I have recently begun viewing silent films from the period that produced many of my favorite authors. As a writer living in a video saturated world it is inevitable that one applies lessons learned reading and writing in our passing medium to the subtext of the dominant medium.

The Lost World, based on a story written by the creator of Sherlock Holmes, was obviously the inspiration for King Kong. This period, when a wonder about discovery infused literature and film, is refreshing to me. The story telling here is very primitive—and provides evidence that the rot of romance was well advanced in film even at this early date—and I cared for it less than the actual film, which I found appealing.