Vapor phase deposition of poly(ethylene) is shown to produce uncross-linked thin films consisting of linear (CH2)(100) oligomers with narrow molar mass distribution of dispersity D-M - 1.10. Early stages of the film formation are characterized by the growth of two-dimensional compact islands of constant 7-8 nm thickness. The transversal evolution of islands is studied in the context of the Dynamic Scaling Theory. The aggregation regime is found to be valid in a narrow range of coverage 0.1 < theta < 0.3. The critical island size is estimated to be i = 1. Kinetic roughening of the growing front gives a set of the scaling exponents alpha(loc) = 0.67, alpha(s) = 0.85, beta = 0.33 (beta = 0.2 for the late stages of growth) and z = 2.2 that does not fit into any of the known universality classes. Macromolecular relaxation at the island edges is suggested to explain the observed inconsistence. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.