The Magic Sword

Year releasted: 1962

by Keith Phipps
October 20th, 2004

Tagline:
"The most incredible weapon ever wielded! The most unbelievable sights ever seen!"

Plot:
In a magical land with all sorts of magical goings-on, a beak-nosed evil wizard (Basil Rathbone) uses magic to kidnap a princess (Anne Helm), for whom he proposes a grim fate: "The princess will make a delicate dish for my dragon." But Rathbone fails to anticipate the rescue attempts of young knight Gary Lockwood, reluctantly aided by his magic-dealing adoptive mother (Estelle Winwood). Also, Lockwood has a magic sword.

Key scenes:
After stealing the magic sword from Winwood, Lockwood unfreezes seven magic knights who come from seven different nations, or at least are magically gifted with the ability to passably simulate accents from seven different nations. On their quest, they encounter many obstacles, including a monkey-like ogre, a beautiful damsel who's actually a hag in disguise, and treachery within their ranks, in the form of special guest knight Liam Sullivan, who turns out to be in cahoots with Rathbone. Finally, Lockwood must brave the ultimate threat: a delicacy-craving, two-headed, fire-spewing dragon that bears a strange resemblance to a heavily costumed snapping turtle.

Can easily be distinguished by:
Unlike most sword-and-sorcery movies, this one features a talking chimp and a heated magical duel between a man best known for playing Sherlock Holmes and an old lady best known for being fondled by Zero Mostel in The Producers.

Sign that it was made in 1962:

Helm's bust-enhancing damsel gear wouldn't look out of place in a beach movie.

Timeless message:
When magic swords fail, you must believe in yourself. And hope your sword gets its magic back in time for the big dragon fight.

Memorable quotes:
Threatening to bring the Freudian subtext too close to the surface, Lockwood grins hugely as he initially grips his new sword, exclaiming, "It feels like a part of my own body!"