Jack the Giant Killer

"Jack the Giant Killer" (1962) is an American fantasy adventure you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Nathan Juran and starring Kerwin Mathews. The sorcerer Pendragon wants Cornwall's throne and sends a giant to kidnap the princess. Farm lad Jack kills the giant bare-handed. That's just the opening.

Pendragon keeps sending things: witches, sea monsters, stop-motion creatures built by the special effects crew. Juran had already paired with Mathews on "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" (1958), and both men knew how to ride the energy of this kind of picture. The practical creature work is the main draw — it holds up as an artifact of an era when these things were built by hand. Solid family adventure with a tagline the film actually delivers on. Stream "Jack the Giant Killer" (1962) online on iFILM.