On the birthday of Princess Elaine (Judi Meredith),the evil warlock Pendragon (Torin Thatcher),who is exiled from the Kingdom of Cornwall, and his minion Garna (Walter Burke) come disguised to the court and he gives a gift to Elaine. During the night, his gift becomes a giant that abducts the princess. However the farmer Jack (Kerwin Mathews) vanquishes the giant and rescues Elaine. Jack becomes a knight and Elaine and he fall in love with each other. King Mark (Dayton Lummis) assigns Jack to protect Elaine and to travel by ship with his daughter posing of peasants to a distant convent where she would be safe. However Pendragon's spy Lady Constance (Anna Lee) warns the sorcerer and he sends witches to bring Elaine to his castle. They kill the captain of the ship and the crew throws Jack overboard that is left behind with the captain's son Peter (Roger Mobley) in the sea. However they are rescued by the Viking Sigurd (Barry Kelley) that shows the Leprechaun Imp (Don Beddoe) to Jack. The Imp grants three wishes to Jack and together with Jack, Peter and Sigurd, they head to the island where the castle of Pendragon is to save the princess. Will they succeed in their mission?

"Jack the Giant Killer" is one of those naive adventures that are delightful matinée. The entertaining story is full of action, magic and evil creatures. Princess Elaine is gorgeous and the hero Jack is a farmer capable of fight like the most skilled swordsman. The special affects are dated in the present days but part this is one important component of these wonderful movies from the 60's. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Jack, O Matador de Gigantes" ("Jack, The Giant Killer")

If you forgive the fact the film is perhaps too short, this is a very charming, underrated and delightful film. What really made the movie were the visuals. They were absolutely phenomenal, and looked as though the effects co coordinator had gone to extreme lengths to make the whole production presentable. As far as the look of the film goes, it looks amazing, with the lavish costumes, stunning cinematography and colourful sets. True it isn't as high a budget as Sinbad, but it still looked great. I will admit I am still scared of the witches, god they are so freaky. Aside from the visuals, other things made this film a delight to watch. The story is well told and is true in style to the story while putting its own spin on it. The script is nicely constructed too, and the music is also outstanding. The performances were very good indeed. Kerwin Matthews is a very likable lead, and Judi Meredith makes for a stunning Princess Elaine. Pendragon was a great almost scary villain and Torin Thatcher(back with Matthews after the wonderful 7th Voyage of Sinbad) played him marvellously. All in all, a delightful film and worth the look. Shame it is isn't shown on TV much, and I can't find it anywhere. That is a shame really, because it is a good movie. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Kerwin Matthews and Torin Thatcher virtually repeat their roles in Jack the Giant Killer that they had previously done for Columbia's 7th Voyage of Sinbad four years earlier. It was no wonder that Columbia sued United Artists and producer Edward Small over this.

Even without special effects master Ray Harryhausen, the film is not bad in that department at all. For the juvenile viewers even today, they will have goosebumps over the witches, monsters, and giants that our intrepid hero Jack has to overcome.

I do like the fact that Kerwin Matthews, Torin Thatcher, and the rest of the cast play their roles with absolute sincerity. It would not have been appropriate to do it otherwise in a film meant for kids of all ages.

The plot is simple, evil prince Torin Thatcher has designs on young princess Judi Meredith and tries one scheme with a giant to capture her and spirit her away to his evil enchanted island. He and confederate Walter Burke are foiled by a brave peasant lad named Jack who slays the giant.

King Dayton Lummis makes Kerwin Matthews as Jack his daughter's protector and they have quite a few adventures before the happily ever after ending the fairy tale requires.

It's still a pretty good family film and a nice bit of nostalgia for folks like me who were kids when it did come out.