L'Épée enchantée

Why a re people so unkind to this very funny fantasy. Any adult can tell it is not meant to be taken as some sort of 'magnificent spectacle'. Yes it is low budget but it knows it, and Basil and Estelle seemed to be having a very sly old time brewing potent hammy acting to fling at each other and the hopeful cast. Kids love this film even today; it has the sort of 'crummy but fascinating' manginess cheap color fantasies have. Does anyone remember those equally hilarious and ghastly 'storybook productions' like Mother Goose or Jack and the Beanstalk? Terrible but lovably hopeless and thoroughly entertaining. THE MAGIC SWORD even has a pre 2001 Gary Lockwood; boy I bet he's glad Kubrick saw something in him after this. Kubrick would have seen this, you know, I am sure he saw everything Gary Lockwood made before casting him in 2001. And he still hired him. Besides, MAGIC SWORD has the unforgettable Estelle Winwood. She is like Edward Everett Horton in a dress. Pantomime? Sure. Hilarious? Yes. Enjoyable? Thoroughly in its mangy matinée way. Can you believe I saw this on a double feature with SINK THE BISMARK! Such were kids matinées in Australia in 1962. The next week we saw CAPTAIN SINBAD which almost looks like the out takes of THE MAGIC SWORD.

To compare this film unfavorably to the high standards we hold for today's films would be unjust. This film has to be judged by the era that made it. Great films like "Jason and the Argonauts", "Hercules Unchained" and others of that ilk were popular and had an audience albeit a limited one. I remember seeing this film at the ripe age of six and being awestruck and terrified. Basil Rathbone was sinister as the evil wizard. The dragon seemed an insurmountable obstacle to the hero. There were little people inside a large bird cage crying for help,an evil temptress witch with green glowing eyes that lured one of the good guys to his doom and a horrible bubbling swamp that ate the flesh off of one of the good knights when his horse stumbled and he fell in. I'm glad I was six when I saw this film. I've remembered it for years and just thought to pay it a visit again on this site.

"The Magic Sword" is one of B-movie producer/director Bert I. Gordon's best known films. Granted, it's no masterpiece, but it is enjoyable on it's own terms. The plot, very loosely based on the 'St. George And The Dragon' legend, has a princess (Anne Helm) kidnapped by evil sorcerer Lodac (Basil Rathbone) and hunted by lovesick George (Gary Lockwood). Aided by his foster mother Sybil (Estelle Winwood) a good witch, George vows to save the princess and destroy Lodac. Although this plot has been done to death, it's the acting by the splendid Rathbone and Winwood which keeps this film consistently entertaining. Add some modest, but impressive special effects, and you have a very entertaining minor adventure for the family. Beware: this public domain film is available on several cut-rate DVDs, but only the newly released one from MGM/UA home video is worth the price. They have a beautiful print of the film (it was originally released by United Artists) which contains a fun theatrical trailer. This is the one to get!

I was 7 years old when this movie came out, and although I didn't see it then, I bet I would have loved it. Swashbuckling knights, a quest, plenty of adventure, some pretty evil bad guys, and a few memorable creepy images. Of course, I wound up seeing it at the age of 47, and I have to admit it's for the most part pretty cheesy. Gary Lockwood and Anne Helm are so badly miscast it's hilarious, the attempts at humor are excruciatingly bad, the plot is kind of lumpy (the 7 curses don't seem to have any pattern to them), and so on. But hey -- some films are for kids and not adults, and this is about as good as you're going to get from Bert I. Gordon. Let's give him his due on this one.

I originally saw this picture in the summer of 1962,as part of a Saturday afternoon double feature,and enjoyed it at that time.Last summer,I got it again on video,and watched it.It still wasn't bad,-for a 10 year old.This movie was obviously intended for kids,and they will probably get a big kick out of it.And the dragon WASN'T as bad as most people think.