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 Alfred Burke, Peter Wyngarde, Brian
Blessed, Gareth Thomas,
Richard E. Grant and Bill
Nighy. This 1950 version was made by Walt Disney Productions and features
Robert Newton in the
role of Long John Silver,
the one-legged pirate with a talking parrot.
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. It is
1765 on the west coast of England, and 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 (Walter Fitzgerald)
and Dr. Livesy (Denis O'Dea) hire a ship to find the treasure, and sign
Jim on as a cabin boy.
A local tavern keeper, John
Silver, is hired as the 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 he 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 Hispaniola
reaches the island, but the pirates
seize control of the ship,
leading Trewlawney and his men to hole up in an abandoned stockade. Jim
escapes and single-handedly
recaptures the ship (Long
John conveniently leaves only two men on board). The pirate treasure is
found, but Long John escapes
and sails into the sunset.
Patrick Troughton appears very briefly as a pirate named Roach, but it
is a non-speaking role and he
only appears in the scene
where the pirates attack the stockade (and his character is killed by Dr.
Lovesey).
The
verdict: This version of 'Treasure Island' was Disney's
first entirely live-action film, and is fondly remembered by many people
who saw it as a child. Robert
Newton is superb as Long John Silver, and his version of the infamous pirate
is considered by many
to be the best. The film
closely follows the original novel, although much of the plot is cut to
accommodate a 96-minute film, and it
should be noted that the
ending differs from the novel.
Trivia:
Patrick Trougton also appeared in a 1977 version of 'Treasure
Island', playing a character called Israel Hands. The four-part
miniseries starred Alfred
Burke as Long John Silver.
Video
Clip: Pirates attack
the stockade 16.4mb |
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