Collecting Kong by Neceros The sign on the outside had been weathered to an unreadable state long ago, DUTTON's POSTERS. Hank climbed the shaky and crumbling stairway to the second floor of the dilapidated building. The second floor stretched before him as row on row of old orange crates stacked and hailed together from floor to ceiling. Forty watt bulbs lighted the dusty atmosphere. Crammed here and there in the makeshift shelves were thousands of one-sheets of old movies. poked in between the posters are old crumpled stills. Identified with hand lettered pieces of cardboard placed more or less at the appropriate location. Hank thinks to himself, "Christ, this place is a firetrap!" Hank moves past the westerns and detective movies towards the office at he end of the building. Only at the name tag for King Kong does he pause. He looks ... but , he has everything here. All the stills, every poster. He always looked , but for a man with ten copies of the film it did not mean much. Old man Dutton sat in a broken wicker chair, B sheets for TEENAGERS FROM OUTER SPACE spread before filling an order for an old drive-in out of town. "Morning Mr. Dutton". Dutton looks up through his grimy spectacles. Today Dutton waves hank through the broken doorway to the little room in the back. Dutton special reserve of rare odd and ends. In the little room are cans of thirty five millimeters film. Mostly trailers for hundred of old movies. The dirty cans are stacked in neat piles everywhere. Hank rummages around. Pulling down a stack of cans he knows over a whole set of crates. Dutton calls out . Hank says its is all right and old man just grunts something. Hank is about to stack the stuff back again when something catches his eye. Back behind the neighboring pile is a can of film, looking as if it had been hidden. Hank carefully picks it up and dusts if off. In the poor light he finally discerns what is hand written on it in faded ink stains. It says ' King Kong, censored scenes, too spicy. Hank's sharp intake of breath hangs in the stale air. Here was something he had hardly ever expected to find. Sure other people had copies of these out takes. They had even restored the whole film. He turned the can over in his hands a rare find! ..A copy of scissored scenes from his favorite film? He had to have it. He looked at the faded label on the can and puzzled over the added line "to spicy", what he hell did that mean? He walked over to the room where Dutton is sitting. "Listen Dutton , I will pay you anything you want for this." Dutton takes the can looks at it. First surprise, then annoyance is framed in his face. He is irate. Hank had found the hidden can. "No, this is not for sale. "Look Dutton, I will give you one thousand dollars in cash today. Where did you get that anyway and what does the writing on this can mean?" The old man gripped the can hard. Shook this bald head. "I aint saying and dont ask anymore questions." "Now look Dutton, you know I collect material on this movie and I can make good on the money. Name your price." The old man set his teeth. The put the can on his stool and sat down on it. Ignoring Hank he turned back to his work. Hank argued some more, but Dutton wouldn't pay any attention to him. Exasperated Hank started out the building. He got only about halfway down the creaking hallway. Turning on his heel he stalked back to confront Dutton again. He had to have that can of film! Before he got back to Dutton he make his decision. Hank charges into the old man knocking him on the floor. Hank is surprised how light and bony Dutton is. The can clatters away. Dutton grabs the can and tries to scurry from the room but Hank catches him. he shoves Dutton hard against the bare brick wall in the room. Dutton's head makes a dull sound when it hits. The old man slumps to the floor. Hank scoops up the film can. Dutton seems out cold. Hank scurries down the dusty staircase. He stops. Nobody on the old back street. He goes back into the building. Taking out his butane lighter he lights the nearest B sheet. The old dry paper explodes in flame. Hank leaves, gets into his car. As he rounds the corner in his rear view mirror he sees the old poster storehouse explode in flame. Hank gets out of the elevator on his floor of the high-rise apartment building and nervously fools with the keys to the door. It is unlocked. His wife Arleen is home. She had come home early from whooping She is surprised to see him home early. " What you doing honey?" She gives him a puzzled look as he passes by He hurries to his film room. He sets up the projector and the screen. Gingerly he opens the can of film. The film stock is in good shape, he is relieved. It is just a small reel, looking as if it has no more than about five minuets on it. Nothing particularly identifiable on the leader. Looking closer he puzzles , the film looks in mint condition, no deterioration of the