''The Magic Sword'' (also known as ''St. George and the Dragon'', ''St. George and the Seven Curses'', the film's original title, and ''The Seven Curses of Lodac'') is a 1962 American

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

fantasy film directed by

Bert I. Gordon Bert Ira Gordon (born September 24, 1922) is an American filmmaker and visual effects artist. He is best known for writing and directing science fiction and horror B-movies such as ''King Dinosaur'' (1955), ''The Amazing Colossal Man'' (1957), '' ...

that is loosely based on the medieval legend of Saint George and the Dragon.

Plot

George is the foster son of Sybil, an elderly, somewhat ineffectual sorceress. She brought him up after his "royal parents died of the plague" in his infancy. He has fallen in love with the Princess Helene, but she is kidnapped by the wizard Lodac, who brazenly informs her father that he intends to feed her to his pet dragon in seven days, in revenge for the death of his sister. George wants to go on a quest to liberate his lady love, but Sybil believes he is too young as he is only 20. She tries to distract the youth by showing him a magic sword; a steed; an invulnerable suit of armour; and six magically frozen knights that he will command when he turns 21. The impatient George tricks Sybil and locks her in a cellar, then leaves with the magical implements and the revived company of knights. Sir George and his party appear before the king and insist on journeying to Lodac's castle to rescue Helene, despite opposition from Sir Branton, a knight who has also volunteered for the perilous quest. The king promises the rescuer his daughter's hand in marriage and half his kingdom.Helene is forced to watch as Ladoc feeds two captive princess/sisters to his dragon. Seven curses bar the path to Lodac's castle. First, they encounter an

ogre An ogre (feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the world ...

, who slays Sir Ulrich of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and Sir Pedro of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

before George kills it. When George tries to save Sir Anthony of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

from drowning in a magic swamp, Branton treacherously kicks him in as well. Anthony is dissolved and killed, but George survives with the help of his magic sword. Later, Branton meets secretly with Lodac. It turns out that Branton has Lodac's ring, which the magician lost and wants back desperately, as his powers are crippled without it. The kidnapping was solely intended to make Branton look good, in exchange for the ring. Sir Dennis of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

comes by and Lodac prepares a trap involving Mignonette, a beautiful Frenchwoman, who distracts her compatriot, before turning into an ugly hag who attacks him. Fortunately, George saves him with his magic shield. Lodac finally becomes aware that George is being aided by magic. He contacts Sybil and mocks her abilities. Stung, she tries to cast a spell to help George, but ends up inadvertently stripping away all his magical powers. Sir Dennis and Sir James of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

burn and perish from a heat spiral when they reconnoitre ahead. Branton then leads George and Sir Patrick of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

into a trap, revealing his partnership with Lodac before sealing them in a cave with deadly green apparitions. Patrick, through the power of his faith, enables George to escape at the cost of his own life. George sneaks into Lodac's castle and rescues Helene, only to be captured. The magician gives Helene (actually the hag in disguise) to Branton, but once he has the ring, he uses magic to put Branton's head on a plaque on the wall. George is tied up, but escapes with the help of a number of escaped shrunken prisoners. Sybil arrives and finally remembers the spell that restores George's powers, enabling him to slay the two-headed dragon and save Helene. Sybil steals the ring while Lodac is distracted. When the magician threatens the young couple with the seventh curse (himself), Sybil transforms herself into a large panther and kills him. Helene and George get married and the six knights are restored to life, Sybill smiles as she wears Ladoc's dragon ring.

