King Kong Escapes [Kingu Kongu no gyakushû (1967)] - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - September 4, 1968

While King Kong vs. Godzilla (1963) was a programming staple of both syndicatied televison stations and non-prime-time network affiliate time slots, King Kong Escapes (1967) was nowhere near as prevalent. Well, that is how I remember it being, at least.

Although the advertising here credits Arthur Rankin, Jr. as producer-director, Ishirô Honda was the actual director. Rankin probably directed the voice acting for the English language release, which would explain the credit.

It seems that star Rhodes Reason held a rather uncharitable view of Honda. In Stuart Galbraith IV's book Monsters Are Attacking Tokyo! The Incredible World of Japanese Fantasy Films, Reason said of Honda, "Honda-san was a hack. I've worked with hundreds of hack TV directors and he could fit beautifully over here doing a number of motion pictures and things. He knows his craft, but there was nothing special about Honda-san as a director."[Pg. 61] Oof.

Being a Universal release, King Kong Escapes was coupled with a re-issue of Hammer Film's Brides of Dracula (1960) at the Solano Drive-In and the Lorenzo and Fruitvale Theatres. Now that is an awesome double-bill.

At the Lux King Kong Escapes was paired with Warkill (1968), a non-fantastical and very gritty World War II set action-thriller that had been filmed in the Philippines.