Long John Silver (1954)

Director:

Byron Haskin

Writers:

Martin Rackin (written by) and
Robert Louis Stevenson (characters)

Release Date:

16 December 1954 (Australia)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Tagline:

The most rollicking rogue ever to sail the Spanish Main !

Plot:

In this sequel to Treasure Island, Long John hopes to rescue his friend Jim from a rival pirate and return for more treasure.

Plot Keywords:

Pirate | Sequel | Swashbuckler | Character Name In Title

Cast

Robert Newton	...	Long John Silver
Connie Gilchrist	...	Purity Pinker
Lloyd Berrell	...	Capt. Mendoza, 'El Toro'
Grant Taylor	...	Patch
Rod Taylor	...	Israel Hands (as Rodney Taylor)
Harvey Adams	...	Sir Henry Strong
Muriel Steinbeck	...	Lady Strong
Henry Gilbert	...	Billy Bowlegs
John Brunskill	...	Old Stringley
Eric Reiman	...	Lanky pirate
Harry Hambleton	...	Big Eric
Syd Chambers	...	Ned Shill
George Simpson-Lyttle	...	Capt. Asa MacDougall (as George Simpson-Little)
Tony Arpino	...	Mendoza pirate
Al Thomas	...	Mendoza pirate

Also Known As:

Long John Silver's Return to Treasure Island

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Australia

Company:

Treasure Island Pictures Pty. Ltd.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Silver lays out the plan to 'El Toro' Mendoza to waylay Sir Henry's warehouse of jewels and rum, it called for two signal fires to send the governor's warships south as a diversion, while the pirates would head north toward the warehouse. However, only one signal fire was lit, which was the signal for Henry's men to go north as well.

Quotes:

Long John Silver: Now clear up them there shambles, or I'll feed you piecemeal to the rats in the cellar.

Movie Connections:

Follows Treasure Island (1950)

Not Much New, But Entertaining, & Newton Still Makes a Fine Long John

There is not much new in this sequel to "Treasure Island", which has Robert Newton return in the role of "Long John Silver" and getting involved in new adventures that nevertheless have a familiar feel to them, but it is still an entertaining movie. Made four years after the original, it has Kit Taylor replacing Bobby Driscoll as Jim Hawkins, but the relationship between the characters is still much the same. Newton is the main strength, since he captures his character very well, and he is fun to watch even when there is not a lot else going on.

The story has Long John meeting up again with Jim and with various old friends and old rivals, while carrying out his usual assortment of schemes. It all has a familiar feel to it, with some of the same settings and many of the same plot devices getting recycled, and quite a few references to events and characters from the original story.

If you enjoyed "Treasure Island", you would probably enjoy "Long John Silver" as well. Although it doesn't have much new material, it has plenty of adventure and the same kinds of scheming and counter-scheming. You could also enjoy it perfectly well, assuming that you have an interest in the genre, without having seem the first movie. The occasional links with the original are probably easy enough to figure out, from the context and/or from a passing acquaintance with the story from literature or elsewhere.