Jack the Giant Killer (1962)

Lack of good storyline.

Brilliant and touching

I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Fantasy and film noir sometimes mix successfully, although Jack, the Giant Killer (1962) is not the most entertaining of the genre despite the presence of lovely, talented Judi Meredith (who, alas, made only nine or ten movies, spending 80% of her career in TV episodes). Children will enjoy this movie much more than adults! For grown-ups, the chief drawback presented by "Jack, the Giant Killer" lies in the obvious limits of the Fantascope clay figures, somewhat clumsily animated here by outdated stop-motion effects. Fortunately, Don Beddoe (with an Irish accent yet!) makes an effective imp. Walter Burke is also most welcome as the wizard's henchman.

I saw this film on release at a drive-in movie theatre, i.e. HUGE screen, i.e. scarier looking monsters and witches. Hence, nightmares followed that evening, especially of Pendragon. Never saw it again until recently, and wondered why these characters were perceived as so menacing. I could only remember the face of Pendragon and thought he was the Giant Jack killed. Nope. Memory only served to convey the evil non-claymation creatures. I originally thought they were not anywhere real looking, fake choppy movements, and rather hilarious. I believed only in the force of the super evil Prince of Darkness.The court of witches and creatures were the creepiest I have ever seen in my life. I think this film is not appropriate for young children 5-7YO. I really still remember the nightmares I had that night, even today. So I could not wait to see if anything about the film was recalled and all I remember is that nasty satanic looking Pendragon.So, what happened on the second viewing after 55yrs or so. SAME THING!! It had the exact effect on my dreams and was so surprised as I was laughing at all the poor quality special effects. Guess this film is underrated because I never had a problem with the Sinbad or Jason series.Thank goodness for comic relief from the Imp, why not just call him a leprechaun?? He was delightful and hoped to see more of him. The sweet demure Princess Elaine actually looked more attractive as a witch, bravo makeup department! High recommend for historical perspective of monsters flicks and beware the night!

Legend has it that the bigwigs at United Artists turned down Ray Harryhausen's pitch for the classic "7th Voyage of Sinbad", forcing him to go back to his home studio, Columbia. "7th Voyage" was a risky proposition at the time, needing a much larger budget than Harryhausen had ever accessed for various reasons including Technicolor (this would be his first color feature). UA and production director Edward Small passed on the film. Columbia finally acceded the necessary budget to Harryhausen and the rest is history. Not surprisingly, "Sinbad" became one of the top ten money-making movies of 1958, leaving the bigwigs at UA grinding their teeth since they threw the opportunity to finance it away. Four years later in 1962, United Artists attempted to make an adventure/fantasy of their own to cash in on the success of "Sinbad". No matter that "Jack" is nearly a carbon copy of "Sinbad" in plot, the studio had the audacity to hire the director, hero, and villain from "Sinbad" to appear in this poor imitation of someone else's success. Nathan Juran directed, while Kerwin Mathews became Jack, and Torin Thatcher phones in his villain, Pendragon. Unfortunately, the film suffers from the same penny-pinching that saw "Sinbad" thrown away. Not being able to afford the services of Harryhausen, the special effects animators could not effectively pull off the various giants and other creatures effectively. The stop motion animators were the very young Wah Chang, Jim Danforth and David Pal. The derivative designs of the giants are obviously taken from "Voyage's" Cyclops. There are not one, but two reptilian-squid monsters on view, a sea serpent and the Wyvern seen in the film's climax. Naturally, the two-headed faux Cyclops giant has to battle the sea serpent in a very rubbery ode to the Cyclops vs dragon fight in "Voyage". It appears to be played for laughs instead of terror."Jack" isn't all bad, there are several interesting things to see here. The attack of the witches on the ship at sea, filmed using a lurid purple overlay. The witches themselves are phosphorescent, done in day-glo hues of green and blue. This same effect was used years before in Disney's "Darby O'Gill" to produce the Banshee. There are economical cartoon animations for flames here and there, and a better princess than "Sinbad" had. Judi Meredith actually outshines Kathryn Grant especially when transformed into an agent of darkness by Pendragon. The Wyvern creature, while as cartoonish as the other monsters is the best realized and supplies a satisfying end to Jack's adventures. On the downside, this flick crams the most annoying leprechaun ever seen on film down your throat. Throw in a lost boy who becomes a chimpanzee, a Viking who becomes a dog, magical coins, a least one demon who looks suspiciously like Satan, and an army of hollow men. Whew. Still, watching that superimposed rhyming leprechaun played by Don Beddoe prance away over a rainbow is a bit much. Where's he going? Oz? "Jack" didn't fare well at the box office since the public realized they'd already seen this before. It was subsequently withdrawn and forgotten, most notably because Columbia sued UA over copyright infringement. However,in a burst of total surrealism United Artists re-issued the film some years later as a musical (!!!) and an obvious ploy to attempt seeking out whatever cash the mangled new version could earn. Unfortunately for the public, this wreck had the most terrible songs sung over the original film. This version was given new titles that looked like a child's drawings and was not widely seen. It did turn up on an Disney cable channel back in the early 80s, which is where I saw/taped it. It's a curio worth seeking out if you can stand listening to it, especially the climactic fight between Jack and the Wyvern which is overlaid with someone squalling "You can do it! lalalalalala You can do it!" which has a number of interpretations. In this case, however, one would guess the crooning is supposed to infer Jack's mental processes as he hacks the wing off the Wyvern. Not an unpleasant way to spend a rainy afternoon, especially if you've not seen "7th Voyage of Sinbad".

Even though this film's budget is not less than The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, the producers still managed to make an excellent movie. Jack the Giant Killer is just an attempt made to cash-in on the success of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad made 4 years ago, there are two Cyclops in Sinbad and there are two giants in Jack. Both films have an evil magician. In Sinbad, a Cyclops fights a Dragon, in Jack, a Two-Headed Giant battles a Sea Monster. And in the final part, the hero slays a Dragon, a similar theme in both films. Despite the similarities, Jack the Giant Killer is almost as good as Sinbad. The stop-motion animation are not up to Ray Harryhausen standards, but the three animators did their best. The animated creatures include Cormoran, the first giant Jack killed, an unnamed Two-Headed Giant, a Sea Monster with tentacles for limbs and a Dragon which is actually Pendragon that Jacks slays at the climax of the film. The plot is very entertaining, the acting is solid, Kerwin Mathews is perfect for fantasy movies like this and is charming as Jack, Judi Meredith is almost as beautiful as Kathryn Grant and Torin Thatcher is forever terrifying as the evil wizard Pendragon, the evil grin on his face and his Bela Lugosi Dracula stare makes him a perfect villain. Coupled with some dazzling visual effects and wonderful animation of the creatures, this action filled family-fantasy movie is sure to entertain children with its fantasy theme and please adults with the plot and special effects. I highly recommend this film.