celluloid. He threads the leader into his reconditioned 35 mm projector thinking about how he might augment his best version of Kong for his own 'uncensored version'. Hank watches in fascination as the piece of film unwinds ,secretly he hopes maybe the mythological scene of the spiders in the pit will show on the screen. It is night. And sure enough there is Kong striding through the streets of a city. Is it New York? Something looks a little funny the black and white print looks too sharp for a film made in 1938. And , he raises his eyebrows, the stop motion animation work looks great, better than even in work down in the 1950's. Hank is flabbergasted , if this is a forgery its sure is good work. It is night. And sure enough there is Kong striding through the streets of New York.(To Hank something looked a little funny. Maybe the black and white print looked a little too crisp, or the stop motion work looked a little better than that he knew so well). Now he watches as Kong begins to climb a building. The camera view swings to a window above. The scene switches to an office and a late working secretary at a typewriter. The girl a pert brunette,-Her dark dress suit does not look 1930's, it looks later in fashion. It has broad A-line shoulders. The girl seems in a hurry. She has on a tilted hat and gloves looking like she was doing some last second work before she leaves. >From a point of view over her head the window behind her fills with a giant eye. As the music rises the girl finally notices the strange figure at the window. She screams and tires to make for the door. Before she can get very far the wall and window bursts inward in a shower of debris and a huge hairy hand blocks her way. She backs toward the far wall as the monster paw moves through the office smashing furniture aside. She retreats to a corner at an angle that the groping Kong can not seem to reach. Hank marvels at the model paw articulation, could it have been this good? Finally with the tips of two huge fingers Kong catches the girls right foot so that she falls on her back. He pulls her along toward the opening he has torn in the building. The camera follows from Kong's point of view. The girl is pulled along the floor on her back. Shot of Kong's face, a trace of a smile there? Back to the girl, the camera follows as the girl's skirt and slip retreat slowly over her knees and thighs, past the tops of her garter belted tan hosiery, bunching above a tight pair of white panties. Hmmm, Hank thinks, sure is a more sexy scene than in the original. And the slip, usually women did not seem to wear slips in movies, at least under skirts. And.. he thought.. never showed panties during that era. the Hayes Code.. Hmmm. Hank was intrigued. Kong's eyes seem to ogle in fascination over this lascivious display. He drags the girl into the cool night air delicately holding her by the foot. Slowly he brings the upside down woman up to eye level. In a close-up pan shot the camera traces down from the tip of the girls black high heeled pumps past her bared legs to her scream ridden face, peeping from the behind the inverted hem of her skirt and slip, as she looks from Kong to the ground ten stories away. Kong finally recognizes that this is not the woman he is looking for. Quite nonchalantly he drops her head first. >From above the camera follows woman twisting in the air head down , a swirl of long skirt and slip and long stocking clad legs threshing the air, receding to the street below, her screams dying away. Then an amazing shot from above and the woman crashes face first through the windshield of a car. To Hank it looks like an amazing stunt shot. He marveled at how real it looked. As Kong climbs away up the building The last scene on the film shifts to the body of the unfortunate woman. She is stuck through the window of the car. From above the camera views just a beautiful pair of nylon clad legs and lingerie A cut to the interior shows the woman with cuts on her beautiful face and her eyes staring in death. But the stunner for Hank is that the car is a 1949 Ford! He grabs the projector as the film runs out in order to run the film again. Next, day Hank searches his books and reference materials for some clue to the source of the scene he has on film. Though there is an original "censored" scene similar still it did not have the touch or eroticism of this. Much less there is no explanation of the change in date. Someone must have been playing an elaborate joke by making a piece of film at a later date, but so elaborate the production value is first class. Something like that could not have been made in secret. He now wished he hadn't killed old man Dutton, sure would like to have pumped him for information. Well, maybe another look at the film would give a clue. When Hank opens the can of film he notices it looks a little funny. He holds it length down past the leader. Sure