Rare Posters 
12 November 2024
Roland Coudon, King Kong (RKO Radio Pictures, 1933, Style A) - Image 1 of 3
Roland Coudon, King Kong (RKO Radio Pictures, 1933, Style A) - Image 2 of 3
Roland Coudon, King Kong (RKO Radio Pictures, 1933, Style A) - Image 3 of 3
Rare Posters 
Roland Coudon, King Kong (RKO Radio Pictures, 1933, Style A) - Image 1 of 3
Roland Coudon, King Kong (RKO Radio Pictures, 1933, Style A) - Image 2 of 3
Roland Coudon, King Kong (RKO Radio Pictures, 1933, Style A) - Image 3 of 3
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Roland Coudon 1897–1954

King Kong (RKO Radio Pictures, 1933, Style A)

1933
French Grande vintage movie poster 64 h × 46¾ w in (163 × 119 cm)
estimate: $20,000–30,000
result: $18,900
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Coudon's design for "King Kong" is impressive for a number of reasons: first, it was created for the film's initial release in France in 1933. Second, he succinctly encapsulates all of the energy and emotions of the film: fear, awe, power, weakness, sexuality, and might, all colliding in the intense torch light below our magnificent beast. Coudon chose not to depict the film's most famous scene atop the Empire State Building, which is another reason why this design stands out from the rest. Here, Fay Wray is being offered as a sacrifice to King Kong on Skull Island—the film's first introduction to King Kong. Rare!
Universitaires de France, Paris

Printed signature twice to upper left ‘Roland Coudon’.
provenance: Private Collection, Florida | Thence by descent
literature: Ref: Graven Images, p. 45; PAI-LXXXIII, 300

This work will ship from Lambertville, New Jersey.

print

Coudon's design for “King Kong” is impressive for a number of reasons: first, it was created for the film's initial release in France in 1933. Second, he succinctly encapsulates all of the energy and emotions of the film: fear, awe, power, weakness, sexuality, and might, all colliding in the intense torch light below our magnificent beast. Coudon chose not to depict the film's most famous scene atop the Empire State Building, which is another reason why this design stands out from the rest. Here, Fay Wray is being offered as a sacrifice to King Kong on Skull Island—the film's first introduction to King Kong. Rare!

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