Treasure Island

Plot synopsis:
Young Jim Hawkins Jackie Cooper) and his mother (Dorothy Peterson) run the Admiral Benbow, a tavern near Bristol, England. One dark and stormy night, during a birthday celebration, the mysterious Billy Bones (Lionel Barrymore) arrives and drunkenly talks about treasure. Soon after, Bones is visited by Black Dog (Charles McNaughton) then Pew (William V. Mong), and drops dead, leaving a chest, which he bragged contained gold and jewels. Instead of money, Jim finds a map that his friend Dr. Livesey (Otto Kruger) realizes will lead them to the famous Flint treasure. Squire Trelawney (Nigel Bruce) raises money for a voyage to the treasure island and they set sail on Captain Alexander Smollett's (Lewis Stone) ship Hispaniola. Also on board is the one-legged Long John Silver (Wallace Beery) and his cronies. Even though Bones had warned Jim about a sailor with one leg, they become friends.
During the voyage, several fatal "accidents" happen to sailors who disapprove of Silver and his cohorts. Then, the night before landing on the island, Jim overhears Silver plotting to take the treasure and kill Smollett's men. Jim goes ashore with the men, and encounters an old hermit named Ben Gunn (Chic Sale), who tells him that he has found Flint's treasure. Meanwhile, Smollett (Lewis Stone) and his loyal men flee to Flint's stockade on the island for safety. Silver's men then attack the stockade when Smollett refuses to give them the treasure map. While the situation looks hopeless, Jim secretly goes back to the Hispaniola at night, sails it to a safe location and shoots one of the pirates in self-defense. When he returns to the stockade, Silver's men are there and Silver tells them that a treaty has been signed. The pirates want to kill Jim, but Silver protects him. Dr. Livesey comes for Jim, but the boy refuses to break his word to Silver not to run away. The next day the pirates search for the treasure hold and when they find it, it is empty. When some of the pirates mutiny against Silver, Livesey (Otto Kruger) and Gunn (Charles "Chic" Sale) join him in the fight. Smollett then sails home with the treasure, which Gunn had hidden in his cave, and with Silver as his prisoner. Unable to stand by and let his friend be hanged, Jim frees Silver. As he sails away, Silver promises to hunt treasure with Jim again some day, as Honest John Silver.

Tags: action

Review:
This two-hour commercial from the Isle of Man Tourist Bureau bears only a superficial resemblance to the Stevenson novel.
And Jack Palance rasps out an engaging Silver but it's disappointing to see his name spelt wrong in the credits.
Palance fans might like to see him tackle one of literature's most famous old coots, but Stevenson fans should leave this one alone..
Treasure Island seems to draw the attention of movie and TV people at reasonably regular intervals and it has even been "muppetised".This is easily the worst version of the lot,mainly due to a tired and lethargic stab at Long John Silver by the usually relaiable and compelling Jack Palance,who simply looks too old and frail to be right for the part..I see no reason ,other than the American film and TV industry'S anti-Englishness for so radically altering the characters of the Squire and Doctor from the stalwart types of the book to the cynical opportunists they are portrayed as here.I am enormously pro-American but hate the way Englishmen are shown in the media in the States.This particular instance is just another example of this The Isle of Man is a poor stand-in for the Caribbean and everybody seems to be going through the motions Perhaps it is time to give this particular book a rest until somebody comes up with the money to do it properly.
But I had forgotten the conversion this film takes until I watched it again, and I'd sure give the tape away for nothing.While there are moral ambiguities in the story, personified in Long John Silver, this follows after Shakespeare's witches in MACBETH: "Fair is foul, and foul is fair" say they.
The 2 characters in the novel who prevent blanket torture and murder of all loyal to the ship's command are Captain Smollett and Jim Hawkins.
So it's rather angering to shift the story to where the pirates were the "good guys" and Smollett and those loyal were villains.
That's a completely different personality than Stevenson's story-telling character.Squire Trelawney is the one character of the "faithfuls" whom I wouldn't mind being given a more critical portrayal than most cinemas of this story.
