Ann Darrow

Ann Darrow is a fictional character and main protagonist from the King Kong franchise.
Characterization
Ann Darrow is among the Great Depression's unemployed. Reduced to stealing food, and is an actor at a theater which does not pay her well. She was poor prior to the film series's events.
1933 film
She is rescued from the streets by filmmaker Carl Denham. She agrees to appear in his next picture and sails with him aboard the tramp steamer S.S. Venture for location shooting on a mysterious island in the Indian Ocean. During the voyage, she falls in love with the ship's first mate, Jack Driscoll.
When the island is reached, Ann is kidnapped by natives who prepare her as a human sacrifice to Kong, a gigantic gorilla-like creature whom they worship as a god. Kong presumably has never seen a blonde white woman and falls either in lust or love with her and carries her to his lair atop Skull Mountain. He strips her of some clothing and sniffs his fingers after tickling her. She is rescued by Driscoll, only to be pursued back to the native village by an enraged Kong, who will stop at nothing to get her back. An intense battle ensues, culminating in the destruction of much of the village. Kong is finally subdued with gas bombs.
Seeing an incredibly profitable opportunity, Denham transports Kong to New York City, with the intent of putting him on display for paying crowds as "King Kong: The Eighth Wonder of the World". Kong is chained to a platform on a Broadway stage with Ann, Driscoll, and Denham alongside to tell their story. Kong rages when a flurry of reporters' flashbulbs are set off, and, believing Ann is in danger, he bursts his bonds. Ann flees the theater but Kong escapes and rampages through downtown Manhattan, searching for Ann. He retakes and carries her to the top of the Empire State Building. He is engaged by a squadron of military fighter planes and is killed in a hail of machine gun fire, falling to the streets below. Ann is reunited with Jack Driscoll.
Many scenes (including the sniffing scene) fell victim to the censor's axe upon re-release. All the scenes were restored in the late 1950s save the sniffing scene which was presumed lost. The scene was eventually found and restored to the film in the early 1970s.
2005 movie
In the 2005 remake, Ann is given more detail: she is a struggling vaudeville performer and bonds with Kong by entertaining him with her comic acting and juggling skill; in addition, she eventually comes to sympathize with Kong, gaining the great ape's trust and understanding. She feels a kind of romantic love for Kong, unlike the character in the original, who is terrified of him and spends the entire time screaming and fainting while in his clutches.
When the captured Kong is put on display in New York, this version explicitly notes that Ann refused to appear on stage with the giant gorilla, despite being offered great sums of money. The implication is that Ann does not approve of the commercial exploitation of Kong. When the two are trapped atop the skyscraper at the climax, she tries desperately to prevent him from being killed, much like Dwan in the 1976 version, but to no avail. After Kong's death, she embraces Jack Driscoll, who is trying to get to her the entire time.
Critical Reception
Watts won International Cinephile Society Award for Best Actress, London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress and Saturn Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of the character.

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See Also

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