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King of the movies

Pauline McLean | 21:06 UK time, Friday, 22 October 2010

I'm aware I have one of the best jobs in the country.

And it doesn't get much better than being given the run of a cinema, and the chance to watch a classic movie on the big screen.

The reason? A rediscovered print of the 1933 movie King Kong, found in a wall recess, during refurbishing of the Grosvenor Cinema.

The fact it's celluloid and not nitrate, suggests it dates from the 50s, but no-one is quite sure how it got there.

A colleague suggests an over-enthusiastic fan might have been trying to sneak it home.

It is, of course, something of a cult classic.

Another, more cynical colleague wonders if it wasn't the work of an inventive marketing person, a time capsule to be opened just in time for the reopening of the refurbished café and cinema in the west end of Glasgow.

However it got there, the cinema's staff were honest in their response, contacting Universal, who bought out the original film-makers RKO.

They not only waived the late return fees - which could have amounted to £43,000 - but agreed to let the cinema screen the film as a thank you for their honesty.

But while its groundbreaking stop motion animation might have caused hearts to flutter in the 1930s, and even into the 40s and 50s, can King Kong compete with today's realistically gory horror offerings?

Maybe not for teenagers brought up on the Saw franchise, but there's still the odd unsettling scene.

Like when King Kong reaches into a tower block to pluck a sleeping lady out of her bed, and on discovering it's not Fay Wray, drops her screaming into the traffic below.

And the scene where the islanders chant for him to appear, still offers a nicely tense moment in cinema history.

Anyway, don't take my word for it.

The initial screening is already sold out. They've added another two to meet demand.

And the film which caused all the fuss?

It's apparently in good nick after its unconventional "storage" and is currently being cleaned in preparation for the screening.

And on November 8th, post-screening, it'll be sent back to Universal Studios, a mere five decades late.

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