Themes: Fantasy Lands, Daring Rescues, Mythical Creatures
Main Cast: Kerwin Mathews, Judi Meredith, Torin Thatcher
Release Year: 1962
Country: US
Run Time: 95 minutes
Plot
Nathan Juran, director of The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, tries to make the magic happen again on a much more attenuated budget in Jack the Giant Killer. Torin Thatcher, another Sinbad alumnus, plays a wicked wizard who kidnaps toothsome-princess Judi Meredith. Kerwin Mathews, still another veteran of Sinbad, plays Jack, who rescues Meredith and promises to escort her to safety. Stop-motion animator Jim Danforth creates several fire-breathing perils along the same lines as Ray Harryhausen's special effects in Sinbad; happily, Danforth emulates the Harryhausen style without stooping to imitation. Prominent among the supporting actors is Don Beddoe as an impish genie. In the recently reissued prints of Jack the Giant Killer, most of the original voices have been dubbed over, and incongruous musical numbers added. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Viewers tuning in to see Jack the Giant Killer should be warned that there are two versions of this very same movie, the original 1962 release and a later "musical" version, in which songs were added to the existing footage; avoid at all costs the latter version, which is atrocious. The original, by contrast, is actually a pretty good little flick. Granted, it's a blatant rip-off of The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, but it still has a certain charm of its own. The story is engaging, if decidedly childlike, and Nathan Juran's direction, while hardly earth-shattering, has a nice little flair. Of course, this is the kind of film that lives on "high points," with the moments between coming across as nothing more than filler; but Jack at least makes sure that the high points keep on coming, even if some are higher than others. A film of this sort also lives or dies on its special effects, and it's here that Jack falls significantly short of Sinbad. But even if the effects are somewhat less than convincing (especially for CGI-reared viewers), they still have a charm and their very cartoonish-ness is actually quite winning. Highlights include the sea monster-giant battle, the attack of the witches and the final dragon battle. Kerwin Mathews is acceptable as Jack, with Torin Thatcher appropriately evil. The best work comes from Walter Burke and Thatcher's henchman and Don Beddoe as the imp. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Don Beddoe - Imp in Bottle; Walter Burke - Garna; Barry Kelley - Sigurd; Anna Lee - Lady Constance; Dayton Lummis - King Mark; Ken Mayer - Boatswain; Roger Mobley - Peter; Tudor Owen - Chancellor; Helen Wallace - Jack's Mother; Robert Gist - Capt. McFadden
Credit
Frank McCoy - Art Director, Edward Boyle - Art Director, Fernando Carrere - Art Director, John Gregory - Choreography, David Berman - Costume Designer, Nathan Juran - Director, Grant Whytock - Editor, Paul Sawtell - Composer (Music Score), Bert Shefter - Composer (Music Score), Charles Gemora - Makeup, David S. Horsley - Cinematographer, Edward Small - Producer, Edward Boyle - Set Designer, Howard A. Anderson - Special Effects, Jim Danforth - Special Effects, David Pal - Special Effects, Orville H. Hampton - Screenwriter, Nathan Juran - Screenwriter
Jack the Giant Killer (1962) is a United Artistsfeature film starring Kerwin Mathews in a fairy tale story about a young man who defends a princess against a sorcerer's giants and demons. The film was loosely based on the traditional tale "Jack the Giant Killer" and features extensive use of stop motion animation. The film was directed by Nathan H. Juran and later re-edited and re-released as a musical by producer Edward Small.
In the Duchy of Cornwall of fairy tale days, the sorcerer Pendragon (Torin Thatcher) plots to gain power by abducting the Princess Elaine (Judi Meredith). To that end, he has fashioned a magic toy that is actually a giant. When the giant seizes Elaine, a brave farm lad named Jack (Kerwin Mathews) slays the monster and rescues Elaine. In gratitude, King Mark (Dayton Lummis) makes Jack her protector and entrusts him to safely guide her to a convent across the sea. Pendragon learns of the plan and sends his demons to intercept Jack's ship. Elaine is captured, while Jack and his friend, Peter (Roger Mobley) are cast overboard. An old Viking, Sigurd (Barry Kelley), rescues the two and introduces them to Diaboltin (Don Beddoe), a leprechaun imprisoned in a bottle. With the help of his new allies, Jack rescues Elaine from Pendragon's castle. As the friends flee, Pendragon sends a two-headed giant along their path but Diablotin summons a monster from the sea to defeat it. As a last resort, Pendragon transforms himself into a flying dragon but Jack slays him in a tense battle. With evil routed at last, all sail away to live happily ever after. Cast includes Anna Lee as Lady Constance, Walter Burke as Pendragon's servant, Garna, and Tudor Owen as the Chancellor.
Reception
The New York Times noted, "The acting is terrible, the dialogue is even worse, and some extremely jarring touches of the macabre - yowling skeletons and witches, splashed around in rather messy special effects - simply aren't for the small fry. Not ours, anyway. And some of the combats involving the giants (there are two), various monsters (rubber) and the slender Mr. Mathews are a gory eyeful."[1]
