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: Sometimes them what quotes the Bible has less Bible in their hearts than them what don't.

Movie Connections:

Follows Treasure Island (1950)

LONG JOHN SILVER (Byron Haskin, 1954) **1/2

Flavorful but overlong sequel to the Walt Disney version of TREASURE ISLAND (1950), which had given Robert Newton his trademark role of R.L. Stevenson's one-legged pirate Long John Silver; unsurprisingly, being an independent production – filmed on a low budget in Australia – it wasn't up to the standards of the earlier film (or the equally well-regarded 1934 MGM version with Wallace Beery as Silver), despite employing the same actor and director!

While I haven't watched the Disney or MGM films in years, the pirate lingo here – and particularly Newton's hammy delivery of it – got to be a bit too much after a while; besides, Kit Taylor is pretty bland as Jim Hawkins (stepping in for Bobby Driscoll) and the DeLuxe color rather unattractive and cheap-looking (though the poor-quality print I watched didn't help matters any)! Slow-starting and altogether juvenile (particularly the subplot involving Connie Gilchrist, a hearty tavern-keeper hellbent on reforming – and marrying – Silver!), the film picks up steam during the second half with the pirates' return to Treasure Island (where they find Israel Hands, played by Rod Taylor – but I'm damned if I recognized him! – still alive but now a blindman and craving Hawkins' blood), which also serves as the site of their showdown with a rival band of cutthroats, headed by a Spaniard nicknamed "El Toro". Still, it's Newton's show all the way: his scenery-chewing antics make the film bearable, and he even went on to reprise his role yet again for a TV series…