Treasure Island (1934)

Too many fans seem to be blown away

Just so...so bad

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Personal favourite goes to the Charlton Heston/Christian Bale version, but this 1934 film is very close behind(as blasphemous as this may sound I do prefer it over the Robert Newton film, although Newton is the better and perhaps definitive) Long John. This version is let down a little by an, for my tastes, overly-sentimental ending(though it is nowhere near as bad as the insulting ending of the bizarre-in-a-bad-way adaptation with Jack Palance) and Jackie Cooper's at times wooden and cloying Jim, though he does show believability in some of his scene with Beery. But it is wonderfully photographed and has great sets and costumes for the time, if the question of whether the film looks good by today's standards is asked the answer would be yes. The music score is rousing and fits the mood of the story and the film very well, not one of my favourites but all that matters is whether it's good and memorable and the score here is that. This adaptation of Treasure Island also has the wittiest and most quotable dialogue of any version, the dialogue too is also faithful to the style of writing of the book(which is a classic). The story may not be as dark, suspenseful and majestic as the book, but it's not devoid of those qualities. While the pacing creaks a little here and there, the film is always fun and maintains the sense of rollicking adventure, Jim and Long John's chemistry/relationship is vital and it is endearingly done here. In terms of how faithful it is, there are a few changes but it is relatively faithful to the story, the changes are written in well and don't feel bizarre or unnecessary, which was the biggest problem that the Jack Palance film suffered from. Treasure Island(1934) is not one of Victor Fleming's very best films, it's not among the best films ever made like The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind are, but it does rank high among his filmography and Fleming does a very good job directing, both technically and in his direction of the story and acting. The acting, with the exception of Cooper(who is not without his moments), is fine. Stealing the show is Wallace Beery who is perfectly-cast as Long John and does wonderfully showing the character's good and bad sides, usually I take or leave him as an actor but his performance here is one of his finest, a career-best perhaps. There is some great character actors involved and they don't disappoint, Lionel Barrymore plays Billy Bones with great menacing gusto, Nigel Bruce's blustering and bumbling fits Squire Trelawney like a glove and Charles "Chic" Sale is an amusing Ben Gunn. That the cast have good material to work from and don't suffer from distorted characterisation and story changes(unlike the Jack Palance version). All in all, very good as an adaptation and film in general of Treasure Island. 8/10 Bethany Cox

"Jim Hawkins" (Jackie Cooper) is a good lad who does his best to help his widowed mother manage "The Admiral Benbow Inn" which is situated on the shore overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Everything appears to be running smoothly until one particular evening when a seedy man by the name of "Captain Billy Bones" (Lionel Barrymore) appears with a large chest and demands a room. Although his very presence is rather disturbing it soon becomes obvious that he is quite nervous about something. Not long afterward some other rogues come after him and their mere appearance causes him to have a heart attack and die. Unfortunately for them, Jim finds the hidden treasure map before they do and soon he and the local magistrate, "Doctor Livesay" set off in a ship in search of the island where treasure is buried. What they don't realize however is that the recently hired cook—and Jim's new friend--named "Long John Silver" (Wallace Beery) knows quite a bit more than he lets on and he has a secret agenda all of his own. Now, rather than reveal any more of the film I will just say that this was a pretty good pirate movie which is suitable for the entire family. I should probably also add that even though the movie I saw happened to be in color from what I understand it was originally filmed in black and white. So if that makes a difference then it might be best to check which version is available if necessary. That said, while I cannot comment on how good the original black and white version was I can say that the colorized version managed to capture the surroundings in a superb manner. In short, while this movie may be old it's still fairly decent and I recommend it for a family night at home should the opportunity presents itself.

*Spoiler/plot- 1934, A boy and his mother have a country inn on the ocean cliffs. An old sailor moves into the inn and is dying. He befriends the son of the inn keeper with is stories of living on ships. One night a strange blind man arrives and marks the old sailor for death from a pirate brotherhood with the 'Black Spot'. During a cutlass fight, the boy finds a treasure map in the sea chest of the dying sailor. He takes the map to the local authorities who know about it and set up a ship and crew to find the treasure. Once the ship, 'Hispaniola' leaves the port with mostly a secret pirate crew aboard; they arrive at the Treasure Island. The crew takes over the ship and attacks the obedient crew members trying to get the treasure for them. A marooned sailor helps the obedient crew members to find and stow the hidden treasure aboard the ship to go back to England for justice. 'Long' John Silver shows that he is an able conman, pirate, liar, double-crosser, and schemer through this whole treasure hunting experience.*Special Stars- Wallace Beery, Jackie Cooper*Theme- Men will look for treasure even if they suffer for it.*Based on- Robert Louise Stevenson's famous pirate novel*Trivia/location/goofs- There is a obvious film goof when Jim (Cooper) Hawkins goes to the Hispaniola's galley to speak to Long (Beery) John and stands at the galley door. You will clearly see a long microphone boom with sound cable shadow that hovers over the actor and top of the galley. In later years during Jackie Cooper interviews, he tells about Wallace Beery's antagonism and drinking during their scenes in this film. It seems Mr. Beery was not a lover of child actors much like W. C. Fields. Copper was pretty green in this film when it comes to his role and acting style.*Emotion- Another fine remake of this classic pirate film. MGM was clearly reaping the bonus ticket prices by pairing these two leading men (older and boy) by casting them in this story. It was a perfect fit and very popular. The ending of this film is when 'Long John' is sailing away free in a long boat from being held responsible for the deaths, maroonment, piracy, and theft of treasure.

Yes, the pacing of this Metro picture may be a bit awkward but it's my favorite TREASURE ISLAND simply for the wonderful cast. Beery is just great as Silver, especially when compared to the truly horrible Robert Newton. Otto Kruger, Nigel Bruce and Lewis Stone add some genuine swashbuckling enthusiasm to their roles (Bruce did play a wonderful ass). And the collection of pirates - from Douglass Dumbrille to Ed Pawley to James Burke (for once, not an Irish cop!) to J. M. Kerrigan - really adds depth to the cadre of criminal seamen. My only complaint is that Harry Cording got short shrift. By the way, some trivia - the foppish singing pirate was played by Harry Bailey, who sang "Hooray For Charlie Kane" in CITIZEN KANE. Herbert Stothart's score makes great use of "Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest", an early-century song based on the lines in Stevenson's novel. A winner.