Story of movie Jack The Giant Killer 1962 Film : Jack the Giant Killer is a 1962 heroic fantasy adventure film starring Kerwin Mathews in a fairy tale story about a young man who defends a princess against a sorcerer's giants and demons.
| Jack the Giant Killer | |
|---|---|
Original theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Nathan H. Juran |
| Produced by | Edward Small Robert E. Kent |
| Written by | Orville H. Hampton Nathan H. Juran |
| Based on | Jack the Giant Killer |
| Starring | Kerwin Mathews Judi Meredith and Torin Thatcher |
| Music by | Paul Sawtell Bert Shefter |
| Cinematography | David S. Horsley |
| Edited by | Grant Whytock |
Production company | Zenith Pictures |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date | May 18, 1962 (West Germany) June 13, 1962 (United States) |
Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
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. The reason for the change to music was on the grounds that Columbia Pictures, which released The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, threatened to sue Small. The original print without the music got 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 brought together Mathews, Juran, Small, and actor Torin Thatcher, all four of whom worked on 7th Voyage.
Screenplay
In the Duchy of Cornwall of fairy tale days, an evil sorcerer named Pendragon, ruler of giants, witches, hobgoblins and all evil creatures, was defeated by the wizard, Herla, and along with his disciples, exiled to an uncharted, unknown island. Pendragon, however, vows revenge and Herla later dies, meaning that a threat against Pendragon no longer exists. Years later, the kingdom celebrates the crowning of Princess Elaine (Judi Meredith). The reception goes well until Pendragon (Torin Thatcher) arrives disguised as a foreign lord; as a birthday gift, he gives Elaine a magical music box with a small anthropomorphic jester inside that walks and dances. When Elaine is asleep later that night, Pendragon uses his magic to turn the music box jester into a hideous giant named Cormoran, who captures Elaine. The castle guards try to stop the giant, but he overpowers them with relative ease and escapes. Cormoran takes Elaine to a ship run by Garna (Walter Burke) Pendragon's sidekick, but before it can sail, a brave farmer named Jack (Kerwin Mathews) rescues Elaine; Jack then fights Cormoran and slays the giant. In gratitude, King Mark (Dayton Lummis) makes Jack Elaine's protector and entrusts him to safely guide her to a convent across the sea. What he does not know, however, is that Elaine's waiting-maid, Lady Constance (Anna Lee), is actually a witch in league with Pendragon and reveals the king's plan to him.
Enraged at having his plan foiled, Pendragon makes up another one, determined to stop Jack. While Jack and Elaine are planning their trip, King Mark and his servants discuss the potential danger Pendragon now poses. While Jack and Elaine are falling in love during their journey, Pendragon sends his demonic witches to intercept Jack's ship. In the chaos, the ship's captain (Robert Gist) is murdered by one of the witches and Elaine is captured. When Jack attempts to follow the kidnappers, the crew, spooked by the creatures, mutiny and cast Jack and his friend Peter (Roger Mobley), the captain's young son, overboard. At his castle, Pendragon uses his powers to turn Elaine into an evil witch, then returns to Cornwall and confronts King Mark, telling him he has one week to renounce the throne and let Elaine rule alongside Pendragon, or else Elaine will die. After he vanishes, King Mark realizes Constance has betrayed him, and when she stands before a mirror, she appears as a witch. King Mark then breaks the mirror, thereby freeing Constance from Pendragon's power.
In the sea, a friendly viking named Sigurd (Barry Kelley) rescues Jack and Peter and introduces them to the Imp (Don Beddoe), a leprechaun imprisoned in a bottle by the king of the elves for crafting seven-league boots from his pot of gold. The Imp explains that his three remaining gold coins can each grant a wish to an honest man (the fact that Sigurd has possessed the bottle for some time without being granted any wishes demonstrates that he does not qualify), on the condition that Jack break open the bottle to free him once all three are used up. With the use of the Imp's first two wishes, Jack is able to approach Pendragon and coerce him into giving Elaine back, unaware that she has been transformed and now holds allegiance with Pendragon. Upon their return journey, Elaine disables Jack with a sleeping potion, but when she touches the Imp's bottle, it grows hot because of her evil nature, causing her to accidentally cast it into the sea. Pendragon then captures Jack and his friends and attempts to make Jack tell him the whereabouts of the Imp by turning Peter and Sigurd into a chimpanzee and a dog, respectively. When Pendragon still cannot force Jack's compliance (because Jack genuinely does not know where the Imp is at the moment), he leaves him with Elaine, who finally reveals her witch form to him. With Peter and Sigurd's aid, Jack manages to break free and smash Elaine's mirror reflection, restoring her to normal.
As the friends flee the castle, Pendragon conjures up a giant similar to Cormoran (but this time with two heads) to block their path. As they retreat, they find the Imp washed ashore, who grants Jack's final wish by summoning a sea monster, which kills the two-headed giant. As a last resort, Pendragon transforms himself into a dog-like dragon and attacks the ship, but Jack kills him after a fierce battle. In effect, Pendragon's death causes the destruction of his castle, crushing Garna, the hobgoblins and the witches in the process, while Sigurd and Peter are restored to human form. Jack then honors his promise and frees the Imp from his bottle and the leprechaun uses his boots to return to Ireland, while giving Jack and his friends a lead for their triumphant return to Cornwall.
- Kerwin Mathews as Jack
- Judi Meredith as Princess Elaine
- Torin Thatcher as Pendragon
- Walter Burke as Garna
- Don Beddoe as the Imp
- Barry Kelley as Sigurd
- Dayton Lummis as King Mark
- Anna Lee as Lady Constance
- Roger Mobley as Peter
- Robert Gist as Scottish Captain
- Tudor Owen as Chancellor
- Ken Mayer as Boatswain
- Helen Wallace as Jack's mother (uncredited)
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 the star (Kerwin Mathews), director (Nathan Juran) and villain (Torin Thatcher) of The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. "Eddie Small was smart," said Juran. "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 partly shot on Catalina Island and at Goldwyn Studios. Shooting ended in August 1960. Juran divided the special effects duties between two companies. The Howard A. Anderson Company handled the photographic effects. Project Unlimited, who had just won an Oscar for The Time Machine, supervised the stop motion animation. Their team included Jim Danforth, doing one of his first jobs. Post-production took ten months, meaning the film was not released until 1962.
The film wound up in a lawsuit. A musicalised version of the story was released.
Reviews were generally positive.
A film directed by Bryan Singer and starring Nicholas Hoult was released on March 1, 2013, titled Jack the Giant Slayer. It had previously been announced as titled Jack the Giant Killer, but it is not a remake of the 1962 film, but a reworking of the traditional story Jack and the Beanstalk with elements from other stories such as Jack the Giant Killer.
- Heroic fantasy
- List of stop-motion films
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