i like the Byron Haskin version of Stevenson novel. must be the best that have been made. and i can see that in this version Silver is not as evil and bad-intent as in the novel... he really admires jim courage...
is a different and interesting vision (more romantic, indeed) about the famous pirate created by the scottish writer.
:) a very good movie not very known, and is a pity.
:) a smile from spain.
I think this is the second-best-known version, after Victor Fleming's 1934 version, so I'm not sure why you think it's "not very known". This one was always my favorite. Most of the cast is actually English, as opposed to Fleming's version in which the cast was largely American (and most didn't even attempt accents). I preferred Newton's Silver to Beery's. Newton was much more sinister in the role, yet still projected at least a half-sincere respect for Jim. Beery was too fawning, and while dirty and underhanded, his Silver just wasn't that threatening. The quality of the acting in this version is better overall. In Fleming's version, the acting featured a combination of hamminess and staginess that borders on camp; in its day, it was probably standard fare but it hasn't aged well at all.
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i've just seen it today. the sincere performance in this version impressed me very deeply, though it can not match the high-tech shooting as shown in today's Hollywood films. what concerns most in a film sometimes is perhaps not the facial excellence of the shooting and scenery, but the sincere and turely-exposed feeling of all the shooting staff of the film.
shareI have read the book also (as an adult) and found it not the 'children's classic' I was expecting. As I recall, Long John was unremittingly mean and nasty- No heart of gold beneath the rough exterior. An interesting example of how Hollywood can soften things up. I'm glad they did in this case.
shareThere was a version filmed in 1972 with Orson Welles playing Long John Silver. It was a fairly understated performance, and in fact the IMDb listing for it lists a sole comment about his "mumbling" his way through the part, which is a fair assessment. Not a bad portrayal, but I'll agree with most of the rest of yez that Robert Newton is the Man.
Also in passing, it may sound a little campy, but you should check out the Disney cartoon "Treasure Planet" which borrows very liberally from the genre. The effect of a bunch of Disneyesque animal characters mixing it up with humans to portray an assortment of Star Wars-esque aliens in an 18th Century sailing flick gone to outer space is just a hoot! The good Doctor is played by someone resembling Goofy with spectacles, but speaking as a proper gentleman, of course, not a "hyuck, hyuck, garsh" sort of fellow. The ship's captain is a feline elfin warrior queen in Royal Navy drag, voiced by Emma Thompson, of all people. Long John Silver is a cyborg, his parrot is a weird blob of ectoplasm that morphs into mimicry of people and critters around it to humorous effect. I'm not saying it's a classic, but it pays enough homage to the various seagoing versions to be respectable, and its variations on the theme are intriguing. And Disney produced the classic back in 1950, after all, so why not an interesting turn with a remake? They are both good, ripping yarns.
But I repeat: Robert Newton is the Man. . .
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Yeah. I love how Silver talked in this. He will be forever known as the man who made every pirate after him say "Arrr!"
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There can only ever be one Long John Silver after Robert Newton (sorry Orson/Charlton). He revelled in the part and seemed to play him forever after (check out "Blackbeard the Pirate" and the sequel made in Australia "Return to Treasure Island" and the t/v series). Not a patch on the original but still a joy to watch him.
Newton was a heavy drinker but a wonderful actor ("Oliver Twist" and "Tom Brown's Schooldays for example). The booze shortened his career and his life but he was impossible to ignore. He could ham it up with the best of them and was sometimes accused of going over the top, but I think he was marvellous in everything he did.
Arrrr" Jim lad!!!
Sorry, I made a mistake in my above message. The Australian-made sequel to "Treasure Island" was entitled "Long John Silver" (also directed by Byron Haskin). "Return to Treasure Island" is not worthy of comment and had nothing to do with Robert Newton or Mr. Haskin. My abject apologies!
What "Return to Treasure Island" are you talking about. Cause there IS a "Return to Treasure Island" that has Robert Newton in it.
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Ah yes!
This is the old problem of alternative titles. I'm in England but I use Leonard Maltin's Guide as a reference work (an American publication) and it turns out that you are absolutely right - they are one and the same film (movie).
I imagine it's title is used differently on t/v, but the correct name of the film is "Long John Silver." However Maltin recognises both titles.
Thank you for the reply - I was beginning to think I was alone over here!!!
NO! I was right the first time - there was a film entitled "Return to Treasure Island" (1954) starring Tab Hunter and nothing to do with Robert Newton, Byron Haskin or Robert Louis Stevenson.
The confusion occurs because "Long John Silver" is also sometimes called "Return to Treasure Island." The Tab Hunter film is not listed in Maltin's guide but you'll find it on IMDB and under Hunter's name.
Anyway it was crap!!!
Mr Newton's ongoing effect on pirating everywhere. As stated in Wikipedia:
Actor Robert Newton, who portrayed Long John Silver in the 1950 Disney film Treasure Island, is the patron saint of Talk Like A Pirate Day.
As the association of pirates with peg legs, parrots and treasure maps was popularized in Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Treasure Island (1883), the influence of Stevenson's book on parody pirate culture cannot be overestimated
Ah! Now we see the violence endemic in the system!
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Love when Newton says "Arrrrr-men" at the on-deck funeral service. Har!
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