Jack the Giant Killer

source: Jack the Giant Killer

A farmer, with gleaming white teeth and a costume resembling Hugh O'Brien's mainstay from TV's "Wyatt Earp", saves a princess from a giant, but can he save her from the Prince of Witches who wants to rule all of Cornwall? Fairy tale farrago that financier United Artists initially threw away, dumping it into second-run theaters (it was later re-released as a musical, failing again). The colorful sets and costumes, interesting make-up designs and props are all first-rate, though the stop-motion animation is a bit klutzy and the special effects themselves are variable. Princess Judi Meredith is much better--and more convincing--playing evil (under a spell) than she is doing the 'good girl' routine; as her hero, Kerwin Mathews lets his Adam's apple do all his emoting, and he looks really silly interacting with the inanimate characters (although he registers the same stupefied look while romancing the woman). Kids movie isn't too scary, although there are some curious details: the fleshy knots on the back of the farmer's mother's neck, villain Torin Thatcher's ghastly lower plate (which gets a close-up, resembling a picket fence), and the death of a child's father, which is just shucked off. Not up to the later "Pufnstuf", but better than "Snow White and the Three Stooges". ** from ****

"Jack the Giant Killer" has long had a bad reputation. It was only last night that I learned just how much it deserves it. My one-star rating is not so much for the film (which is mostly sub-mediocre, with a few clever things), but a condemnation of its being a terribly obvious copy of "7th Voyage of Sinbad" -- so much so that Columbia threatened to sue "Jack"'s producer, Edward Small. "7VS" was one of the few Harryhausen/Schneer films that made money on its initial release. Small must have figured that lightning could strike twice at exactly the same spot, so he "borrowed" (ie, stole) many of "Sinbad"'s elements * -- and not very well. I won't go into the details (fans of fantasy films will want to discover them on their own). But the giants are so-obviously copies of the Cyclopes in "Sinbad", it's embarrassing. Jim Danforth was supposedly told to have them move like Harryhausen's critters, and they do. Exactly. (This would probably have been a major legal point had Columbia sued.) Danforth was never as good an animator as Harryhausen. His work is often stiff/jerky and missing the wit that animates Harryhausen's characters. The gulf between mechanical skill and true talent is obvious. It doesn't help that the stop-motion figures are Just Plain Ugly. I don't mean ugly as in "nasty and frightening", but ugly as in cheap- and shoddy-looking. Parts of them look as if they were made from junk found in a trash can. The human costumes are similarly ugly, gaudy, and excessive, rather than fanciful. The one thing Small shouldn't have borrowed was Kerwin Matthews. Matthews has long been in the running for "Dullest Movie Actor of All Time". The script is mostly dull exposition and verges on the inane. About a third of the way through the film becomes actively boring (despite the on-screen action), provoking a "When will this be over?" reaction. In fairness, Pendragon's "vanishing cloak" is a superb optical effect, absolutely seamless (at least on a TV screen). Had Small tried to create something original, it might have been a classic. It is, instead, a classic example what happens when you mindlessly steal from your betters. * He even swipes from the Cocteau "Beauty and the Beast".

On the birthday of Princess Elaine (Judi Meredith), the evil warlock Pendragon (Torin Thatcher), who is exiled from the Kingdom of Cornwall, and his minion Garna (Walter Burke) come disguised to the court and he gives a gift to Elaine. During the night, his gift becomes a giant that abducts the princess. However the farmer Jack (Kerwin Mathews) vanquishes the giant and rescues Elaine. Jack becomes a knight and Elaine and he fall in love with each other. King Mark (Dayton Lummis) assigns Jack to protect Elaine and to travel by ship with his daughter posing of peasants to a distant convent where she would be safe. However Pendragon's spy Lady Constance (Anna Lee) warns the sorcerer and he sends witches to bring Elaine to his castle. They kill the captain of the ship and the crew throws Jack overboard that is left behind with the captain's son Peter (Roger Mobley) in the sea. However they are rescued by the Viking Sigurd (Barry Kelley) that shows the Leprechaun Imp (Don Beddoe) to Jack. The Imp grants three wishes to Jack and together with Jack, Peter and Sigurd, they head to the island where the castle of Pendragon is to save the princess. Will they succeed in their mission? "Jack the Giant Killer" is one of those naive adventures that are delightful matinée. The entertaining story is full of action, magic and evil creatures. Princess Elaine is gorgeous and the hero Jack is a farmer capable of fight like the most skilled swordsman. The special affects are dated in the present days but part this is one important component of these wonderful movies from the 60's. My vote is seven. Title (Brazil): "Jack, O Matador de Gigantes" ("Jack, The Giant Killer")

If you forgive the fact the film is perhaps too short, this is a very charming, underrated and delightful film. What really made the movie were the visuals. They were absolutely phenomenal, and looked as though the effects co coordinator had gone to extreme lengths to make the whole production presentable. As far as the look of the film goes, it looks amazing, with the lavish costumes, stunning cinematography and colourful sets. True it isn't as high a budget as Sinbad, but it still looked great. I will admit I am still scared of the witches, god they are so freaky. Aside from the visuals, other things made this film a delight to watch. The story is well told and is true in style to the story while putting its own spin on it. The script is nicely constructed too, and the music is also outstanding. The performances were very good indeed. Kerwin Matthews is a very likable lead, and Judi Meredith makes for a stunning Princess Elaine. Pendragon was a great almost scary villain and Torin Thatcher(back with Matthews after the wonderful 7th Voyage of Sinbad) played him marvellously. All in all, a delightful film and worth the look. Shame it is isn't shown on TV much, and I can't find it anywhere. That is a shame really, because it is a good movie. 9/10 Bethany Cox

