Movie director Carl Denham normally does pictures about savage nature, but his investors want bigger, better, something with a love interest in it. He has lined up a ship and crew, but has trouble finding a pretty actress due to the secretive nature of his new picture. Enter down-and-out actress Ann Darrow who is desperate for income.
They journey to an island off Indonesia, not found on any chart, and find the natives in the middle of a sacrificial ritual. When the natives see Ann, they are convinced that she must be the offering, and they kidnap her in the dark of night. The crew race to save her, but are just in time to see Ann taken captive... by King Kong.