''Jack the Giant Killer'' is a 1962 American

heroic fantasy Heroic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy in which events occur in a world where magic is prevalent and modern technology is nonexistent. The setting may be entirely fictitious in nature or based upon Earth with some additions. Unlike dark fiction, ...

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...

starring

Kerwin Mathews Kerwin Mathews (January 8, 1926 – July 5, 2007) was an American actor best known for playing the titular heroes in ''The 7th Voyage of Sinbad'' (1958), ''The Three Worlds of Gulliver'' (1960) and '' Jack the Giant Killer'' (1962). Early lif ...

in a

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

story about a young man who defends a princess against a sorcerer's giants and demons. The film is loosely based on the traditional tale "

Jack the Giant Killer "Jack the Giant Killer" is a Cornish fairy tale and legend about a young adult who slays a number of bad giants during King Arthur's reign. The tale is characterised by violence, gore and blood-letting. Giants are prominent in Cornish folklor ...

" and features extensive use of

stop-motion animation Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

. It was directed by Nathan H. Juran and later reedited and rereleased as a musical by producer

Edward Small Edward Small (born Edward Schmalheiser, February 1, 1891, Brooklyn, New York – January 25, 1977, Los Angeles) was a film producer from the late 1920s through 1970, who was enormously prolific over a 50-year career. He is best known for the movi ...

because Columbia Pictures, which released ''

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad ''The 7th Voyage of Sinbad'' is a 1958 Technicolor heroic fantasy adventure film directed by Nathan H. Juran and starring Kerwin Mathews, Torin Thatcher, Kathryn Grant, Richard Eyer, and Alec Mango. It was distributed by Columbia Pictures ...

'', threatened to sue Small. The original print without the music was released 30 years later with no protest from Columbia Pictures, while United Artists continues to own the rights to the musical version of the film. The film reunited Mathews, Juran, Small and actor

Torin Thatcher Torin Herbert Erskine Thatcher (15 January 1905 – 4 March 1981) was a British actor who was noted for his flashy portrayals of screen villains. Personal life Thatcher was born in Bombay, British India, to British parents, Torin James Blair T ...

, all of whom had worked on ''The 7th Voyage of Sinbad''.

Plot

In the

Duchy of Cornwall The Duchy of Cornwall ( kw, Duketh Kernow) is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch obtains possession of the duchy and the title of 'Duke of Cornwall' at ...

days, an evil sorcerer named Pendragon rules over

giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

witches Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have use ...

hobgoblin A hobgoblin is a household spirit, typically appearing in folklore, once considered helpful, but which since the spread of Christianity has often been considered mischievous. Shakespeare identifies the character of Puck in his ''A Midsummer Nigh ...

s and other dark creatures. A wizard named Herla defeats and exiles Pendragon and his followers to an uncharted island. After Herla later dies, there is no longer a defense against Pendragon, who vowed revenge. Years later, the kingdom celebrates the crowning of Princess Elaine, the daughter of King

Mark of Cornwall Mark of Cornwall ( la, Marcus, kw, Margh, cy, March, br, Marc'h) was a sixth-century King of Kernow (Cornwall), possibly identical with King Conomor. He is best known for his appearance in Arthurian legend as the uncle of Tristan and the husb ...

. Pendragon arrives disguised as a foreign lord named Elidoras and presents Elaine with a music box containing a miniature

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

dancing jester. That night, Pendragon peers into the sleeping Elaine's bed chamber and magically opens the music box, releasing the tiny jester. The creature grows into a hideous giant named

Cormoran Cormoran ( or ) is a giant associated with St. Michael's Mount in the folklore of Cornwall. Local tradition credits him with creating the island, in some versions with the aid of his wife Cormelian, and using it as a base to raid cattle from th ...

