This film is aimed squarely at kids in the same manner as JACK THE GIANT KILLER and Harryhausen's SINBAD movies. While it successfully builds a kind of fairy tale ambiance about it, there's no denying that this film is tacky in the extreme. Schlock director Bert I. Gordon tries to disguise his ultra-low budget with some rather tatty-looking special effects but the result is, to be kind, hopeless. Thankfully this makes the film highly enjoyable in a so-bad-it's-good kind of way; and as pure kid's entertainment, it's hard to beat.
Gordon was a director renowned for his giant monster movies of the '50s; indeed this work earned him the nickname Mr B.I.G. So it comes as no surprise that THE MAGIC SWORD has its fair share of back-projected monstrosities including an ogre and a two-headed dragon. While these effects are cheap and don't bear close scrutiny, they also happen to be a lot of tacky fun in the same way that the mechanical monsters of the Italian peplum films were. Although the sets are small and closed, and the camera work dark and limited, scenes of flowing mist and dead forests certainly hit the mark when it comes to atmosphere-setting.
Most of this film consists of George's epic journey to Lodac's castle; this part is great fun and packed with bad actors getting killed. Unfortunately Gordon also saw fit to intersperse some lame comedy scenes involving George's foster-mother, a witch who tries to help her son. Although the veteran Estelle Winwood's acting is quite amusing, her lines are not, and these scenes are out of place and silly. But who would guess that the actress was eighty years of age when she made this film? Gary Lockwood takes the role of the square-jawed lead who is, it has to be said, far too young to have any presence; Lockwood is wooden in the extreme, his acting style painful. Thankfully the script doesn't require much more of him than to sit around on his horse or fight enemies, which he does manage to do. So it's left to "star" name Basil Rathbone to do his best with the material he was given, and he adopts an agreeably hammy method when delivering his lines, making the best of his flamboyant villain. Rathbone plays his sorcerer Lopac in just the same old-school manner as contemporary Vincent Price would have done, and is the best thing in this film. Although the rest of the cast are generally forgettable, it is worth noting the inclusion of three interesting actors in cameo roles; these are James Bond's Richard Kiel credited as a "pinhead", veteran dwarf actor Angelo Rossitto as a (you guessed it) dwarf, and, best of all, cult icon Vampira as a make-up covered hag.
Although cheap and disappointing as a whole, the various dangers and perils that our heroes face are varied and interesting. Things kick off with a back-projected ogre whose main weapon is to throw logs at the soldiers, thus killing them. In the end, George and his magic horse manage to run rings around the ogre and confuse him, at which point George runs him through with his sword! The second peril is a red pond which dissolves people, turning them into skeletons; I particularly liked this one. The third is an evil ugly old hag who can disguise herself as a beautiful young woman, thus fooling an idiot Frenchman in the group. The fourth peril is a hot, glowing yellow circle thing in the air which hypnotises two of the men and strips their flesh from their bodies, turning them into horribly mutilated victims (a nasty effect) who promptly disappear into thin air.
The fifth peril is inside a cave, and consists of a row of glowing ghost heads who possess and kill another man (this is the film's most unintentionally funniest scene). The sixth peril is by far the most impressive, a giant mechanical two-headed dragon which breathes fire; the effort and work that has gone into this effect is something to behold and it shows. It may not be the most convincing of screen dragons but it's certainly one of the nicest to look at. The seventh peril is...well, that would be saying. Although THE MAGIC SWORD never won any awards (and most likely never will) for its acting, effects, and direction, it is diverting enough to fantasy fans and fun in a tacky way. Recommended!
Gordon was a director renowned for his giant monster movies of the '50s; indeed this work earned him the nickname Mr B.I.G. So it comes as no surprise that THE MAGIC SWORD has its fair share of back-projected monstrosities including an ogre and a two-headed dragon. While these effects are cheap and don't bear close scrutiny, they also happen to be a lot of tacky fun in the same way that the mechanical monsters of the Italian peplum films were. Although the sets are small and closed, and the camera work dark and limited, scenes of flowing mist and dead forests certainly hit the mark when it comes to atmosphere-setting.
Most of this film consists of George's epic journey to Lodac's castle; this part is great fun and packed with bad actors getting killed. Unfortunately Gordon also saw fit to intersperse some lame comedy scenes involving George's foster-mother, a witch who tries to help her son. Although the veteran Estelle Winwood's acting is quite amusing, her lines are not, and these scenes are out of place and silly. But who would guess that the actress was eighty years of age when she made this film? Gary Lockwood takes the role of the square-jawed lead who is, it has to be said, far too young to have any presence; Lockwood is wooden in the extreme, his acting style painful. Thankfully the script doesn't require much more of him than to sit around on his horse or fight enemies, which he does manage to do. So it's left to "star" name Basil Rathbone to do his best with the material he was given, and he adopts an agreeably hammy method when delivering his lines, making the best of his flamboyant villain. Rathbone plays his sorcerer Lopac in just the same old-school manner as contemporary Vincent Price would have done, and is the best thing in this film. Although the rest of the cast are generally forgettable, it is worth noting the inclusion of three interesting actors in cameo roles; these are James Bond's Richard Kiel credited as a "pinhead", veteran dwarf actor Angelo Rossitto as a (you guessed it) dwarf, and, best of all, cult icon Vampira as a make-up covered hag.
Although cheap and disappointing as a whole, the various dangers and perils that our heroes face are varied and interesting. Things kick off with a back-projected ogre whose main weapon is to throw logs at the soldiers, thus killing them. In the end, George and his magic horse manage to run rings around the ogre and confuse him, at which point George runs him through with his sword! The second peril is a red pond which dissolves people, turning them into skeletons; I particularly liked this one. The third is an evil ugly old hag who can disguise herself as a beautiful young woman, thus fooling an idiot Frenchman in the group. The fourth peril is a hot, glowing yellow circle thing in the air which hypnotises two of the men and strips their flesh from their bodies, turning them into horribly mutilated victims (a nasty effect) who promptly disappear into thin air.
The fifth peril is inside a cave, and consists of a row of glowing ghost heads who possess and kill another man (this is the film's most unintentionally funniest scene). The sixth peril is by far the most impressive, a giant mechanical two-headed dragon which breathes fire; the effort and work that has gone into this effect is something to behold and it shows. It may not be the most convincing of screen dragons but it's certainly one of the nicest to look at. The seventh peril is...well, that would be saying. Although THE MAGIC SWORD never won any awards (and most likely never will) for its acting, effects, and direction, it is diverting enough to fantasy fans and fun in a tacky way. Recommended!