A well made film, that some say copied a lot from 1959's The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. Interesting, I think it's better. Kerwin Mathews was great as Jack, the farmboy-turned-giant killer. Judi Meredith was far superior than Kathryn Grant, in terms of acting and beauty. Torin Thatcher was once again evil to the core. The other cast members performed well too as their characters stood out amongst the special effects. Outstanding supporting characters included the servant Garna, played by Walter Burke and the imp in the bottle, played by Don Beddoe. The budget for 'Jack' wasn't as big as 'Sinbad', it was about 6 to 1 in comparison. There were some impressive effects for the time. Some of them were quite clever such as Pendragon's disappearing trick done with his cape. This effect can be seen recently in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Ray Harryhausen is a tough act to follow, he was indeed the founder and master of stop motion animation. The team for 'Jack' were quite new to the craft but still managed to pull it off. The film is available on DVD from Goodtimes Home Video and taken from the same film transfer as MGM's laserdisc version. The only difference is that the laserdisc includes the theatrical trailer. The color is awesome (Technicolor) and the sound is crystal clear. The sound effects and music that's well suited and good considering that the film was made in 1962. I have never seen the musical version, if anyone has it, let me know. This is one of my favourite films and am proud to have my two sons enjoy it too.

I love kid's movies, even those that are relatively simple. But this is just horrendous. The first thing that struck me was the "evil king Pendragon from Cornwall" who uses witchcraft. A pagan king Pendragon from Cornwall? Wouldn't that be King Arthur? But here he is evil. The script is a poor bastardized combination of Arthurian legend and Jack and the Beanstalk and Sinbad. And then there is the horrendous stop-motion animation and the even worse animated magical effects when the "witches" attack the princess' boat. Maybe I have been spoiled by the quality of modern special effects, but when they have to animate such simple things as fire, it's pretty sad movie-making. Yeah, they don't make movies like this anymore. Thank Goodness!

Recently reminded of this little gem after visiting its origins in St Michael's Mount, Cornwall. Loved this film as a kid. The attack on the ship was especially effective (I recall it being quite scary when I first saw it). The fact that there were 'scary' elements probably set it apart from the likes of the Sinbad and Jason films, and I guess this is this reason why its my favourite film of its genre and age. Admittedly the effects may look a little ropey nowadays but that doesn't get in the way of a very entertaining film. As much as I enjoyed it though, I can't help but admit that I wouldn't mind someone having a stab at a remake (this version will always be there if it goes pear shaped)

If you like movies like " The 7th Voyage of Sinbad " or any George Pal film this is a must see. Stop-motion animation fans take note, there is a lot of stop-motion in this film. Jack and the princess are likeable characters as well as Peter and Sigard the viking. My favorite scene is when the puppet comes to like and slow dances with the princess. I also love the shot of the animated crow flying toward a beautiful matte painting of a castle. If you love these kinds of movies see it for sure, I bought it and still watch it plentiful to this day. Anyway that is a great flick. 10 out of 10!

When this picture came out in '62 or '63, Mom took us 3 kids to see it at an old-style huge screened theatre. The titles of the movies(Bert I. Gordon's "The Magic Sword" was the other one) suggested to Mom that these were quaint, Disney-like fantasy films, so she figured we were safe from anything hideous. At the bursting from his elf disguise by the first monstrous giant in the movie, Mom realized she had made a boo-boo and suggested that we should seek milder entertainment. Our desperate protests put the wet blanket on poor Mom's wishes, and we sat through 2 film adventures that, to this day, are among our all-time favorites. As I understand it, this picture was produced to cash in on the tremendous success of "7th Voyage Of Sinbad", and the legal troubles that resulted from the vast similarities between the two films were the reason that the owners of the movie's rights were required to downgrade it into a ridiculous musical version. Thankfully, after years of being unavailable, the original untouched "Jack" came out on video, and it was about as much fun seeing it again as an old codger as it was as a 10-year-old. For us "baby boomers" who started out on black-and-white TV and seeing such films as "King Kong", etc., when we were young, a stop-motion animated monster is just more scary, other-worldly, dangerous...whatever term fits an effective creature feature. Although Kerwin Matthews' many nemeses in "Jack The Giant Killer" don't quite stand alongside Ray Harryhausen's magnificent work, they still make this film well worth seeing for anyone who enjoys a good, old-fashioned mythical adventure. Incidentally, if you have an idiotic sense of humour, the musical version is a scream to behold- especially the sequence of the evil wizard's servant returning to his master to report a failed kidnapping. :D :D Everyone certainly has their own taste in motion pictures, but as far as this old monster movie watcher is concerned, "Jack The Giant Killer" is among the upper crust of its genre. Even after 31 years. I'll say 8.5/10. God bless one and all...