Jack the Giant Killer | |
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Directed by | Nathan H. Juran |
Written by | Orville H. Hampton Nathan H. Juran |
Based on | Jack the Giant Killer |
Produced by | Edward Small Robert E. Kent |
Starring | Kerwin Mathews Judi Meredith Torin Thatcher |
Cinematography | David S. Horsley |
Edited by | Grant Whytock |
Music by | Paul Sawtell Bert Shefter |
Production company | Zenith Pictures |
Distributed by | United Artists |
Release dates |
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Running time | 94 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Jack the Giant Killer is a 1962 American 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. [1]
The film is loosely based on the traditional tale "Jack the Giant Killer" and features extensive use of stop-motion animation. It was directed by Nathan H. Juran and later reedited and rereleased as a musical by producer Edward Small because Columbia Pictures, which released The 7th Voyage of Sinbad , 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, all of whom had worked on The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.
In the Duchy of Cornwall of fairy tale days, an evil sorcerer named Pendragon rules over giants, witches, hobgoblins 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. Pendragon arrives disguised as a foreign lord named Elidoras and presents Elaine with a music box containing a miniature anthropomorphic 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 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 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 imprisoned in a glass bottle by the king of the elves for having crafted seven-league boots 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 dragon 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 to guide Jack and the others home to Cornwall.
The fairy tale had been previously filmed by Hollywood in 1917, 1924 (a short), 1931 (a cartoon) and 1952. [1]
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. [2]
Small hired star Kerwin Mathews, director Nathan Juran and villain Torin Thatcher, all of whom had worked on The 7th Voyage of Sinbad . 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." [3]
The film was shot on Catalina Island and at Goldwyn Studios, [4] [5] 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 , supervised the stop-motion animation. Their team included animator Jim Danforth in one of his earliest jobs. Post-production took ten months, meaning the film was not released until 1962. [3]
Film rights would be litigated years later, and a musical version of the story was later released. [4]
Response was generally positive during initial release, with praise for its similarity to the works of Ray Harryhausen. [6] [7]
The film continues to maintain generally positive reception from contemporary critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 78% score based on nine reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. [8] Comparisons continue to be made[ by whom? ] 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 7th Voyage of Sinbad is a 1958 American 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 and produced by Charles H. Schneer.
Sinbad the Sailor is a fictional mariner and the hero of a story-cycle. He is described as hailing from Baghdad during the early Abbasid Caliphate. In the course of seven voyages throughout the seas east of Africa and south of Asia, he has fantastic adventures in magical realms, encountering monsters and witnessing supernatural phenomena.
"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 folklore, Breton mythology and Welsh Bardic lore. Some parallels to elements and incidents in Norse mythology have been detected in the tale, and the trappings of Jack's last adventure with the Giant Galigantus suggest parallels with French and Breton fairy tales such as Bluebeard. Jack's belt is similar to the belt in "The Valiant Little Tailor", and his magical sword, shoes, cap, and cloak are similar to those owned by Tom Thumb or those found in Welsh and Norse mythology.
Blunderbore is a giant of Cornish and English folklore. A number of folk and fairy tales include a giant named Blunderbore, most notably "Jack the Giant Killer". The stories usually associate him with the area of Penwith.
The culture of Cornwall forms part of the culture of the United Kingdom, but has distinct customs, traditions and peculiarities. Cornwall has many strong local traditions. After many years of decline, Cornish culture has undergone a strong revival, and many groups exist to promote Cornwall's culture and language today.
James Danforth 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. (1967). He later went on to work with Ray Harryhausen on the film Clash of the Titans (1981) to mainly do the animation of the winged horse Pegasus.
The 3 Worlds of Gulliver is a 1960 American Eastmancolor fantasy adventure film loosely based upon the 1726 novel Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift. The film stars Kerwin Mathews as the title character, June Thorburn as his fiancée Elizabeth, and child actress Sherry Alberoni as Glumdalclitch.
K. Gordon Murray (1922–1979) was an American producer, most notable for his redubbing and re-releasing of foreign fairy tale films for U.S. audiences. He is often cited as the "King of the Kiddie Matinee." Murray also marketed many of the Mexploitation luchador films, such as Santo films popular in Mexico, changing Santo's name to Samson and dubbing them in English.
Naftuli Hertz "Nathan" Juran was an Austrian-born 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, along with Richard Day and Thomas Little. His work on The Razor's Edge in 1946 also received an Academy nomination. In the 1950s, he began to direct, and was known for science fiction and fantasy films such as Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. He was also the brother of quality guru Joseph M. Juran.
Torin Herbert Erskine Thatcher was a British actor who was noted for his flashy portrayals of screen villains.
Ruth Manning-Sanders was an English poet and author born in Wales, known for a series of children's books for which she collected and related fairy tales worldwide. She published over 90 books in her lifetime
A Book of Giants is a 1963 anthology of 13 fairy tales from Europe that have been collected and retold by Ruth Manning-Sanders. It is one in a long series of such anthologies by Manning-Sanders. It was the first anthology to receive the familiar "A Book of..." title that Manning-Sanders would become notable for.
The Boy Who Cried Werewolf is a 1973 Technicolor horror film directed by Nathan H. Juran. The film stars Kerwin Mathews in the final film he and Juran made after their earlier work, which included The 7th Voyage of Sinbad. In this thriller, a boy visits his father in a secluded cabin; the father is attacked by a werewolf and then becomes one himself. The boy constantly tries to tell others, but no one will believe him.
Kerwin Mathews 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).
Cornish mythology is the folk tradition and mythology of the Cornish people. It consists partly of folk traditions developed in Cornwall and partly of traditions developed by Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium, often shared with those of the Breton and Welsh peoples. Some of this contains remnants of the mythology of pre-Christian Britain.
Siege of the Saxons is a 1963 British adventure film directed by Nathan H. Juran and released by Columbia Pictures. Starring Janette Scott and Ronald Lewis, the film is set in the time of King Arthur, but, as with many Arthurian themed films, the sets and style are from medieval England. The plot is also heavily influenced by Robin Hood.
"Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 and as Benjamin Tabart's moralized "The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk" in 1807. Henry Cole, publishing under pen name Felix Summerly, popularized the tale in The Home Treasury (1845), and Joseph Jacobs rewrote it in English Fairy Tales (1890). Jacobs' version is most commonly reprinted today, and is believed to be closer to the oral versions than Tabart's because it lacks the moralizing.
Jack the Giant Slayer is a 2013 American fantasy adventure film directed by Bryan Singer and written by Darren Lemke, Christopher McQuarrie and Dan Studney, from a story by Lemke and David Dobkin. The film, based on the British fairy tales "Jack the Giant Killer" and "Jack and the Beanstalk", stars Nicholas Hoult, Eleanor Tomlinson, Stanley Tucci, Ian McShane, Bill Nighy, Eddie Marsan and Ewan McGregor. The film tells the story of Jack, a young farmhand who must rescue a princess from a race of giants after inadvertently opening a gateway to their land in the sky.