After being taken from his home in Africa, Gorilla “Joe” is an instant hit in a Hollywood nightclub. This fun and wonderfully entertaining slant on “King Kong” is much better than Kong’s 1934 sequel, “Son of Kong”. This all ages adventure has superb special effects from Willis O’Brien and his protege, Ray Harryhausen.

In 1927 Hollywood, a silent film production company and cast make a difficult transition to sound.

Bank robber Graham Dorsey spends a few hours with beautiful widow Amanda Starbuck, in which time his gang takes part in a disastrous holdup. Learning of his comrades’ demise, Dorsey goes on the lam. Believing her short-term lover was killed by the law, Amanda decides to make the most of having had a liaison with the supposedly deceased desperado by writing a book about him. Much to his confusion, the still-living Dorsey watches as his name becomes legendary.

The film concentrates on the camaraderie and the divisions between the troops as they ready for the big offensive. Told in a taut narrative, the men of the 101st, led by Van Johnson, wait out the winter in the Ardennes forest to confront the German army in what would be the last major offensive of World War II. The men are demoralized and trapped, with no hope of support from the Allies.