enough, the frame is in color! He grabs up the can and looks at it. No it is the same can. Had he put the wrong film in can last night? This was the only thing he had looked at. With growing anticipation he threads the film again. On the screen the image is crisp and in color. No faded blues, the film looks in mint condition. Hank wonders what the hell is going on. The point of view is an ariel shot as the camera zooms in on the window of a building. The view goes through the window. There is a steel hospital bed and a white cabinet in the room. The door to the room opens and a nurse walks in. A tall angular redhead wearing a starched white uniform with a full skirt, low cut white heels and a stiff white hat perched on her head. She begins making up the bed in the room. To Hank the cut of her uniform, her hair style and makeup seemed to indicate another change in time but he could not place it yet. The camera pans in a slow circle about the room moving back to the window as seen from the inside. An enormous dark eye now fills the window and moves following the woman in the room. As the nurse turns to walk towards the door to the room she sees the eye. She gives a choked cry and makes for the door at a faster pace. But she is too late as a titanic hand explodes through the window in a shower of glass shards and broken bricks. She is knocked hard against the door and falls stunned. Gingerly between a hairy thumb and forefinger Kong draws her by the arm towards the opening. Rolling her into the palm of his big paw. Hank marvels at the articulation of the model work. He just could not detect the telltale stop motion effects. The integration of model work and live action seems real. As the camera pulls back the giant ape climbs up the outer wall of the hospital carrying the nurse in one hand. A small frightened crowd watches from ten stories below as he swings around and sits on the roof, his huge feet dangling over the edge. Kong rolls the girl from hand to hand spinning her like a dandelion in the air. He seems to enjoy the way the hem of her wide skirt and slip rise above the top of her thighs reveling her white hosiery, garter straps, expanse of creamy thigh and tight pink panties. But he tires of this play after a while. As the girl screams in protest he catches the white skirt between his fingers and slowly tears it so that the material parts just above her waist. He studies her as she lays in his hand. He was intrigued by the red hair which now splayed out from behind her starched hat. He brings her up to his eye level. She was now somewhat disheveled, her hat, still pined to her head is askew. The tatters of a frothy translucent slip only cover her thighs down to the edge of her stocking tops. With a flare of his nostrils and a sudden look of disinterest he began to turn his hand at an angle. Kong seems amused as the girl slips slowly from his palm. The camera follows the remnant of her slip retreating past garter straps and buckles, finally bunching above her skin-tight pink panties and the top of the garter belt. The girl's screams grow louder as she sees her fate. Kong is pleased, he will make his tormentors pay for his plight. Finally she falls from his hand. Screaming and twisting in the air. Standing up Kong marches off across the top of the building. The camera eye focus on the hood of a car. Into the scene is the falling nurse. She hits the hood with the small of her back one beautiful leg thrown up in the air. The close of scene has the camera pulling back from the dead girls face. She lies on her back dead, one stockinged leg doubled under. Blood trickles from her mouth and nose unto the crushed hood of a 1959 Chevy. After spending the next day agonizing over it he finally decides to bring his wife in to see the film. He must make sure he is not hallucinating. He watches her as she sat down in one of his viewing chairs. She is a short strawberry blond with a perfect figure that he greatly admires. As the projector begins to unwind the film Hank notices again the clear color frames. "I swear to you Arlene that this was black and white when I first got it." She fixes him with her blue eyes. "Yes, so you-say. But if what you say about the content is true I don't see how the spicy stuff got past the movie censors." He finishes threading the film. "Yeah, well its pretty tame by today's standards. But, I don't think this film ever went by the code. Besides this change in time stuff is otherworldly. Something really weird is going on here." She gave him a I-think-you--flipped-your-lid look and smiled. He was irritated. They watch as from the camera's point of view as a hairy paw grasps windows and projections on a building. Once again Kong is climbing. There is a fine drift of snow in the air. Even a change of season this time. >From the back of Kong's head they watch as he pulls himself cautiously up towards what is the