 For shots of Kong holding Jessica Lange (qv), the filmmakers built  giant hydraulic gorilla arms. The hands were six feet across and the  arms weighed 1,650 lbs. each. The design was complex, so the arms  were not ready until shooting was well underway. When they were  finally built, producer Dino De Laurentiis (I) (qv) was invited to  the set to witness a test. He walked into the studio, and the giant  arm extended in his direction. Then the middle finger slowly  uncurled and extended itself. De Laurentiis broke up. So did the  arm. It was frozen, finger up, for a week.