When this picture came out in '62 or '63, Mom took us 3 kids to see it at an old-style huge screened theatre. The titles of the movies(Bert I. Gordon's "The Magic Sword" was the other one) suggested to Mom that these were quaint, Disney-like fantasy films, so she figured we were safe from anything hideous. At the bursting from his elf disguise by the first monstrous giant in the movie, Mom realized she had made a boo-boo and suggested that we should seek milder entertainment. Our desperate protests put the wet blanket on poor Mom's wishes, and we sat through 2 film adventures that, to this day, are among our all-time favorites. As I understand it, this picture was produced to cash in on the tremendous success of "7th Voyage Of Sinbad", and the legal troubles that resulted from the vast similarities between the two films were the reason that the owners of the movie's rights were required to downgrade it into a ridiculous musical version. Thankfully, after years of being unavailable, the original untouched "Jack" came out on video, and it was about as much fun seeing it again as an old codger as it was as a 10-year-old.
For us "baby boomers" who started out on black-and-white TV and seeing such films as "King Kong", etc., when we were young, a stop-motion animated monster is just more scary, other-worldly, dangerous...whatever term fits an effective creature feature. Although Kerwin Matthews' many nemeses in "Jack The Giant Killer" don't quite stand alongside Ray Harryhausen's magnificent work, they still make this film well worth seeing for anyone who enjoys a good, old-fashioned mythical adventure.
Incidentally, if you have an idiotic sense of humour, the musical version is a scream to behold- especially the sequence of the evil wizard's servant returning to his master to report a failed kidnapping. :D :D
Everyone certainly has their own taste in motion pictures, but as far as this old monster movie watcher is concerned, "Jack The Giant Killer" is among the upper crust of its genre. Even after 31 years.
I'll say 8.5/10. God bless one and all...
