Jack the Giant Killer

A wicked sorcerer named Pendragon plots to take the throne of Cornwall by forcing the king to give up his crown and marrying the king's daughter, Princess Elaine. He has a giant seize the princess, but a humble farmer called Jack witnesses the abduction, kills the giant and frees her. That rescue is only the start of the struggle, as Pendragon still commands witches, magic and a range of monstrous servants, and Jack has to keep the sorcerer's power from reaching the kingdom.

Nathan H. Juran directed and co-wrote the film with Orville H. Hampton, and Edward Small produced it for Edward Small Productions on a budget of about three million dollars. By the time it appeared in 1962, Juran had already made the fantasy adventure The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and the science-fiction films 20 Million Miles to Earth and Attack of the 50 Foot Woman; First Men in the Moon followed in 1964. Kerwin Mathews, who had led The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, plays Jack, with Judi Meredith as Elaine and Torin Thatcher as Pendragon. Walter Burke, Don Beddoe and Barry Kelley appear among the twenty credited cast members.

The film runs 94 minutes and blends adventure, family and fantasy. On IMDb it holds a rating of 6.3 from roughly 3,500 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.6 from a much smaller number of votes, indicating a modest but enduring following rather than wide acclaim.