The Magic Sword (film)
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| The Magic Sword | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Bert I. Gordon |
| Produced by | Bert I. Gordon |
| Written by | Bernard Schoenfeld |
| Starring | Basil Rathbone Estelle Winwood Anne Helm Gary Lockwood Liam Sullivan |
| Music by | Richard Markowitz |
| Cinematography | Nicolas Vogel Paul Vogel |
| Editing by | Harry Gerstad |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) | 1962 |
| Running time | 80 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Magic Sword is a 1961 live action fantasy film, mainly aimed at children, based loosely on the medieval legend of St. George and the Dragon. Also known as St. George and the Dragon, St. George and the Seven Curses,The Seven Curses of Lordac
Sir George (Gary Lockwood) is the foster son of Sybil (Estelle Winwood), an elderly witch. Not much is said about his background, other than that his parents are dead and he is of "royal blood" He is secretly in love with Princess Helene(Anne Helm), who is kidnapped early in the film by the evil wizard Lodac (Basil Rathbone). George wishes to go on a quest to liberate his lady love, but Sybil believes he is too young, comforting the boy by showing him the magic sword, steed, suit of armour and magically frozen knights he will command when he is 21. The impatient George however tricks Sybil into a locked underground compartment and takes off with his magical implements, and revived company of knights. Sir George and his party then appear before the king and insist on journeying to Lodacs castle in order to free his daughter, even though this miffs the knight who had previously commissioned.
Interestingly, each of Sir Georges knights seem to be named after a saint, or another figure associated with their homeland.
Sir Dennis of France, after St. Dennis, patron saint of France
Sir Pedro of Spain
Sir Patrick of Ireland, after Saint Patrick, patron saint of Ireland
Sir Anthony of Italy
Sir James of Scotland, James was the name of a number of Scottish kings
Sir Ulrich of Germany, perhaps after St. Ulrich of Augsburg, Germany
The film is notable for its many mythological and folklore motifs and references, such as the heroes journey, the abduction of the princess, (named Helene, recalling Helen of Troy), Sybil, the name of Georges foster mother, was the name of a witch in Greco-Roman mythology, and of course, the Perseus/ St. George motif.
The film appeared on a 1992 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. In a highly unusual move, Joel Robinson and Tom Servo said the movie was "pretty good" during a theater segment (though Crow T. Robot seemed to disagree). The writers of show continued the praise in their Amazing Colossal Episode Guide, and the film is one of a handful of MST3K episodes considered watchable on its own.
