous. title: Skull Island and the Many Lives of King Kong: Vintage Photos image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8edcc22faa1adc83/6988bc68fb4eac0164890f1a/170228-king-kong-04.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The 'Gigantic Whatnot' Who Became 'Classic Kitsch': The Many Lives of King Kong by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/) and [Liz Ronk](/author/liz-ronk/) Mar 10, 2017 3:00 PM CUT  Photo from a 1952 screening of the 1933 film King Kong Photo from a 1952 screening of the 1933 film King KongAlfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images. by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/) and [Liz Ronk](/author/liz-ronk/) Mar 10, 2017 3:00 PM CUT When the new movie [_Kong: Skull Island_ ](http://time.com/4420617/kong-skull-island-trailer-tom-hiddleston/ "undefined")arrives in theaters on Friday, more than eight decades will have passed since _King Kong_ introduced the world to a creature TIME [described](http://time.com/vault/issue/1933-03-13/page/36/ "undefined") in 1933 as a “gigantic whatnot resembling an ape, 50 feet tall, equipped with large teeth and a thunderous snarl.” (His fur, the story noted, was made of 30 bearskins.) The whole concept of the film could have produced something entirely ridiculous, the magazine observed back then as well as in future stories about the franchise, but somehow it worked — thanks to some Hollywood alchemy that filmmakers are hoping to recapture once again.  Page from the Oct. 25, 1976 feature story about King Kong, Photos by Alfred Eisensteadt from 1952. TIME Magazine That means there have been plenty of chances for audiences to be reintroduced to Kong. Case in point: In 1952, LIFE dispatched Alfred Eisenstaedt to photograph a screening of that original 1933 film, images from which can be seen here. The story did not run in the magazine at the time — in fact, no record could be found of why the magazine sent the photographer to that particular event or what editors intended to do with the images. It seems likely, however, that what Eisenstaedt was capturing was a screening from the theatrical reissue of the film that year, which was a prime example of the character’s proven staying power in action. It was, as TIME [described](http://time.com/vault/issue/1952-07-14/page/94/ "undefined"), a hit: --- > “” ---  Oct. 25, 1976 cover of TIME magazine. TIME Magazine That 1952 take was significant (about $22.9 million in 2017 dollars), so it was perhaps no wonder that when the concept got yet another go in 1976, the images Eisenstaedt created in 1952, of a 1933 movie, were used to illustrate TIME’s[ cover story](http://time.com/vault/issue/1976-10-25/pages/ "undefined") about the movie. “\[The original\] achieved the legendary status of classic kitsch, the charm of which remained undimmed by innumerable el cheapo rip-offs and overexposure on TV. The great monkey has become a pop culture staple in everything from cartoons to ad campaigns,” the story observed. As that place in pop culture endures, LIFE presents this look back at the staying power of the _King Kong_ iteration that remains the monster’s milestone achievement.  Photo from a 1952 screening of the 1933 film King Kong Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images.  Photo from a 1952 screening of the 1933 film King Kong Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images.  Photo from a 1952 screening of the 1933 film King Kong Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images.  Photo from a 1952 screening of the 1933 film King Kong Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images.  Photo from a 1952 screening of the 1933 film King Kong Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images.  Photo from a 1952 screening of the 1933 film King Kong Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images.  Photo from a 1952 screening of the 1933 film King Kong Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images.  Photo from a 1952 screening of the 1933 film King Kong Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images.  Photo from a 1952 screening of the 1933 film King Kong Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images.  Photo from a 1952 screening of the 1933 film King Kong Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images.  Photo from a 1952 screening of the 1933 film King Kong Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4686259/king-kong-screenings-eisenstaedt/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4686259/king-kong-screenings-eisenstaedt/"},"headline":"The 'Gigantic Whatnot' Who Became 'Classic Kitsch': The Many Lives of King Kong","datePublished":"2017-03-10T15:00:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:50:22.675Z","description":"As documented by LIFE magazine","url":"https://time.com/4686259/king-kong-screenings-eisenstaedt/","keywords":["Hollywood","photography","alfred eisenstaedt","LIFE Magazine"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8edcc22faa1adc83/6988bc68fb4eac0164890f1a/170228-king-kong-04.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Liz Ronk","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8edcc22faa1adc83/6988bc68fb4eac0164890f1a/170228-king-kong-04.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"King Kong 1933","caption":"Scene from the 1933 film King Kong.","creditText":"Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images.","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4686259/king-kong-screenings-eisenstaedt/","name":"The 'Gigantic Whatnot' Who Became 'Classic Kitsch': The Many Lives of King Kong"}}]}] ```