that the castle guards are powerless to stop as he abducts Princess Elaine. Cormoran takes Elaine to Pendragon's ship where a bumbling henchman named Garna is waiting. A brave young farmer named Jack rescues Elaine and slays Cormoran. In gratitude, King Mark knights Jack and appoints him as Elaine's protector. As Jack and Elaine begin to fall in love, King Mark and his chancellor are concerned over Pendragon's looming danger. The King assigns Jack to guide Princess Elaine to a convent across the sea where she will be safe. The plan is thwarted by Elaine's lady-in-waiting, Lady Constance who, bewitched by Pendragon, reveals the king's plan to him. Pendragon sends demonic witches to intercept the ship. Amid the chaos, the ship's captain is murdered, and Elaine is captured. Jack wants the ship to follow the kidnappers, but the crew refuses and cast Jack and Peter, the captain's young son, overboard. At his castle, Pendragon bewitches Elaine into an evil witch loyal to him; Pendragon returns to Cornwall and confronts King Mark. Pendragon tells the king he has one week to renounce his throne so that Pendragon can rule with Elaine by his side. If the king refuses, Elaine will be killed. After Pendragon vanishes, King Mark realizes Lady Constance betrayed him. Standing before a mirror, she appears in witch form. King Mark smashes the mirror, freeing Lady Constance from Pendragon's spell. At sea, a friendly Viking named Sigurd rescues Jack and Peter. He introduces them to the Imp, a

leprechaun A leprechaun ( ga, leipreachán/luchorpán) is a diminutive supernatural being in Irish folklore, classed by some as a type of solitary fairy. They are usually depicted as little bearded men, wearing a coat and hat, who partake in mischief. I ...

imprisoned in a glass bottle by the king of the

elves An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...

for having crafted

seven-league boots Seven-league boots are an element in European folklore. The boots allow the person wearing them to take strides of seven leagues per step, resulting in great speed. The boots are often presented by a magical character to the protagonist to aid i ...

from his pot of gold. The Imp (who only speaks in rhyming sentences) explains that his three remaining gold coins can each grant a wish to an honest person. Sigurd has possessed the bottle without being granted any wishes, indicating he is not honest. In exchange, Jack must free the Imp once the wishes are granted. Jack agrees, and the Imp guides them to Pendragon's island. With the first two wishes, Jack approaches Pendragon's castle and secures Elaine's release, unaware that she has been transformed. As they journey home, Elaine gives Jack a sleeping potion. When she touches the Imp's bottle, her evil nature causes it to grow hot in her hand and she reflexively casts it into the sea. Pendragon captures Jack and his companions and attempts to force Jack to reveal the Imp's whereabouts by turning Peter and Sigurd into a chimpanzee and a dog, respectively. Jack, however, does not know the Imp's location. When Jack is alone with Elaine, she reveals her witch form to him. With Peter and Sigurd's aid, Jack breaks free and smashes Elaine's mirror reflection, breaking the spell. As the friends flee the castle, Pendragon conjures a two-headed giant. The Imp's bottle has washed ashore, and he grants Jack's final wish by summoning a sea monster that kills the giant. Pendragon transforms himself into a hideous winged

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

and attacks the ship. Jack kills him after a fierce battle, causing Pendragon's castle to collapse, crushing Garna and the witches. Sigurd and Peter are restored to human form. As promised, Jack frees the Imp, who uses his magical boots to return to Ireland while creating a

rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

to guide Jack and the others home to Cornwall.

Cast

as Jack *

Judi Meredith Judi Clare Meredith (born Judith Clare Boutin; October 13, 1936 – April 30, 2014) was an American actress. Early life Born on October 13, 1936 to Herbert Boutin and Janice M. Starr in Portland, Oregon, Meredith graduated from St. Mary's Acade ...

as Princess Elaine *

as Pendragon *

Walter Burke Walter Lawrence Burke (August 25, 1908 – August 4, 1984) was an American character actor of stage, film, and television whose career in entertainment spanned over a half century. Although he was a native of New York, Burke's Irish ancest ...

