King Kong has been part of American pop culture for decades. His original romp in 1933 astounded audiences worldwide. Most people fail to know of the many sequels and spin-offs to the classic version. These are all of the films, in order by release date, to be sure you're caught up on some you may have missed.

King Kong (1933)

Featuring the expensive, time consuming stop motion animation of expert special effects man Willis O' Brien, this is one of the quintessential American films. The plot is brilliance in its simplicity, as filmmaker Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) is desperate for a major film hit. He finds what he needs on Skull Island, an ancient, forgotten, and primitive place. The islanders worship Kong, and when they view Dehnam's star Ann Darrow (Fay Wray), they kidnap her as a sacrifice.

That starts the unforgettable mayhem, as Kong is enraged as Denham's group takes Darrow back after a harrowing trek through the jungle. Famous sequences here are simply too many to discuss in detail. The fight between Kong and a hungry Tyrannosaur rank amongst the best, the special effects simply unparalleled for the time. Even today, these mesmerizing effects stand out.

It would be criminal not to mention the finale, pitting Kong against a variety of bi-planes while slowly losing his grip on the tip of the Empire State Building. Directors Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoesdsak make a cameo as pilots, as the eventual fall of the beast is completed. As Kong breathes his final breaths, history is made as Denham proclaims, "It was beauty that killed the beast." A sequence involving the ship's crew falling into a canyon and then being eaten has been declared lost. It was deemed too violent, and the sequence was removed. No print has ever been found.