Long John Silver's Return to Treasure Island

After Walt Disney's relatively well-produced version of "Treasure Island" (1950), timber-shivering Robert Newton (as "Long John Silver") returns. He is made to rescue kidnapped Kit Taylor (as Jim Hawkins) along with a damsel in distress, avoid the marriage-minded Connie Gilchrist (as Purity Pinker), and embark on a far less satisfying treasure hunt. This slight, long, and disappointing sequel rests its laurels almost entirely on Mr. Newton's top-heavy characterization. Late in the running time, young Hawkins and a vision-impaired Rodney "Rod" Taylor (as Israel Hands) give Newton a run for the money. Another "Return to Treasure Island" (also 1954), starring Tab Hunter, was even more peripheral to the original. Like Newton says, "Tis a long time since Treasure Island."

**** Long John Silver (12/16/54) Byron Haskin ~ Robert Newton, Kit Taylor, Connie Gilchrist, Rod Taylor

Robert Newton returns once again to his famous role from TREASURE ISLAND, that of Long John Silver. Once more he chews the scenery with gusto and is just grand fun to watch in this particular role any time you can catch him.

This time Long John sets out to save young Jim Hawkins (played by Kit Taylor who sadly doesn't possess the memorable screen presence that his predecessor Bobby Driscoll put into the role) from a cutthroat pirate named "El Toro" Mendoza (Lloyd Berrell) but also added into the mix are a slightly more memorable crew of pirates following after Long John's lead and Long John's frequently comedic interactions with his main squeeze Purity Pinker (Connie Gilchrist), who has her eyes firmly set on marriage and settling down the old sea Captain. Things become truly adventurous when the band of pirates set out for a return to Treasure Island and meet up with some most unexpected surprises and obstacles along the way.

In many ways, this unofficial sequel to the classic Walt Disney film, has a more gritty, real down to Earth feel about it although it really adds little new to the mix. Still any boy who ever dreamed of pirates and searching for lost treasure should find much to enjoy here. Great fun overall, Newton is just a pure delight to watch in this entertaining, surprisingly well-written and executed boys fantasy brought to life.

Calling all fans of the one and only-well, the most famous-Long John Silver! Robert Newton is back in the sequel to Treasure Island to portray the pirate he created in 1950. His "Aaarrrrg!" returns to the big screen, as does his famous red coat, parrot, perpetually squinting face, peg-legged limp, and penchant for rum.

While Treasure Island was mostly a swashbuckling adventure, this film-sometimes referred to as Long John Silver and sometimes called Return to Treasure Island-is more of a shout out to its fans. There's quite a bit of humor in this one, with one of the side plots devoted to a romance between Robert Newton and the local pub owner, Connie Gilchrist. She wants to get married, but he's determined to escape her clutches. The main story picks up where the original left off. Long John Silver is safe on a Caribbean island, but he's asked to rescue the governor's daughter from another pirate ship, and he soon finds out his old friend Jim Hawkins-played by Kit Taylor in this version-is also being held captive on the ship. He heads to sea and takes the audience with him!

Personally, I like Treasure Island better, since the production values are higher, but this one is still pretty cute because of the humor sprinkled in among the script.

I really did like "Treasure island" (1950) and very much wanted to enjoy this sequel featuring, as it does, the star of that film - Robert Newton - as the one legged cook/pirate and overall, all round, reprobate. This time, his young pal "Jim" (Kit Taylor) needs rescuing from the legendary pirate captain "El Toro" (Lloyd Burrell) before they can both pick up some treasure and head home to England. Of course it isn't going to be that simple, and once on the island of Hispaniola, "Silver" needs to use all his wits and guile to stay one step ahead of his rather untrustworthy crew, frequently stirred up by "Israel Hands" (Rod Taylor). There is plenty of adventure here with Newton on typically rambunctious form but the rest of the cast rather let it down, though, and the story is a pretty weak hybrid of the Robert Louis Stevenson novel with some new characters added - including a would-be spouse for our hero (Connie Gilchrist). I did enjoy it, but that might have been nostalgia: I was still a bit disappointed.

The original 1950 "Treasure Island" version is pretty well known, but most people aren't aware there's a sequel. I believe Disney did not have any involvement in this. It shows, but then again, Disney sequels aren't known for their quality. As far as I know, this isn't based on any book Robert Louis Stevenson made. Hey, my last name is Stevenson! It's more or less a retread of the original film. This is by no means awful, it's just okay. The best parts about it are easily the acting. Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver are portrayed just as well as in the original movie. While they're not given that much material, it's still entertaining to see these people again.

The film's main faults are that it isn't paced well and doesn't have much of a new story. I still like how they are trying to expand the mythology of the series. The color stands out really well, too. It seems like this movie had a really good length as well. It's just that the story isn't that interesting. My advice is just see the original, but this one is completely harmless. **1/2