The
lowdown: Long before Captain Jack Sparrow and his pirates
of the Caribbean, there was Long John Silver, in the classic
novel Treasure Island, written
by Robert Louis Stevenson and first published in 1881. Long John Silver
has been played by many
actors in over 50 film and
TV adaptions of the novel, including Robert Newton, Peter Wyngarde, Brian
Blessed, Gareth Thomas,
Richard E. Grant and Bill
Nighy. In 1977 the BBC selected Alfred Burke (best known at the time for
the detective series 'Public
Eye' to take on the role
of the famous pirate, in a four-part series that was highly-regarded at
the time. Although it looks rather
dated now, it had high production
values for the time and featured excellent performances by the main cast
members.
For those who are not familiar
with the story, 'Treasure Island' concerns a quest for treasure that has
been buried on an island
in the Caribbean. Young
Jim Hawkins comes into possession of a treasure map when its owner, Billy
Bones, dies in his parents'
inn. Jim soon learns that
the map is the key to locating the treasure of the late pirate, Captain
Flint, whose men are seeking the
treasure map and will stop
at nothing to get their hands on it. The local squire, John Trelawney,
hires a ship to find the treasure,
and signs Jim on as cabin
boy. The local tavern keeper, John Silver, is commissioned as ship's cook,
and Squire Trelawney
leaves it up to him to hire
a ship's crew, not realising that Silver was Flint's quartermaster and
has in fact hired Flint's crew of
cutthroats. The Hispaniola
sets sail for the Caribbean, and it is not long before Jim overhears the
crew's plans for mutiny. The
includes the ship's coxswain,
Israel Hands (played by Patrick Troughton), who comes to an unfortunate
end when he tries to kill
Jim. Blake's 7 fans should
note that the series also features Stephen Grief and Brian Croucher, probably
the only time that both
actors who played Travis
have appeared together.
Who
connections: Apart from Patrick Troughton, several other
'Doctor Who' actors appeared in this series. The captain of the
Hispaniola, Smollett,
was played by Richard Beale (The Ark, The Gunfighters and The Green Death).
Blind Pew, one of Flint's
ex-crewmen, was played by
David Collings (Revenge of the Cybermen, Robots of Death and the title
role in Mawdryn Undead).
Roy Evans (The Dalek Masterplan,
The Green Death and The Monster of Peladon) and Edward Peel (Kane in 'Dragonfire')
were
also in 'Treasure Island'.
Trivia:
Patrick Trougton also appeared in a 1950 film version of 'Treasure
Island', playing a character named Roach.
Video
Clips: Long John Silver
4.4mb
Talk of mutiny
5.5mb |
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