After all, it was only through coincidence (overused in the novel) that he happened to be right there at the discovery of the treasure map and was probably the only one who had the means to organize an expedition to find it.
But this movie does not develop that, and instead it goes after the one man of authority with foresight, the Captain, and makes him into a manipulative crook willing to let innocent blood be shed to make himself rich.
Obviously a different treasure island to the one I was thinking of..
The end is completely different and gave me the impression the budget ran out and they had to kill the cast off and finish the film as quickly as possible rather than stick to the story.
I watched them making the film on the Isle of Man and bought the DVD to see what they had produced.
In "Treasure Island" 1999, Jack Palance follows such notables as Robert Newton, Orson Wells, and Charelton Heston as Long John Silver with this second-rate knock-off of the R.L. Stevenson classic novel.
An unfortunate attempt at film making, this version plods along dutifully telling the story without the passion, mystery, and intrigue penned into the pages of the novel.
This version of Treasure Island is poor for trying to hard to be original with an existing story.
It's one thing to have new scenes at the beginning that show Captain Flint supervising the burial of his treasure, and Billy Bones inflicting Pew and Long John with their disfigurements.
It's also bothersome that this version of Long John is played out rather weakly, including how meekly he gave up leadership of the pirates to George Merry and how difficult he is to even understand in some scenes, how morally questionable the doctor, squire, and captain are in this version, how Jim and the doctor are more concerned with the map than in Mrs. Hawkins' death, how Jim joins the pirates, and how the whole ending is changed.
In that, it doesn't make sense that only three people can sail the ship at the end, and that Long John doesn't resent Jim and Ben for not revealing earlier the locations of the ship and the treasure which would have avoided the battle and some of the deaths..
This film does not stray from the original story until the boat lands on Treasure Island!
It was a bit shocking at first, but Long John Silver's (Jack Palance) and Jim Hawkins' (Kevin Zegers) superb acting makes this a very enjoyable fantasy to watch!
And Long John Silver is not some evil minion, but a man of honor who believes in democracy, no less!
It certainly makes you think about Treasure Island in a totally different way!.
Ain't Treasure Island the best story ever about a bunch of adults trying to kill a child?
This is a version from the nineties that I picked up for seven pence, with Jack Palance as Long John Silver.
I'm still holding out for a copy of that Italian one set in space, because there's no way that can't not be not good.You know the story: Some fud called Jack works in a doss house in Cornwall while his mum lies in bed claiming Employment Support Allowance.
One day this tosser turns up and gets wasted and tells Jack to watch out for a guy with one leg (whom I'd imagine is also claiming some sort of disability benefit).
Before you know it loads of guys turns up and try and kill everyone and Jack ends up with a map and so on and so forth.
After nearly being killed several times by various pirates, Jack ends up on a ship with a small crew of English gentleman and a much larger crew of obvious pirates who are definitely not just waiting to kill the gentry and get a hold of that map.
Jack Palance shows up as definitely not the leader of the pirates and they all head of for some island.
Following some man on man love action that was cut from most versions of this film (they are at see for months you know and no one likes to be alone), they all finally get to the island so they can start killing each other.
By this time Jack's run off and met this arsehole called Ben Gunn, Silver's got his pirates up against the gentry, and there's a battle on the beach where only a few live to travel the sea once more.
The End. What you'll notice first is that the island is this version of treasure island is a bitNothern European.
I had it pegged as Ireland but it turns out to be the Isle of Man (you know, that island where everyone has three legs).
The most bizarre Treasure Island adaptation, as well as the worst.
That the story is such a classic and that it had Jack Palance in it were two reasons enough to give this much-maligned adaptation a try.
Unfortunately, this adaptation of Treasure Island just doesn't work at all and by far the worst version, to me the only really bad one as well.
The locations are beautiful indeed if not always tropical enough, the Hispagnola is fantastically rendered and the adaptation is well shot, the start is quite strong and there are a few good performances with Kevin Zegers' appealing Jim Hawkins, Walter Sparrow's humorous Ben Gunn and Patrick Bergin's gusty Billy Bones.