Cast

* Basil Rathbone as Lodac *

Estelle Winwood Estelle Winwood (born Estelle Ruth Goodwin, 24 January 1883 – 20 June 1984) was an English actress who moved to the United States in mid-career and became celebrated for her wit and longevity. Early life and early career Born Estelle Ruth Go ...

as Sybil *

Gary Lockwood Gary Lockwood (born John Gary Yurosek; February 21, 1937) is an American actor. Lockwood is best known for his roles as astronaut Frank Poole in the film '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968), and as Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell in the '' Star ...

as Sir George *

Anne Helm Anne Helm (born September 12, 1938) is a retired Canadian-born actress and children's author (as Annie Helm), who primarily appeared in guest roles on episodes of various American television series. Her few film roles include playing Elvis Presl ...

as Princess Helene * Liam Sullivan as Sir Branton *

Maila Nurmi Maila Elizabeth Syrjäniemi (December 11, 1922 – January 10, 2008), known professionally as Maila Nurmi, was an American actress who created the campy 1950s character Vampira. She was raised in Astoria, Oregon, where she worked in tuna and s ...

as The Hag / Sorceress * Angelo Rossitto as 2nd Dwarf *

Danielle De Metz Danielle De Metz (born 27 July 1938) is a French actress who appeared in movies and television during the 1960s and early 1970s. Career Movie columnist Louella Parsons reported that film director Jean Negulesco met De Metz when he was in Paris, ...

as Mignonette *Merritt Stone as The King *Jacques Gallo as Sir Dennis of

*David Cross as Sir Pedro of

*John Mauldin as Sir Patrick of

*Taldo Kenyon as Sir Anthony of

*Angus Duncan as Sir James of

*Leroy Johnson as Sir Ulrich of

(Voice by

Paul Frees Solomon Hersh "Paul" Frees (June 22, 1920November 2, 1986) was an American actor, comedian, impressionist, and vaudevillian. He is known for his work on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Walter Lantz, Rankin/Bass, and Walt Disney theatrical cartoons during ...

, uncredited) *Marlene Callahan as Princess Grace *Nick Bon Tempi as Left Siamese Twin *Paul Bon Tempi as Right Siamese Twin *Ann Graves as Princess Laura *Lorrie Richards as Anne *Jack Kosslyn as The

Ogre An ogre (feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the world ...

*Ted Finn as 1st

Dwarf Dwarf or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore * Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...

Production

The film was shot on the

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

backlot A backlot is an area behind or adjoining a movie studio containing permanent exterior buildings for outdoor scenes in filmmaking or television productions, or space for temporary set construction. Uses Some movie studios build a wide variety of ...

and at

Samuel Goldwyn Studio Samuel Goldwyn Studio was the name that Samuel Goldwyn used to refer to the lot located on the corner of Formosa Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, California, as well as the offices and stages that his company, Samuel Goldwyn ...

Comic book adaptation

Dell Movie Classic: ''The Magic Sword'' (September 1962)

Legacy

The film appeared on a 1992 episode of '' Mystery Science Theater 3000''.Mystery Science Theater 3000: XXVI - DVD Talk
/ref> In a highly unusual admission, characters

Joel Robinson Joel Robinson is a fictional character featured in the American science fiction comedy television series ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''MST3K''). He was portrayed by series creator Joel Hodgson. If counting the locally-produced episodes, Jo ...

and

Tom Servo Tom Servo is a fictional character from the American science fiction comedy television show ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''MST3K''). Tom is one of two wise-cracking, robotic main characters of the show, built by Joel Robinson to act as a com ...

said the film was "pretty good for a Bert I. Gordon film" during a theater segment (though

Crow T. Robot Crow T. Robot is a fictional character from the American science fiction comedy television series '' Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''MST3K''). Crow is a robot, who, along with others, ridicules poor-quality B to Z movies. Overview Accordin ...

seemed to disagree). The writers of the show continued the praise in their book ''MST3K Amazing Colossal Episode Guide''.

References

External links

* * * *
Said MST3K episode on ShoutFactoryTV
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magic Sword, The United Artists films 1962 films 1960s fantasy adventure films American sword and sorcery films Films about Christianity Films set in the Middle Ages Films adapted into comics Films about dragons Saint George and the Dragon American fantasy adventure films Films directed by Bert I. Gordon Films scored by Richard Markowitz American films about revenge 1960s English-language films 1960s American films