DIRECTOR: Byron Haskin

If buccaneers and buried gold
And all so old romance told
Exactly in some ancient way
Can please, as me they pleased of old
The wiser gangsters of today
So Be It ---- Robert Louis Stevenson

As most of you should know, Stevenson's story has been filmed more than once and, as a matter of fact, it has been done in over 50 variations, whether it was in sequels, remakes, and offshoots---such as MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND. The first version came out in 1912, and since then we have had a 1934 version (with Wallace Beery), a 1972 version (with Orson Welles), and a 1990 TV version (with Charlton Heston), among many others. Next to Shakespeare and Dickens, this is one of the most adapted works in literature, a grand adventure tale that may very well be the most famous pirate story ever written. In addition, while the book and film tend to get rather violent at times, this is an ideal choice for the whole family to watch; my only complaint is about the DVD, which has no special features, though it still doesn't taint this exquisite, exciting film.

The setting is the west coast of England, 1765. A stranger arrives at the Admiral Benbow Inn and asks for a double rum; his server is the 11-year-old Jim Hawkins (Bobby Driscoll) a strapping, mature lad who answers the stranger's questions about a buccaneer named Capt. Billy Bones that is being sought all over the coast. After the man leaves, Bones appears in person and warns Jim that the stranger was Black Dog, a bloodthirsty messenger who has been sent to nab the Captain, who is now weak and, unbeknownst to him, is dying. A second stranger arrives, blind man who brings Billy Bones a message with the Black Spot, a symbol of Death. Bones knows exactly what will become of him, though after drinking a whole bottle of rum, he is unable to walk, and thus sends Jim off with a treasure map he had been safeguarding, which has the location of a lost booty of Capt. Flint. By the time Jim returns with Squire Trelawney (Walter Fitzgerald) and Dr. Livesey (Denis O'Dea), Bones is dead; afterward, the three hire a ship and get the treasure themselves.

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"OHHH, FOR TEN TOES!!!"
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Pictures of Treasure Island (DVD)

The great Robert Newton as the one and only Long John Silver

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Even though many actors have played the pivotal role of Long John Silver over the past century, none have come even close to matching Robert Newton's "har-har" interpretation, who chews the dialogue with wild abandon. While Newton had a career in films spanning 25 years, this is the only role in which he is identified with today, and indeed he would reprise the literary pirate throughout the rest of the 1950s, right until his premature death at age 50 of a heart attack. What's amazing is how well he nails the character's mannerisms from the book including the squinting eye and raw voice delivery; sure, he may be a diabolical pirate with a speech impediment, though you come away from the film refusing to dislike him. Sorry to all you Jack Sparrow fans, though I vote Newton's Long John as the most irresistible pirate in the history of cinema, and after watching the film again, I constantly questioned why he didn't receive an Oscar nomination---arrgh, those Academy swabs…I shall shine up me cannon to blow them to smithereens!

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BLIMEY, THERE BE NO BONUS FEATURES ONBOARD ME DVD!
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TRIVIA NOTE #3: Screenwriter Watkin later wrote DARBY O'GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE, and actors Denis O'Dea and Walter Fitzgerald would return, starring along aside a pre-007 Sean Connery.