Jack Palance is the big name here, he certainly tries his best as Silver and looks the part in a role that on paper he was perfect for but he deserved much better scripting and direction than what he got.
Characterisation is incredibly weak here and not really in the bland sort of way but in the grossly distorted sort of way, where we have the least frightening Blind Pew imaginable and interesting characters like Squire Trelawney now one-sided caricatures, and the less said about the good guys now bad thing the better.
What was really disappointing was the lack of development in Silver and Jim's relationship, crucial to the story and very interesting and potentially poignant but hardly seen.
And you know something's wrong when you can't really tell whether Silver is good or bad, no other adaptation of Treasure Island has had that problem.
But other than the bizarre treatment of the story and characters the main problem with this Treasure Island adaptation was how lazy it felt.
The script is one corny muddle with some parts only feeling like padding which only succeeds in slowing down the pacing, and the story is plodding and completely lacking in adventurous spark, intensity and mystery that would have been there if just a little if the stockade assault had not been left out.
When it comes to the changes, changes to a story is not a problem but it can be if the changes are basically useless and drag the adaptation down and that was exactly the case with this Treasure Island.
The adaptation is hurt even further by too much focus on Black Dog, a secondary character originally and it feels like it, an incredibly rushed and anti-climatic final battle and a very tacked-on and toe-curlingly cheesy ending that leaves a sour taste in the mouth.
All in all, lazy and uncomfortably weird, a very bad version(even on its own terms) and not worth bothering with unless you are a fan of Palance or one dead-set on seeing every Treasure Island adaptation available.
It's a well done adaptation of the famous novel by Robert Louis Stevenson (although the final is different).
The actors have made a good job of work, overcoat Kevin Zegers (Jim Hawkins); and there are beautiful images from the Isle of Man. Unlike other adaptations, it doesn't fall into infantilisms that only make laugh the children; however, I think it's a good movie to watch with all the family..
In fact, the only version of this novel I knew was a comic book version where Dennis the Menace was Jim. And I don't even remember anything about that except that Long John hit one of the other pirates for showing Jim his long underwear, and that Ben Gunn looked like he hadn't seen another person in years.And this type of adventure movie is not really for me.
I thought Kevin Zegers did quite a good job as Jim, and while I was surprised Long John was so old, Jack Palance did a fine job with the role as it was written here.I thought most of the actors did a good job, particularly David Robb as the doctor and Walter Sparrow as Ben Gunn.
I also had trouble figuring out who was on what side--at times Long John seemed to be one of the good guys!
Sparkling new version of an old classic.
Jack Palance is magnificent as Long John Silver in this sparkling new adaptation of an old classic.
Packed with a stellar cast of great British character actors and three Hollywood stars, it must rank among the top 5 versions ever made of Robert Louis Stevenson's legendary novel.
It's true that the Isle of Man location left a lot to be desired, but it was fresh, different and added a surprise zing to the action.
One of the worst literary adaptations ever filmed (*** SPOILERS ***).
*** SPOILERS ***(I'm not sure if SPOILERS really applies to a story that's about 150 years old, but I don't want to overstep the guidelines.
If you don't know how "Treasure Island" ends, and you want to find out when you see the film, then skip the rest of this message.)*** SPOILERS FOLLOW ***What can you say about a version of "Treasure Island" where Captain Smollett blackmails the Squire and Doctor into giving Jim's share of the treasure to him?
And where Jim really does end up joining the pirates in earnest, because he overhears their conversation?
And where ALL the "good" guys -- the Captain, the Squire, the Doctor, and all the rest of them -- get killed in the last five minutes, and Jim, Long John Silver, and Ben Gunn go off by themselves with the treasure in tow?Not to mention where Long John has a wooden leg and an occasional crutch instead of NO leg and a truly can't-move-without-it crutch?The Captain comes to a particularly painful end, with a broadsword (thrown through the air like a spear) through the guts.
