The Magic Sword (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Magic Sword | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
|
| 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) | 1961 |
| Running time | 80 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Magic Sword (also known as St. George and the Dragon, St. George and the Seven Curses, and The Seven Curses of Lordac) is a 1961 live action fantasy film, mainly aimed at children, based loosely on the medieval legend of St. George and the Dragon.
The film appeared on a 1992 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. In a highly unusual admission, Joel Robinson and Tom Servo said the movie was "pretty good for a Bert I. Gordon film" during a theater segment (though Crow T. Robot seemed to disagree). The writers of the 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.
Now in public domain because of missing copyright indication.
[edit] Plot summary
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 wants to go on a quest to liberate his lady love, but Sybil believes he is too young, comforting the youth by showing him a magic sword, a steed, a 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 Lodac's castle to rescue his daughter, even though this angers the knight who had previously been given the task.
[edit] Mythological references
The film is notable for its many mythological and folklore motifs and references. Each of Sir George's knight's seems to be named after a saint, or another figure associated with his homeland:
- Sir Dennis of France, after Saint 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 being the name of a number of Scottish kings
- Sir Ulrich of Germany, perhaps in honor of Saint Ulrich of Augsburg
Sybil, George's foster mother, was the name of a witch in Greco-Roman mythology, and of course, there is the Perseus/ St. George motif.