observation deck of a building. >From a shot above there is a narrow observation deck on the building running in a circle as an outer rim many stories above the street below. There are a few people taking the view. Tracking shot of an attractive black hared girl dressed in a long hooded coat and high boots. Behind her a huge head looms up. The people in front of the girl scream. The girl turns , sees Kong herself and she too screams. Meanwhile the elevator door to the observation deck has opened. The frightened people push in filling it. The girl who is furthest away begins to run for the open door but as She reaches it there is no room and she is thrown back as the door closes. Kong begins to pursue her as she tries to hid from him by running around the circular wall of the building using the tower to block him. But finally with his long reach he is able to flush the girl out and into his view where he scoops her up. He holds her in his hand for a while until he seems to take an interest in her boots. Kong delicately takes a booted foot between thumb and forefinger and slowly turns her upside down. He seems amused by her distress as her coat, the hem or her wool plaid skirt and pleated slip fall back to her waist reveling long slim legs covered in gray tone panty hose which also cover a snug pair of yellow panties. The girls screams hang frosty in the air. With his other hand Kong pulls the long inverted coat past her and off her arms. He delicately runs his forefinger from the top of her boots down her knees and thighs pauses at the bunched up skirt and slip. With a jerk he pulls the skirt and slip away tearing them loose. They fall fluttering away. She is down to her white turtle neck sweater and boots. The girl twists and jerks as Kong catches the bottom of her white turtle neck sweater and pulls it down and off her head. He seems puzzled by her bra for a moment but catching it with a fingernail he rolls it downward to her neck. The camera follows all this as her nipples slowly roll from under the material. Kong leaves the bra as a thin band under the girls armpits. Her breasts stand firm in the cold air. Finally her seems to weary of his game. He looks the girl over now for one last time. She is down to her boots, panties, pantyhose and rucked up bra. He drops her. Her screams as she falls are broken momentarily as she bounces off the parapet surrounding the observation deck and then over and down the side of the building. Kong looks over the side at the street below. As the camera pans in on the dead girl she is stretched out over the top of a car. Hank notes a 71 Imperial. Arleen turns on the room lights as the projector comes to a halt and Hank starts to rewind the film. Hank, I thought this film was made in the thirties. Not only is this in color but it would get an R rating these days. Hank looks at rewinding reel. "Yeah, the note on the can indicates this is a censored scene. As you can see the setting is advancing in time. Not only the clothes and cars but also ...ah I guess what you would call the rating also." Arleen getting up. "That's what you say Hank. But I don't know this is the first time I have seen this. I think somebody is playing a joke on you." That's impossible, I've told you what had been going on. That scene will change again in 24 hours. She snakes her head. "How is it doing that? Are you sure this thing isn't going to your head. You know how obsessed you are with that film." I know what I saw that film is changing. He fumes and stomps around the room. "You'll see tomorrow." Arleen is already leaving, slamming the door. The evening of the next day Hank is fuming. They had tickets to the Ballet that night and Arleen was slow getting dressed. The time had passed for the film to have changed by now and there was enough time left to run the projector before they left and he wanted to prove his claim to her. He knocks nervously on the bathroom door. "Come on honey we can see the film before we leave." Her reply is muffled by the shower, O Hank that can wait till we get back. He waited a few minutes more. The time period for the film to change passed and he could not wait any longer. He hurried off to his film room. The image sprang crisp on the screen. It was night and the camera advanced towards a building. Hank looked intently at the screen, there was something familiar about that building. It was a high rise, and looked awfully like his As the camera panned forward a murky shadow was cast on the wall of the building. The frame began to zoom in on one window of the building high up. On the screen the camera passed through the window and panned around the room. Hank's attention turned away for just an instant as he felt a slight shimmer go through the building. He wondered what it was. lOn the screen a woman with a long white evening dress was standing before a mirror brushing her long strawberry blond hair. Her