Ruth Rose: The Untold Story of King Kong's Writer
A trailblazing woman who didn't just shape King Kong into a classic - she lived the kind of adventure she wrote about.
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In 1933, a film written by Ruth Rose, co-directed by Ernest B. Shoedsack and Merian C. Cooper, was the blockbuster hit of the year. A gigantic ape came crashing onto the big screen, grabbed audiences up and hasn’t let go.
We’re about to reveal how a steamboat trip that happened exactly 100 years ago was a crucial step in the creation of King Kong. It’s an adventure tale in its own right featuring a strong female lead, a love story, and at least one monkey! It’s got us wondering – who’s going to make this movie?
“An unexpected coincidence is infinitely more exciting and interesting than the fulfilment of a preconceived plan.”
– William Beebe and Ruth Rose, The Arcturus Adventure, 1926
Two ships set sail…
If you’ve seen the original 1933 King Kong, you’ll know that the story begins in New York Harbour, where a ship – the Venture – is preparing to depart on a wildlife filmmaking adventure.
Well, in real life, the ship was called the Arcturus.
The Arcturus may not have been headed for Skull Island, but in February 1925, it was setting off on its own groundbreaking expedition. The New York Zoological Society was bringing a team of 17 specialists on a pioneering ocean exploration to study wildlife in its natural habitat.
Dinosaurs? Human sacrifices? No, but drama - yes. They had a brush with a huge volcanic eruption, deep dived with only copper helmet and swimsuit to protect them from sharks, and explored a real ‘Treasure Island’ that one keen Captain had spent 20 years searching for buried treasure. All of this while accompanied on board by the “much travelled and thoroughly spoiled” Chiriqui - a Panamanian monkey.
The expedition’s leader, a naturalist called William Beebe, was smart enough to break the norms of the time and employ women artists, writers and historians as equal members of his team. Which is where our intrepid adventurer comes in: Ruth Rose.
Ruth set sail on the Arcturus, not realising that this six-month voyage would change the course of her life.
The origins of a writer
Ruth Rose was born in 1896 in New York. Her dad was a well-known playwright, so she was mixing in literary circles from an early age. She enjoyed a brief stint as a young actress, and even a turn on Broadway when she was just 14.
Story has it that it was during an actors' strike that Ruth got a job as a research assistant with the New York Zoological Society. She was a quick learner and by now, in 1925, had risen in the ranks to Historian and Technicist. Don’t think she was quietly taking notes in the corner - it was a team game on these expeditions, and Ruth was doing everything from labouring to diving, too.
But the writing gene was certainly there. On her return, she co-authored The Arcturus Adventure, an evocative, illustrated account of their explorations.
Let’s get to the love story!
A young cinematographer, Ernest B. Shoedsack, had been brought on as the ship’s Assistant in Photography. You can imagine all those months living in close confinement forged and tested relationships, but sunsets, volcanoes and giant devilfish must be a heady mix, because Ruth and Ernest fell in love. Not long after their return, the two were married.
Some of Ernest’s footage from the trip is available to view online (he returned with 11,000 feet of film and hundreds of photographs to sift through!), but we most loved this quiet moment he caught of Ruth and some sea lions. Just watch it and tell us you don’t love her, too!
Enter: Kong
Ernest was already a filmmaker by the time he sailed on the Arcturus. He began his motion picture career in 1915 and then served in World War I, flying and filming during combat missions.
It seems his path was fated to cross with Merian C. Cooper, a fellow WWI veteran. They first met in Austria in 1918 and became lifelong friends: Merian, the single-minded salesman who had a knack for getting things done, and Ernest, the daring and resourceful creative. (This pair had some incredible post-war adventures, including dangerous press assignments, documentary-making overseas, a pirate attack and ship wreck, and brushes with CIA spies?!)
In 1929 the pair co-directed and produced their first feature film, The Four Feathers - one of the last major silent films made in Hollywood. All buoyed up, Merian went on the hunt for a writer for his Big New Idea: a screenplay about a giant gorilla.
Easy, right?
The first writer up was Edgar Wallace – a British mystery and crime novelist. Wallace submitted a script titled The Beast, but he sadly passed away shortly after. The Beast was a very different story to the one that made it to screen, but – as Merian had promised – he gave Wallace full on-screen credit.
Next, a contract writer – James Creelman – worked on ideas for the retitled The Eighth Wonder. Elements were kept (such as the remote island populated by dinosaurs and an Empire State Building finale) and elements were binned (such as escaped convicts and several ‘cute’ moments with the gorilla!).
Then, a further two contract writers got involved and some mythic elements were added.
But still, co-directors Merian and Ernest weren’t happy. The screenplay was to get another complete rewrite, and, as Ernest put it himself, “Ruth came to the rescue.”
The final script
Ruth picked up her pencil and began by writing biographies for the three main characters. What was her inspiration? Some suggest they were based on the real life trio and their wild adventures: Carl Denham took on an admitted likeness to Merian C. Cooper; Jack Driscoll could have been compared to Ernest B. Schoedsack; but apparently any comparison to Ann Darrow surprised Ruth Rose.
Ruth, naturally plucky and happy to get her hands dirty, wasn’t the type that needed rescued! Listen to what Ernest had to say about Ruth’s character (bear in mind he and Merian had a bad experience with a previous woman on their team!):
Ruth overhauled the script. Her work turned the story of King Kong from an adventure yarn into the modern myth it has become. It was Ruth’s screenplay that served as the basis for the two remakes, one in 1976 with Jessica Lange and Peter Jackson’s 2005 epic with Naomi Watts.
After the runaway success of King Kong, she also went on to write and rewrite several more films including Blind Adventure and Son of Kong (both also in 1933!), She (1935), The Last Days of Pompeii (1935),and Mighty Joe Young (1949) - another giant ape adventure that was remade in 1998.
And it’s Ruth who’s credited with that classic final line from the film.
“Oh, no, it wasn’t the airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast.”
This was fascinating! It’s a surprise that this story hasn’t been turned into a film itself, in a “Saving Mr Banks” style.
Incredibly interesting and a wonderful revelation for me! Thanks so much for sharing this!