Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Movies»Movies by Decade»Movies - 1960s
    Movies - 1960s Movies - J 3 Mins Read

    Jason and The Argonauts (1963)

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    Three million dollars were spent on Jason and the Argonauts, mainly on the ‘Dynamation 90’ special effects created by Ray Harryhausen – and it was not difficult to see where the money went.

    This lively and imaginative re-telling of the Greek myth begins with a siege and slaughter by the power-mad Acastus (Gary Raymond), who kills the entire royal family of Thessaly – except tiny baby Jason.

    jason&argonauts_026

    Years later, a grown Jason (Todd Armstrong) returns home to make his rightful claim to the throne. But his people need more than a conqueror – they need inspiration.

    When Jason hears of the magical Golden Fleece, with its legendary powers to guide a nation to prosperity, the quest is on.

    After a powwow with Hera, queen of the gods and his own personal protector (Honor Blackman), he recruits the brave Argonauts to man his ship, and the crew sets sail.

    The Argonauts and their dashing leader clash with a variety of titans and assorted mythic beasties along the way: the 100-foot bronze statue of Talos who comes to life, the bat-like and screech-happy Harpies, the seven-headed reptilian Hydra, and an army of skeletons (pictured) who skitter around with sword and shield.

    Mercifully, there’s a lot of divine intervention along the way.

    jasonargonauts

    Hera, to the raised eyebrows of her Mount Olympus cohorts, frequently helps her boy out, and at one point, sea-god Poseidon emerges from the churning seas and holds the huge Clashing Rocks apart, so that Jason’s ship, the Argo, can sail safely between.

    Nancy Kovack as the high priestess Medea was certainly pretty to look at, and even coped well with the dialogue Jan Read and Beverly Cross wrote for her. But to boast – as a studio handout boastingly did – that her performance followed in the footsteps of Maria Callas (a renowned operatic Medea) was tantamount to entering the fantasy realms in which the film was set.

    Harryhausen and producer Charles H. Schneer teamed up for further fantasy epics over the next two decades, including The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973) and Clash of the Titans (1981).

    Jason
    Todd Armstrong
    Medea

    Nancy Kovack
    Acastus

    Gary Raymond
    Hera

    Honor Blackman
    Hercules

    Nigel Green
    Zeus

    Niall McGinnis
    Argos

    Laurence Naismith
    Hermes

    Michael Gwynn
    Pelias

    Douglas Wilmer
    King Aeetes

    Jack Gwillim
    Phalerus

    Andrew Faulds
    Hylas

    John Cairney
    Phineas

    Patrick Troughton
    Polydeuces

    John Crawford
    Lynceus

    Aldo Cristiano
    Castor

    Ferdinando Poggi
    Eupaemus

    Douglas Robinson
    Briseis

    Davina Taylor

    Director
    Don Chaffey

    Video

    Related Posts

    • One Million Years B.C. (1966)
      One Million Years B.C. (1966)
      Back to the beginnings of time went Hammer Films, with vast monsters roaming the earth and stone age man fighting…
    • Where The Spies Are (1965)
      Where The Spies Are (1965)
      One of the many dozens of James Bond send-ups and rip-offs, this spoofy affair is distinguished by a typically suave…
    • Wild In The Country (1961)
      Wild In The Country (1961)
      This drama about Glenn Tyler - a rebellious backwoods delinquent on parole, who ends up going to college to become…
    • Mysterious Island (1961)
      Mysterious Island (1961)
      Jules Verne's Mysterious Island begins in Richmond, Virginia at the siege of 1865 during the Civil War, with a group of…
    • Doppelgänger (Journey To The Far Side of the Sun) (1969)
      Doppelgänger (Journey To The Far Side of the Sun) (1969)
      Gerry and Sylvia Anderson wrote and produced this tale of a heretofore-hidden parallel world on the far side of the…
    • Lost Man, The (1969)
      Lost Man, The (1969)
      Former US Army lieutenant Jason Higgs (Sidney Poitier) has organised a payroll robbery of a factory. He will give the…
    • Ballad of Josie, The (1967)
      Ballad of Josie, The (1967)
      Widow Josie Minick (Doris Day) takes up sheep farming in order to support herself and her son. Her new neighbours…
    • Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)
      Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)
      In this 1993 addition to the Friday the 13th franchise (although New Line Cinema did not have the rights to the name…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleJailhouse Rock (1957)
    Next Article Jerk, The (1979)

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, The (1976)
      Rynn Jacobs (Jodie Foster) is a pretty thirteen-year-old girl […]
    • Friday the 13th, Part 5: A New Beginning (1985)
      Has Jason returned from the dead? Or is there a copycat killer […]
    • Battletruck (1982)
      A world after the 21st-century oil wars – with energy at a […]
    • Adventures of Pete & Pete, The
      1 9 9 3 – 1 9 9 6 (USA) 30 x episodes American sitcom […]
    • Nash Rambler
      The Nash Rambler was produced by the Nash Motors division of […]
    • To the Devil a Daughter (1976)
      Excommunicated priest Father Michael Rainer (Christopher Lee) […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Sport Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About Nostalgia Central
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.