When I saw this film in Nottingham in 1964, little did I realize that I was one of the privileged few British cinema-goers who would ever get the chance to view it. The film ran into some truly puzzling censorship and distribution problems. United Artists were apparently hoping for a mainly juvenile audience, but when it went before the British Board of Film Censors on 16 July 1963 it was saddled with an "X" certificate for adults only, unlike Jason and the Argonauts which was granted a "U" for general exhibition. UA changed the British release title to St. George and the 7 Curses, but the distributor seemed to manufacture hardly any prints and the film was unseen in most towns and cities. Unusually, there was no premiere, no press showing and no newspaper reviews. Even more unusual, given that the film was being shown to the public in cinemas, was the fact that it was not announced in either the Monthly Film Bulletin or Kinematograph Weekly. The Rank Organization gave the movie a couple of test showings, running it for a week at their Mechanics cinema in Nottingham from 24 May 1964 (just a fortnight before closing it down). A Midlands television crew, reporting on the controversy, asked people coming out if they found it scary. Although Vampira's transformation into a withered old hag was mildly horrific, and the ogre looked a bit of a beast, nobody admitted to being the slightest bit frightened. Indeed, Jason and the Argonauts was judged more frightening because the special effects were better. The only possible explanation for the British censor's categories was that he based his decisions on mood rather than content. Whereas Jason came across as straight mythological adventure, St. George seemed to be trying to mix together the slapstick (Sybil brewing potions with her conjoined stooges) and the gruesome (two knights wandering into the desert and having their faces burned off). St. George and the 7 Curses later had a week's run at the Bradford Gaumont from 13 December 1964, but really the vast majority of British film-goers had no idea it even existed.
2017 UPDATE – Since this article first appeared in 2007, I have been indebted to movie fans, film societies, librarians and even retired projectionists for throwing more light on United Artists' erratic release of St George and the 7 Curses. Whilst it is true that the original 1964 release on the Rank circuit was tiny (week-long engagements in random places like Aberdeen, Bradford, Brighton, Nottingham, Portsmouth and York), the film did enjoy a humble afterlife when it was made available to suburban independents. Unfortunately, it regularly seemed to finish up in end-of-the-road cinemas that were earmarked for demolition. The distribution had a curious regional bias with some counties not seeing the film at all, whilst Yorkshire had showings everywhere, even in the small mining villages of Thurnscoe and Woodlands. Often the film was used as a programme filler to support UA's newer releases, notably A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS in Atherstone and Tamworth, THE Satan BUG in Coventry and Kenilworth, I'LL TAKE Sweden in Coalville, Doncaster and Selby, TOM JONES in three Leicester suburbs, WHAT'S NEW PUSSYCAT in Fenton, RETURN FROM THE ASHES in Cannock, Filey, Ibstock and Uttoxeter, BILLION DOLLAR BRAIN in Earl Shilton, and KISS ME STUPID at London's Biograph. With effect from mid-1967 and into the 1970s, United Artists delivered the final humiliation by relegating St George to the Sunday circuits where he played one night stands in suburbs of Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds and Stoke, as well as desert outposts such as Alfreton, Eccles, Heanor, Irvine, Kilmarnock, Melton Mowbray, Oakham, Retford, Ripley, Rugeley, Skegness, Sleaford, Swadlincote and Tadcaster. United Artists clearly had very little respect for the patron saint of England, but at least we now know that this wasn't quite the Smallest British Release of All Time!
2017 UPDATE – Since this article first appeared in 2007, I have been indebted to movie fans, film societies, librarians and even retired projectionists for throwing more light on United Artists' erratic release of St George and the 7 Curses. Whilst it is true that the original 1964 release on the Rank circuit was tiny (week-long engagements in random places like Aberdeen, Bradford, Brighton, Nottingham, Portsmouth and York), the film did enjoy a humble afterlife when it was made available to suburban independents. Unfortunately, it regularly seemed to finish up in end-of-the-road cinemas that were earmarked for demolition. The distribution had a curious regional bias with some counties not seeing the film at all, whilst Yorkshire had showings everywhere, even in the small mining villages of Thurnscoe and Woodlands. Often the film was used as a programme filler to support UA's newer releases, notably A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS in Atherstone and Tamworth, THE Satan BUG in Coventry and Kenilworth, I'LL TAKE Sweden in Coalville, Doncaster and Selby, TOM JONES in three Leicester suburbs, WHAT'S NEW PUSSYCAT in Fenton, RETURN FROM THE ASHES in Cannock, Filey, Ibstock and Uttoxeter, BILLION DOLLAR BRAIN in Earl Shilton, and KISS ME STUPID at London's Biograph. With effect from mid-1967 and into the 1970s, United Artists delivered the final humiliation by relegating St George to the Sunday circuits where he played one night stands in suburbs of Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds and Stoke, as well as desert outposts such as Alfreton, Eccles, Heanor, Irvine, Kilmarnock, Melton Mowbray, Oakham, Retford, Ripley, Rugeley, Skegness, Sleaford, Swadlincote and Tadcaster. United Artists clearly had very little respect for the patron saint of England, but at least we now know that this wasn't quite the Smallest British Release of All Time!