Treasure Island (1934)

Young Jim Hawkins is torn between his loyalty to his benefactors and his affection for lovable rogue Long John Silver in their struggle to recover a buried pirate treasure.

Director:

Victor Fleming

Writers:

Robert Louis Stevenson, John Lee Mahin (screen play),

Stars:

Wallace Beery, Jackie Cooper, Lionel Barrymore

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Wallace Beery	...	Long John Silver
Jackie Cooper	...	Jim Hawkins
Lionel Barrymore	...	Billy Bones
Otto Kruger	...	Doctor Livesey
Lewis Stone	...	Captain Smollett
Nigel Bruce	...	Squire Trelawney
Charles 'Chic' Sale	...	Ben Gunn
William V. Mong	...	Pew
Charles McNaughton	...	Black Dog
Dorothy Peterson	...	Mrs. Hawkins
Douglass Dumbrille	...	Pirate of the Spanish Main (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Edmund Breese	...	Pirate of the Spanish Main
Olin Howland	...	Pirate of the Spanish Main
Charles Irwin	...	Pirate of the Spanish Main
Edward Pawley	...	Pirate of the Spanish Main

Storyline

Young Jim Hawkins is caught up with the pirate Long John Silver in search of the buried treasure of the buccaneer Captain Flint, in this adaptation of the classic novel by Robert Louis Stevenson.

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Plot Keywords:

pirate | long john silver | treasure | ship | captain | 

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Taglines:

Sail The High Seas Of Adventure Again !

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Genres:

Adventure

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 August 1934 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Ilha do Tesouro

Filming Locations:

Alameda, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min 103 min (Turner library print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jackie Cooper did not like his performance, writing in his autobiography that he felt an older English actor should have played Jim Hawkins.

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Quotes

Long John Silver: I like this boy, and if you understand the King's English, you better not lay a hand on 'im!
[the pirates seem to react aggressively]
Long John Silver: . You want to have it out with me?
[They back down]
Long John Silver: . That's better, George Merry. Why, this boy's got more fight than the whole of you!

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Connections

Referenced in Hollywood's Magical Island: Catalina (2003)

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Soundtracks

"Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May"
(uncredited)
Music traditional
Words from poem "To Virgins, to Make Much of Time" by Robert Herrick (1648)
Played on a mandolin and sung by Charles Bennett

User Reviews

Awfully entertaining.

I noticed, like some of the other reviewers, that few in the film had the necessary British accents needed to play these characters well. However, despite this, the movie is an excellent version of the Stevenson novel--mostly due to good acting, great sets and the nice MGM polish you'd expect from one of their top productions.

As far as the film goes, it's one of the earliest of the Wallace Beery films that teamed him with a cute kid--a formula that was repeated again and again up until Beery's death in 1949. Considering that according to his co-star, Jackie Cooper, Beery hated children and did little to hide it off camera--so I am sure in some ways Beery probably wished this and "The Champ" hadn't been so successful!!

As for the story, it's the often told story of "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson. It's reasonably faithful to the story and is better than other versions I have seen. However, I have NOT seen the very famous Robert Newton version (by many seen as the best), so I cannot say the 1934 version was the best--though many of the newer versions tended to be a bit more dull. Like it or not, the Beery-Cooper schmaltz was entertaining--and I can see why audiences fell for it by the millions!

By the way, like so many releases from Turner Entertainment, this film includes many wonderful extras from the same studio (MGM) from the same year as this feature's release. Turner also does this with many of their classic Warner Brothers releases as well--making them excellent values for customers.