Another good guy gets a jarringly nasty wound in the face, basically blasting his left eye away -- something you get to see for a brief moment before he falls.This is without question one of the WORST literary adaptations ever filmed.
I don't mind filmmakers making changes to a story to make it flow better on screen, or even just to be more engaging or interesting, but the changes made here are simply bizarre.It's a shame, because Jack Palance could have made a great Long John Silver.
And the locations (I think on the Isle of Man) are wonderful.
The only reason to watch a film of "Treasure Island" is for the story, and this one will give you heartburn..
Stevenson's classic is loved by generations for many reasons and this retelling of the story cuts all those reasons out.Spoilers: First, the treatment of Jim by the Doctor, Squire, and Captain is all wrong.
They take advantage of him, sell him out to the pirates, cut him out of his share of the treasure and try to kill him.
Jim was never in league with the pirates and the gentlemen (Doctor, Squire, and Captain) remain honest and help Jim in the story.
Only when he slips away to get to the ship do they think he may have gone over to the pirates.The action is also a bit lackluster.
The group's escape from the ship felt anti-climatic...almost like a leisurely departure with a few shots.Then there is no assault on the stockade, which was a major part of the original story.And the bargaining between the Doctor and pirates isn't quite explained...why would they give up the map for Jim, whom they already have disowned?
In the book, they exchange the map for free passage out of the stockade (already knowing that the treasure was gone because Ben Gunn had joined them).And just where did they film this movie?
It looks like it could be off the coast of Newfoundland or something...hardly the tropic environment of the original story.The only redeeming value of this film was Jack Palance.
Too bad they couldn't have built a better film around him..
Don't watch this version if you loved the classic.
Having read the book recently, I've gone back and watched the original film and the Disney remake.
Jack Palance is about as good a substitute for Long John Silver as the Isle Of Mann is for a tropical island with a few hot house plants stuck in the background.
I'd say there were some strange films coming from there lately, but this is ten years old and strange doesn't begin to describe it.
Instead of Jim Hawkins sailing back to England with the good guys and the treasure, they kill the bad guys and good guys, and he runs off to Panama with it with Long John and Ben Gunn.
And Long John doesn't even know the names of the sails even though he's supposed to be a sailor.
The good guys are bad.
When i saw the commercial for this one on TBS i thought, "Ok i know it wont be as good as the first adaption or the book but ill watch it anyway." So I'm watching the movie and so far its alright a few things i didn't like but then it took a huge turn for the worse.
And it ends with a corny, childish, watered down, happy ending of Silver, Ben, and Jim sailing off alone into the sunset!
It made the Doctor, Captain Smullet, and the Squire (couldnt remember how to spell their names) out to be the bad guys only after the treasure in the end!
Completely unlike the book and the original movie where the doctor was a close friend of Jim's and his mother.
I cant believe they took a childhood story and a movie that i used to watch with my grandfather, hacked it up, and served it to me as an obviously low-budget piece of garbage.
Poor old Jim (played by Kevin Zegers---Hey I like this guy, Zegers, he seems to have some talent) has to keep EVERYONE from cheating him in this version.Now it does have it's slow moments and I'm sure there was a lot of room for improvement on some of the characterisations.
Read some of the other reviews for more details on the technical stuff.What I really liked most about this version is that Jim (along with Ben Gunn and Long John) gets the treasure.
I've read the book a few times, I saw the movie from 1934, 1950 and 1972, and all of them were at least close to the book.
It starts with Jack Palance as Long John Silver, there is no charismatic and intelligent pirate leader.
The story details have totally changed - they really let the key characters, Trelawney, Smollet and the doctor die and Long John Silver, Ben Gunn (his enemy) and Hawkins get the treasure and sail the ship home.
Jack Palance's last movie appearance finds him in the lead role of Long John Silver in this well-produced account of the Robert Louis Stevenson novel directed by award-winning TV writer/director Peter Rowe.
Nevertheless, Rowe makes impressive use of a real, full-sized sailing vessel, and there is plenty of action for young and old.