The wizard Lodac (Basil Rathbone) has kidnapped the Princess Helene (Anne Helm) from the castle of her father, the King (Merritt Stone). Helene has just turned 18. Lodac blames the king for the death of his sister years ago. He plans on taking revenge by feeding Helene to his two-headed dragon in seven days. He tells the king that anyone who tries to save her will meet with seven curses along the way. The king’s lead knight, Sir Branton (Liam Sullivan) vows to save Helene and return her to her father. The king tells Branton that if he succeeds in his quest, he will award the knight with half his kingdom and the hand of his daughter in marriage.
Meanwhile, Sir George (Gary Lockwood) is a 20 year-old young man who is being raised by a sorceress, Sybil (Estelle Winwood). George’s parents were killed when he was young. George is in love with Princess Helene and wants to rescue her himself. Sybil tells him he is too young. To try to distract him Sybil shows George some magical gifts that she plans on giving him when he turns 21. They are a magic sword, shield, horse, tunic, and six ancient knights in full wardrobe. George vows to rescue Helene so he tricks Sybil by locking her into the cellar. He then takes off for the king’s castle with his magical items to pledge his sword and rescue the princess.
Sir Branton is not happy that George and his knights are in the picture and does what he can to destroy them before reaching Lodac’s castle. Branton has no choice but to go along with George and the six ancient knights. During their travels they encounter the curses and some of the knights are killed. Unknown by Sir George is that Sir Branton is in league with Lodac but Lodac is not exactly an honorable wizard.
“The Magic Sword” AKA “Saint George and the Seven Curses” AKA “Sorcerer’s Curse” AKA “Saint George and the Dragon” was released in 1962 and was directed by Bert I. Gordon. It is an American fantasy sword and sandal film and is very much a children’s movie.
The seven curses mentioned in the movie are somewhat vague at times. Of the seven, five of them are easy to spot. They are an ogre, a boiling swamp, a hag, a radioactive whirlwind and the cave of ghosts. The other two curses are a little ambiguous but are most likely, the two-headed dragon and Lodac himself. There is mention of an evil spell but what that is, is never really explained.
The special effects aren’t too bad, especially the dragon, which looks a little bit like Gorgo. The story is rather basic but the acting is decent. The film has a vibe similar to that of Roger Corman during his Edgar Alan Poe years. It’s a good family movie and one of Gordon’s better films.
The film credits list Ross Wheat, who was the dragon puppeteer, as the "dragon trainer." Leroy Johnson played Sir Ulrich of Germany. His voice was dubbed by an uncredited Paul Frees. Director Bert Gordon died in 2023 at the age of 100.