Jack Driscoll
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Jack Driscoll is a fictional character in the 1933 film King Kong and its 2005 remake. He was played by Bruce Cabot in the original and by Adrien Brody in the remake. In both versions he is one of the main heroes of the story. He is a man who works for film director Carl Denham on a ship heading for the mysterious Skull Island to film a documentary. On the way, Driscoll falls in love with the actress, Ann Darrow, and when she is kidnapped by a giant ape on the island, Kong, Driscoll rescues her after helping to lead a search. Beyond these facts, however, the 1933 and 2005 films differ in respect to his function and personality.
The 1933 film's Driscoll is a supporting character in Kong: King of Skull Island, an "authorized" illustrated-novel that continues the Kong story in 1957.
Driscoll is also one of two playable characters in the video game Peter Jackson's King Kong, along with Kong himself.
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[edit] 1933 film
In the 1933 film, Driscoll is a rugged sailor who disdains having women on ships, considering even their mere presence to be a "nuisance." He says as much to Ann Darrow, but despite this early encounter, and while still on the ship, Driscoll eventually develops an infatuation with her, telling her, "Say... I think I love you." As Denham remarked, "Some big hard-boiled egg gets a look at a pretty face and bang - he cracks up and goes sappy." Ann is at first surprised by Driscoll's interest, but the two embrace. Upon reaching the island, Ann is kidnapped by the natives and sacrificed to Kong, but Driscoll, Denham and several other crew members charge into Skull Island to rescue her. It is eventually Driscoll who saves Ann from Kong's clutches, but the ape gives chase until Denham's team captures it and sends it to New York City.
Having returned to New York, Driscoll and Ann continue to work for Denham as Kong is chained to a stage and shown to live audiences. During the show, Denham gives Driscoll credit for coming to Ann's rescue, and it is revealed that Ann and Driscoll are to be married. Kong breaks free, however, and despite Driscoll's attempts to keep Ann secure by taking her to a room and trying to fight Kong after the beast reaches through a window, Ann is once again kidnapped. They are reunited after Kong dies at the end of the film.
[edit] 2005 film
Driscoll's function is radically changed in the 2005 film. Instead of a sailor, Driscoll is made to be a playwright who tries to write a screenplay for Denham, as a friend. He does not intend to join the expedition at all, but delivers the script on the ship before it departs. With limited time, however, Driscoll did not write nearly enough, and Denham, desperate for more, tricks him into staying on the ship as it leaves for Skull Island. Driscoll mourns that he prefers the stage, but Denham retorts that if Driscoll truly loved plays over film, Driscoll would have taken his chances and jumped ship.
As it turns out, Denham's struggling actress, Ann Darrow, had been very familiar with Driscoll's work beforehand, and admired Driscoll greatly. She is very excited to meet him, but at first the relationship is awkward (owing in part to a case of mistaken identity on Darrow's part). The two eventually grow closer, however, and Driscoll also reveals that he has begun writing a comedic play dedicated to Ann, as a sign that he has fallen in love with her. (The dynamic from the original, in which Ann is told that women should not be on ships, is not actually said by Driscoll, but does appear in Denham's film, although as it turns out Driscoll's script had been altered by the actor, Bruce Baxter).
While writing the screenplay, Driscoll is the first to learn that Denham is taking the crew to an undiscovered island. When they reach the island, Ann is kidnapped by Kong, and Driscoll sets out in search for her along with the rest of the crew. He shows both great amounts of courage and a single-minded determination to find and rescue Ann. Of the original party, he is the only member who both survived the journey through the island (including attacks by dinosaurs and giant insects) and did not return to the settlement without rescuing Ann, managing to retrieve her by himself.
Unlike the original, Driscoll did not continue with Denham or Ann after Kong was brought to New York, but rather continued with the comedy he had dedicated to Ann. Nor does Denham give Driscoll credit as being the hero of the adventure at Skull Island. Driscoll does, however, come to fear that he has let Ann slip away from him.
Driscoll realizes before anyone else that Denham's opening is heading for disaster, but can't do anything to prevent it. Discovering that Kong actually recognizes him on sight -- and is hellbent on killing him -- Driscoll attempts to use that to draw Kong away from Times Square and away from crowds of bystanders. Driscoll nearly gets killed for his heroic effort, but Ann approaches and stops Kong's rampage, saving Jack's life this time around.
When Ann is alone on the Empire State Building after Kong has fallen, Driscoll is reunited with her and the two embrace.
[edit] Real-world history
With the 2005 film, the casting of Adrien Brody drew some criticism, according to film critic Roger Ebert, because he was "not precisely hero material." Ebert defended that casting decision, saying Driscoll was just a writer who did not need "big muscles."[1]
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[edit] References
- ^ Roger Ebert, "King Kong," Chicago Sun-Times, December 13, 2005.
