The Magic Sword

Sir George (Gary Lockwood, a.k.a. Frank Poole from 2001: A Space Odyssey) is the foster son of Sybil (Estelle Winwood), an elderly witch. Not much is said about his background, other than that his parents are dead and he is of Royal Blood. He is secretly in love with Princess Helene (Anne Helm), who is kidnapped early in the film by the evil wizard Lodac (Basil Rathbone).

George wants to go on a quest to liberate his lady love, but Sybil believes he is too young. She comforts the youth by showing him a magic sword, a steed, a suit of armour, and a group of magically frozen knights -- all his to command when he turns 21. But the impatient George tricks Sybil into a locked underground cellar and immediately takes off with his magical implements and the revived company of knights.

Sir George and his party then appear before the king, who looks like Grady from Sanford and Son, and insist on journeying to Lodac's castle to rescue his daughter, even though this angers the knight who had previously been given the task. To save the princess Helene, George and his companions must go through Lodac's seven curses.

This film also had some of its footage reused in The Man Who Saves the World.

For the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode see here.


 * Authority Equals Asskicking
 * Back From the Dead: Sir George's band of knights somehow come back to life.
 * Maybe Lodac's curses had No Ontological Inertia.
 * Baleful Polymorph: Lodac turned the Hag into a spider.
 * Big Bad: Lodac.
 * B-Movie
 * Boring Invincible Hero: George. His armor protects him from anything, his horse can run at super speed, and his enchanted sword can kill an ogre and a dragon in a single stab. In fact, it takes Sybil depowering him on accident to introduce anything resembling danger to the guy.
 * This is a rare case of this trope being justified. After all, his gear was meant to let him take on Lodac, the most powerful black magician in the world (or at least in the top ten).
 * Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys: Subverted; the French knight is probably the bravest out of the crew.
 * Cool Horse: George's horse.
 * Cool Sword: George's sword.
 * Credits Gag: A "dragon trainer" is listed among the film's crew.
 * Death Is Cheap: The party of knights drop like flies throughout the film, then are resurrected at the end.
 * Disposable Woman: The two princesses before Princess Helena.
 * Damsel in Distress: Princess Helene.
 * The Dragon: Classic Western style, fire breathing and all.
 * Everything's Better with Monkeys
 * Everything's Better with Princesses: Princess Helene.
 * Evil Sorcerer: Lodac
 * Good Witch Versus Bad Witch
 * Here There Were Dragons
 * Hero Secret Service: The frozen knights are this for George
 * Heroic Fantasy
 * Hey, It's That Guy!: Gary Lockwood
 * Basil Rathbone
 * Estelle Winwood
 * Hot Mom: Sybil, for her age
 * Jerkass: Sir Branton
 * Knight in Shining Armor: George and his Knights.
 * The Lost Woods
 * Magic Mirror: Sybil's mirror.
 * Crystal Ball: The magic pool George uses in his first appearance.
 * Master of Illusion: Lodac
 * Mauve Shirt: The team of knights.
 * Multinational Team: George's band of knights. We have Spain, France, Germany, Ireland, Scotland, and Italy representing.
 * Obviously Evil: Lodac.
 * Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Sir Patrick.
 * Parental Abandonment: George is an orphan of Royal Blood but movie doesn't explain more than that.
 * Power Glows: George's sword glows when it does... whatever exactly it does.
 * Power Perversion Potential: The pond George has been using to "watch" Princess Helene.
 * The Quest
 * Ravens and Crows
 * Ring of Power: Lodac's, which he lost. Branton found it, and it's how he's getting Lodac to help in the princess kidnapping gambit. In the end, Sybil gets it.
 * Stop Trick
 * Supervillain Lair
 * Swamps Are Evil: They suck up your dudes and strip them to the bone.
 * Too Dumb to Live: Sir Branton. He cannot be harmed by Lodac while wearing his Ring of Power. Instead of using this protection to finish off Lodac himself, he trades it for Princess Helene as per his agreement with Lodac, despite him questioning Lodac's own word and betraying his actual allies.
 * 24-Hour Armor
 * Upgrade Artifacts: The titular "Magic Sword" and George's horse.
 * The Vamp: The Hag, when she's putting on the Fan Service.
 * Virgin Sacrifice: "My little pet will be hungry again in six days' time." (Dragon roars)
 * Voluntary Shapeshifting: Lodac and Sybil have the ability to change into birds, and Sybil can also change into a black panther. She uses that form to kill Lodac at the end of the film.
 * We Are Team Cannon Fodder: George's knights exist to get wiped out by the curses.