long white gloves and high heels reminded Hank of something. Something he knew. The camera angle rotated just enough so that the view out the window was reflected in the mirror. Slowly a dark titanic eye fills the window. Hank could feel another shudder in the building but it only registered low in his consciousness for he was transfixed by the image on the screen. He knew this small woman, fair skin and legs like a ballet dancer. Suddenly the woman on the screen notices the eye she spins about finally facing the camera. Hank freezes, its Arleen. She screams, a double echo rings in Hanks ears. Hank sits in frozen immobility as the scene on the screen rolls on. Arleen jumps in panic for the door of the bedroom but she trips on the seat of the vanity her head hitting the wall with a stunning blow. With a great crash the outer wall bursts from the inward pressure of a giant paw. The floor jumps and Hank in nearly knocked from his chair. Plaster sifts on him from the ceiling, but the film runs on. The huge hand closes about Arleen drawing her outside the building.In the night air she slowly begins to revive. She lays in Kong's hand her face a mask of horror as he raises her to eye level. After ogling her for a while the camera view shows Kong climbing onwards up the building. Sitting on the top edge leaning against the flag pole on the top of the building he examines his catch. Hank sits in transfixed in his chair, he makes a conscious effort to move but all he can do is watch the screen. Kong seems intrigued with a pleading Arleen now sitting on his palm. During the abduction the thin strap holding her dress about her neck has broken and the top of her thin white evening dress sags to the tips of her breasts Kong advances the material further with a fingernail till rosy nipples peek over the material. The top of the dress finally drops to her waist leaving Arleen's high peaked breasts exposed for Kong's amusement. Hank finally falls from his chair. He realizes he must turn the projector off to bring his terror to an end. But as he inches along the floor one part of his mind wants to see the film and he moves sloth-like. On the screen the scene jumps to slow motion. Kong is slowly shucking the rest of Arleens dress from her. Letting the tattered material slide past the top of her garter belt and white panties. Now past the top of her tan stockings the camera following the retreat past the garter belt tabs against the fair skin of her thighs. Down her knees catching for an instant on her white spike heeled shoes. Finally the dress flutters away into the night sky. Kong toys with her rolling her in his hand. Finally holding her by one foot head down. She seems to realize what is coming next and screams. Hank gags on the hope Kong will save her. In one last erotic gesture Kong delicately hooks a fingernail in the waistband of her thin white panties and lets Arleen's weight slide the thin material over her thighs. A triangle of red pubic hair revels Arleen as a real strawberry blond. The thin white panties catch at her ankle stretching to hold her. Nude except for her pearl necklace, long white gloves high heeled shoes ,garter belt and hosiery Kong pauses with her dangling by the thin material of her panties. Hank has finally reached the electrical cord for the projector. He pulls it from its socket hoping to bring the nightmare to an end. The machine grinds on supernaturally frame by frame. In slow motion Kong bounces Arleen in the air letting her weight tear through the thin material of her panties holding her. The camera follows her from above in an impossible shot. She twists and rolls in the air. In a medium shot lands on her back across the windshield of Hanks convertible 10 stories below. Her scream cut off as her back is broken and she dies. Hank has finally made it to the window. Still in disbelief, he had heard a woman's screams and a body went past the window. A crashing sound. Down below Arleen's nearly nude body lays , face up, broken on the hood half with her legs over the edge of the windshield. A noise from above makes him look up. He looks back at the projector. The would be dead machine is still running. With a sharp intake of breath Hank realizes that the image on the screen is him A great hairy paw is advancing on him from a broken window in his room. He moves back towards the screen and projector. The image does the same. Hank grabs a chair and smashes the projector. 'On the screen an ad infinitum Hank destroys the projector. Still the frames march on. The wall bursts inwards and as Hank watches the projection as he is scooped up by a monster hand. He is withdrawn from the room. On the screen in Hanks smashed movie room a titan of a gorilla advances down a street carrying a struggling figure. The animal and his catch dwindle in the distance as the frames on screen reach the trailing leader. Jump ,pop, The screen goes blank.