- Film Review
- Reviewed By Adrian Turner
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3 out of 5
This live-action Disney treatment of the classic tale owes its reputation to just one thing: Robert Newton's performance as Long John Silver. Here is the original, larger-than-life portrayal of the leering pirate rogue by the extraordinary Newton whose body lurches drunkenly and whose piglet eyes have the twinkle of gin. Newton did not have to act this way; he was pickled much of the time and this dedication to naturalism caused him to return to the part in a television series and a sequel, Long John Silver (1955). Apart from some pretty camerawork by Freddie Young, the rest of the production isn't much to shout about, and as Jim Hawkins, Bobby Driscoll is the worst sort of precocious American child star who, in real life, was headed for a very un-Disney future of drug addiction, poverty and an early death.
Plot Summary
Disney adventure based on Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel, starring Robert Newton and Bobby Driscoll. Young Jim Hawkins embarks on a voyage to the Caribbean in search of Captain Flint's buried treasure. But some of Flint's old crew, including rapscallion Long John Silver, are also on board.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Jim Hawkins
- Bobby Driscoll
- Long John Silver
- Robert Newton
- Capt Smollett
- Basil Sydney
- Squire Trelawney
- Walter Fitzgerald
- Dr Livesey
- Denis O'Dea
- George Merry
- Ralph Truman
- Billy Bones
- Finlay Currie
- Blind Pew
- John Laurie
- Israel Hands
- Geoffrey Keen
- Redruth
- John Gregson
- Cady
- Sam Kydd
Crew
- Director
- Byron Haskin
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