Small would take this personally and intending to make something of the movie, had it re-dubbed and made into a musical. Once released the film was panned by the critics and many parents were outraged that the film was too violent and scary for youngsters. Columbia sued Small on the grounds of plot similarity, thus holding up the release of the film in the UK for several years (it wasn't banned as some people seem to think). While the other effects, filmed in "Fantascope" come courtesy of Howard A. Harryhausen, however, said no, perhaps understandably, so his creatures were created for "Jack" by Project Unlimited under the watchful eye of one time Harryhausen understudy Jim Danforth.
So here, four years later, he gathered the same crew for what essentially is a retread of the plot of Sinbad's seventh in the hope of replicating said success.
A big success for Columbia, Harryhausen had offered it to UA producer Edward Small who turned it down, much to his regret. In 1958 director Nathan Juran had helmed The 7th Voyage of Sinbad with both Matthews and Thatcher starring as the good and evil characters respectively. The mere mention of stop motion automatically brings to mind the great name of Ray Harryhausen. It's loosely based on the traditional tale "Jack the Giant Killer" and features the use of stop motion animation.
There's quite a back story to this United Artists feature film. But Pendragon is not to be denied and a battle between good and evil commences. However, his plans are at first thwarted when farmers boy Jack (Kerwin Matthews) slays the giant sent by Pendragon to claim the Princess. It's the fairy tale land of Cornwall, England, and the Black Prince Pendragon (Torin Thatcher) plans to abduct Princess Elaine (Judith Meredith) so as to gain control of the land.
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