Teasure Island (1950)

Gold, treasure, pirates, mystery, the hunt for lost fortunes of the past. These are things little kids pretend to do in their backyards with their pretend swords and treasure maps. You can hear them saying “Arrrrr” as they fight imaginary battles. All of this is based on legends and myths and sometimes actual historical events. To this very day, you can find entire TV series based on people who are still looking for lost treasures from the past, whether they be pirate treasure, Spanish gold, or crusader relics. Whatever the case may be, the hunt for lost gold and riches seems to always fascinate us. Well, Treasure Island scratches many of those itches for the “story” of treasures and pirates, etc.

Non-spoiler brief review:

Well, not to give too much away, but the title tells us a lot about the focus of this story. Treasure Island is based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1883 novel of the same name, and Disney produced the first colored version of the film (there were already a few black and white versions). You may or may not have heard of the infamous pirate “Long John Silver” or perhaps the restaurant of the same name. You’ll meet Long John in this movie, though it is not a story about him. He’s simply one of the main characters. In the story, a boy named Jim Hawkins obtains a treasure map. He then goes on a search for the treasure, and well, that’s where Long John Silver comes into play. If you don’t want the spoiler, I think that’s enough to get you started, and I would say be ready to hold on to your seat!

For Parents:

Though this is a movie a young audience would appreciate because of the pirate adventures, keep in mind that pirates will be pirates. In the modern world, it would probably be a PG-rated movie if I had to guess. There’s the typical drinking and smoking, with some other adult behaviors alluded to. Unlike many modern movies, more things are suggested than shown. Kids might find some of the characters in the story scary or frightening. For instance, people are taken hostage, there is a lot of shooting (it’s a pirate movie after all) resulting in some characters getting shot or even dying. Again, though, more is suggested than shown, so parental guidance is suggested. It might be one to preview yourself first and decide if your kids are ready to watch.

My overall review(with spoilers):

I honestly don’t want to spoil anything about this great adventure of a movie. I’m tempted to just say “no spoilers” and let you go watch this movie and experience it yourself without my commentary, as I think this is a movie to experience more than to just read what someone else says about it. If anything I would suggest watching first and then reading movie reviews later. From the beginning, we’re taken to the West Coast of England in 1765, where a young boy named Jim Hawkins lives with his mom, who runs an inn. One of the lodgers, a guy named Captain William Bones, is sick and gets a mysterious “black spot” from two strangers. The old man basically tells Jim he’s in trouble and passes a treasure map on to Jim from the legendary Captain Flint.

In the ensuing chaos, Jim goes to town to find Squire Telawney and Dr. Livesey to help out. He reveals that he was given a map, the Squire recognizes what it is, and talks the doctor into going after the treasure. They’ll hire a ship to help find it themselves. Well, from the outset, I think we can tell by the bold behavior of Trelawney and the cautious mood of the doctor that this will not be an easy journey!

Again, I’m not here to give a play-by-play of the movie, but from here, somehow Long John Silver, who seems to be working as a cook, is recruited to be the ship’s cook. Long John Silver bleeds shadiness from the start, but as with a lot of movies, the other characters seem to believe he’s an honest fellow and even permit him to choose the boat’s crew. Well, from here, what do you know, Silver isn’t just a naive cook, thanks to the Squire’s gift of the gab around town, Silver knows what’s “cookin” and wants the treasure for himself.

So, as expected, Silver has found Captain Flint’s old crew and has passed them off as an honest crew, but helping the Squire and doctor is not his true plan, as you might have guessed. The real plan is mutiny, of course! Well, Jim accidentally overhears these plans and relays them to the good guys. Jim is instructed to remain friends with Silver so that he can learn more information about the plot. Here is where the chaos really gets going. They make it to the island, and shortly after there is mutiny, deception, and drama. The bad guys don’t trust Silver and vice versa. The good guys have a hard time trying to defeat Silver. However, there is an ace in the hole for the good guys and Jim. Jim meets a marooned sailor named Ben Gunn, who used to sail with Captain Flint, and helps save the day.

So, through all the back and forth of fighting and struggles, we find that Long John Silver is indeed a silver-tongued character that is not to be trifled with. However, he is not the ultimate bad guy, though his past sins are great, and in the end, he loses; he takes a genuine liking to Jim and tries to do right by him. At the end of the movie, this is demonstrated as Silver has the opportunity to kill Jim and refuses. Jim responds by helping him get away with some of the treasure!

Bottom Line: I love this movie. I would give this an 8 out of 10 easily. Does it have all the modern special effects and big-budget “wow” of a movie like “Pirates of the Caribbean”? Obviously not. What I think this movie has that most don’t, though, are the things that make the viewer want more! This isn’t just a movie, it’s an adventure (sorry for the pun). In this movie, in my opinion, you are given a front row seat to events that happen in real time as though we are a fly on the wall. Oh, and Captain Long John Silver, he is a force of nature. Actor Robert Newton portrayed this character so well that from the start, he makes me believe that I am watching the real Long John Silver. The character is such a great study on how someone can be very flawed, yet still have some qualities that you can’t help but appreciate, as you get to know him. I hope you put down your phone while watching and take all of this movie in from start to finish! Enjoy!