as Garna *

Don Beddoe Donald Theophilus Beddoe (July 1, 1903 – January 19, 1991) was an American character actor. Early years Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Beddoe was the son of Dan Beddoe, a Welsh classical singer, and his wife Mary. He graduated from the ...

as the Imp *

Barry Kelley Edward Barry Kelley (August 19, 1908 – June 5, 1991) was an American actor on Broadway in the 1930s and 1940s and in films during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. The heavy-set actor created the role of Ike in '' Oklahoma!'' on Broadway. His l ...

as Sigurd *

Dayton Lummis Dayton Lummis (August 8, 1903 – March 23, 1988) was an American film, television and theatre actor. He was perhaps best known for playing the role of General Douglas MacArthur in the 1955 film ''The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell''. Lummis d ...

as King Mark *

Anna Lee Anna Lee, MBE (born Joan Boniface Winnifrith; 2 January 1913 – 14 May 2004) was a British actress, labelled by studios "The British Bombshell". Early life Anna Lee was born Joan Boniface Winnifrith in Ightham, (pronounced 'Item'), Kent, the ...

as Lady Constance *

Roger Mobley Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

as Peter *

Robert Gist Robert Marion Gist (October 1, 1917 – May 21, 1998) was an American actor and film director. Life and career Gist was reared around the stockyards of Chicago, Illinois, during the Great Depression. Reform school-bound after injuring an ...

as Scottish Captain * Tudor Owen as Chancellor * Ken Mayer as Boatswain * Helen Wallace (''uncredited'') as Jack's mother

Production

The fairy tale had been previously filmed by Hollywood in 1917, 1924 (a short), 1931 (a cartoon) and 1952. Edward Small announced the film in 1959, saying he had developed the special effects over two years. Filming was originally meant to be started in September 1959, in 70-mm and widescreen, but was delayed several more years. Small hired star

, director

Nathan Juran Naftuli Hertz "Nathan" Juran (September 1, 1907 – October 23, 2002) was a Romanian film art director, and later film and television director. As an art director, he won the Oscar for Best Art Direction in 1942 for ''How Green Was My Valley'', ...

and villain

, all of whom had worked on ''

''. Juran said: "Eddie Small was smart. He wanted to make some money. He tried to get as close to ''Seventh Voyage'' as he could. He thought he could cash in by doing another picture like it. Unfortunately, he couldn't get the same special effects." The film was shot on Catalina Island and at Goldwyn Studios, and shooting ended in August 1960. Juran divided the special effects duties between two companies: The Howard A. Anderson Company handled the photographic effects, while Project Unlimited, which had just won an Oscar for ''

The Time Machine ''The Time Machine'' is a science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, published in 1895. The work is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel by using a vehicle or device to travel purposely and selectively for ...

'', supervised the

. Their team included animator

Jim Danforth James Danforth (born July 13, 1940) is an American stop-motion animator, known for model-animation, matte painting, and for his work on ''When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth'' (1970), a theme-sequel to Ray Harryhausen's ''One Million Years B.C.'' (1 ...

in one of his earliest jobs. Post-production took ten months, meaning the film was not released until 1962. Film rights would be litigated years later, and a musical version of the story was later released.

Reception

Response was generally positive during initial release, with praise for its similarity to the works of

Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who created a form of stop motion model animation known as "Dynamation". His works include the animation for '' Might ...

. The film continues to maintain generally positive reception from contemporary critics. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, it holds a 75% score based on eight reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. Comparisons continue to be made between the film and the ''Sinbad'' trilogy by both positive and negative reviews, both sides largely agreeing the ''Sinbad'' films have superior visual effects. The film was also spoofed by

RiffTrax RiffTrax is an American company that produces scripted humorous commentary tracks which are synced to mostly public domain feature films, education shorts, and television episodes. With the talents of former ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''M ...

.RiffTrax Live: Jack the Giant Killer, Rifftrax
/ref>

References

External links