If you were a little kid on Long Island in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, then you remember Channel 9’s annual Thanksgiving monster movie marathon.  Dear God, did I love watching it with my Dad.  It was an EVENT.  I loved it far more than any Thanksgiving turkey — if they played monster movies all day, I think I’d cheerfully just enjoy Cocoa Puffs nonstop in front of the color TV in the family’s living room.

The Holy Trinity of monster movies, of course, consisted of “King Kong” (1933), “Son of Kong” (1933) and “Mighty Joe Young” (1949).  It’s a testament to these films’ staying power that they could still appeal to both children and adults roughly a half century after they were made.  Retrospect suggests it was probably a nice little father-son bonding exercise … my Dad was watching me thrill to the same monster action he enjoyed as a boy.  Special effects legend Ray Harryhausen truly blessed my childhood.

The DVD Drive-In website has a neat little nostalgic rundown right here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTuHnzGSNOs