Color, 1976, 87m.
Directed by Frank Agrama
Starring Robin Askwith, Rula Lenska, Valerie Leon
Retromedia (DVD) US R1 NTSC) / WS (1.85:1)

The same year Dino De Laurentiis unleashed his misguided remake of King Kong, British cinema already had a spoof prepared with this bizarre romp courtesy of director Frank Agrama (who unleashed the world's first splatter mummy movie, Dawn of the Mummy, five years later). Crammed with overblown stereotypes, hoary Carry On-style jokes and deliberately awful special effects, this ranks with the more famous A*P*E and Mighty Peking Man as one of the strangest, funniest big monkey movies around.

After her mincing leading man walks off the set, taskmaster director Luce Habit (camp TV staple Rula Lenska, bearing a striking resemblance to Fiona Lewis) looks for a way to salvage her jungle adventure film. When they return to London, salvation arrives in the form of Ray Fay (sex comedy regular Robin Askwith), a pun-prone jokester who traipses with the crew through the wilds of Lazanga-Where-They-Do-the-Konga (and drink Konga Cola) in search of the perfect locale. However, plans change when they stumble upon a bikini-clad tribe of cheesecake goddesses led by the always amazing Valerie Leon (Blood from the Mummy's Tomb), who swipes Ray off a ship (after an irrelevant Jaws parody) and arranges to have him stuffed into a giant wedding cake and sacrificed to the local god, Queen Kong. Upon arrival, the shambling, big-breasted ape sends Ray into a quivering frenzy of fear, but the she-beast turns out to have amorous interests in her offering instead. Always interested in show business, Luce and company decide to capture Queen Kong and bring her back to London, where the usual havoc, chaos and groan-inducing punchlines ensue before the big climax involving Big Ben and a horde of angry feminists.

From the disco-inflected theme song to the cut-rate she-ape costume, Queen Kong inspires shocked disbelief more than guffaws but is rarely dull. The cast consists of a wide array of '70s-era talent, including a turn by scream queen Linda Hayden (Blood on Satan's Claw) as "the singing nun." While there isn't much sex to speak of beyond the usual emphasis on cleavage and batting eyelids, Queen Kong feels all the world like a typical sex comedy of the period thanks to Askwith's presence and lots of cheeky but not all that shocking one-liners. While it may not be quite as hilarious as King Kong Lives, you've got to give the filmmakers credit for trying.

Retromedia's disc of this rarely seen oddity is one of the strongest in their roster to date. The widescreen transfer looks colorful and fairly crisp, taken from an undamaged source. Framing and detail are both satisfactory. Mono audio is also consistently sharp, showcasing the unbelievable funk score by The Peppers (which has become something of a soundtrack collectible). Retromedia honcho Fred Olen Ray appears on an audio commentary track with the heavily accented and ingratiating Agrama, and the two have a fine time reminiscing about crafting this spoof on a threadbare budget and both display obvious love and affection for monster films. Also included is the original trailer, which probably never had the chance to pass through too many projectors.