Spawn of Skull Island [Hardcover]

George E. Turner (Author), Michael H. Price (Author), Ray Harryhausen (Author), Douglas Turner (Editor), Ray Bradbury (Editor, Introduction), Orville Goldner (Contributor, Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2002

In its day, George E. Turner's The Making of King Kong was the last word on an American Classic–the definitive primary-source history, written with authority and reverence and an enduring sense of wonder.

The book's UK/US publication in 1975 opened many doors for the author, including access to additional insider knowledge that Turner could only wish he had possessed during the writing of The Making of King Kong. He began compiling notes for a revision. These amendments and adjustments had grown to fill several fil cabinets by the time of his death in 1999.

Spawn of Skull Island is the result of that long-term follow-through—developed from George Turner's original work and all those raw-material revelations by fellow reseracher Michael H. Price and George's son, Douglas Turner. The source-book is contained here, intact but for the occasional correction, along with the generous expansion that the author had envisioned.

By whichever name—Spawn of Skull Island or The Making of King Kong—the volume remains what historian John Michlig has termed "the best source for information on the classic 1933 film and its sequels." To say nothing of Kong's earliest ancestors and it's many takeoffs, knockoff and rip-offs.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Luminary Press (May 2002)
• ISBN-10: 1887664459
• ISBN-13: 978-1887664455
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,108,491 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Volume 2 : Supplement to "Making of King Kong", July 24, 2006

By 

Bill W (Spirgfield Va. USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Spawn of Skull Island (Hardcover)

While informative "Spawn of Skull Island" is "not" the definitive work we "all" hoped for. If you want that find a copy of "Making of King Kong". "Spawn of Skull Island"'s format while hard cover lacks the full page illustrations and much of the impact of the earlier book. (Some of the prints are reproduced so badly they are impossible to discern most details (example p 184 the animated cave bear from Son of Kong). Others are simply to small and low resolution to be useful. As to the writing it is poorly organized and has the feel of an appendix to a larger volume many chapters simply lists of other films with short reviews.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Revision isn't always an improvement, March 26, 2006

By 

P. Carrubba - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spawn of Skull Island (Hardcover)

I read the original 1975 book "The Making of KING KONG" when I was pursuing my degree in film production, and the book proved to be a fabulous source of information regarding the movie KING KONG, as well as early film history. But one of the pleasures of the 1975 edition was its plethora of full and two page images of behind the scenes photos and artwork that were created during the film's development. To my dismay, I found some images reduced to a quarter of their original size and others to be missing altogether. This, to me, is hardly an improvement, and actually detracts from the brilliant presentation of the 1975 edition.

Since this is the only way some can own "The Making of King Kong" without paying a ridiculous price, I find it somewhat irresponsible and disappointing that the authors saw fit to change the pictorial presentation of the original book this drastically.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Definitive KONG Book, January 22, 2005

By 

Anthony Ambrogio "Patriotism is the last refu... (Grosse Pointe, MI (USA)) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Spawn of Skull Island (Hardcover)

. . . or "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about KING KONG but Didn't Know Whom to Ask."

This book, a revision and expansion of 1975's out-of-print THE MAKING OF KING KONG, tells all about the making of that 1933 classic and more - including a chapter on gorilla and dinosaur films from 1898 to 2000; another on 24 films relevant to the work of Kong's directors/producers, Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, and chief technician, Willis O'Brien; the text of Schoedsack's 1971"Song of Kong"; book writer George Turner's ANCIENT GREAT PLAINS comic strip, and a promotional comic strip for the 1935 version of SHE. But the major focus remains on the Big Fella himself, told in an entertaining, breezy, and always fascinating style by editor Michael H. Price, co-writer with George Turner of the FORGOTTEN HORRORS series and HUMAN MONSTERS, among others.

Midnight Marquee Press publishers Sue and Gary Svehla, under their Luminary Press imprint, have produced a splendid SPAWN. Between hard covers, they've supplemented the revised text and new material with some 200 illustrations, most of them unique to this volume.

Can you tell that I like this book?