Alphabetical Movie Listings: Treasure Island (United States, 1950)


Figure 1.--Here Jim comes aboard the ship before leaving England. Notice the tri-cornored hat. Click on the image to see Jim taken captive by Long John before reaching Treasure Island.

It is hard to go wrong when a movie is based on a story like Robert Lewis Stevenson's Treasure Island. Bobby Driscoll plays Jim Hawkins. Bobby plays his part beautifully. I think this is the definative film version of Treasure Island. The 1934 version is also very good, but Driscoll is a far better little actor. Some Disney films are disappointing, but this one nailed the essence of the book. I saw this film as a little boy and then read the book. In my mind Long John here and Jim Hawkinns are the characters that have left and indelible imprint on my view of the Stevenson book.

Filmology

Some Disney films are disappointing, but this one nailed the essence of the great adventure book thanks in part to wonderful performances by Bobby Driscoll and Robert Newton.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis (Balfour) Stephenson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. His crative career was shortened by ill health. He had nted accomplishmentts as a novelist, poet, and travel writer. He contracted tuberculosis as a child. His family was noted for constructing famous lighthouses. A lighthouse was of grear importance before modern navigaional methods and radio communication. He at first worked as a lighthouse designer, but then turned to the law, although he never actually worked as a lawyer. He lived in Bourmouth, England where he wrote some of his famous stories. He finally moved to Samoa for his health and for a time lived on a plantation. Of course during all this he wrote his great works. plantation owner in Samoa, all this in addition to his literary career. His first great success was Treasure Island which he wrote in 1882. It is perhaps his best known book. In it the boy character battles pirates. His next book was kidnapped in which another boy character David Balfour's attempts to gain his rightful inheritance. David is Scottish so he perhaps should be on a list of Scottish chracters. Stephenson is of course also remembered for his wonderful poems in A Child's Garden of Versus. He married Fanny Osbourne, an American, who was a great support to him and his work.

The Book

Robert Louis Stevenson's Treaure Island is the most famous swashbuckling pirate tale ever written. It is the odyssey of English boy Jim Hawkins and his thrilling adventures on the high seas. Jim may have been the first English boy introduced to generations of American boys. The book was set in the 18th century. Jim is the hero of the book and his adventure with murderous pirates is a thrilling tale. It is Jim who finds the map and eventually saves everyone from the pirates. After many adventures on Treasure Island he returns to England with the treasure. Treasure Island was written in 1882 and was Stephenson's first major literary success. It was a marvelous yarn involving piracy, buried treasure, and adventure on the high seas. There have been many printings and several film versions. The original title was The Sea-Cook.

Cast

Bobby Driscoll plays Jim Hawkins. Bobby plays his part beautifully. I saw this film as a little boy and then read the book. In my mind Long John here, Robert Newton, and Jim Hawkins played by Bobby Driscoll are the characters that have left and indelible imprint on my view of the Stevenson book. Driscoll and Newton are the defintive incarnations of Jim and Long John. A British reader writes, "Yes Driscoll and Newton for me are the actors that come to muind when I think of Treasure Island also." Another reader writes, "Yes, but a real seacoast inn "lad" would be a little tougher than Disney's idea Jim Hawkins lad. I thought Christian Bale did a very good job in his version of "Treasure Island" (1990). Both versions are favorites of mine." I think our reader has a good point here. Actually there are two questions. 1) What would a seacoast inn lad actually be like. 2) How did Stevenson depict the Jim Hawkins character. I think that our reader is right that Bale probably was more like an actual inn lad than Driscoll. As to the second question, it has been so long since I read the book (more than 50 years!) that I am no sure at this time. Perhaps a reader will know. I am sure that my preference for the Driscoll performance is the fact that I saw the film as a child and it made such an impression on me.

Plot

Treasure Isand is the arch-typical boys adventure story. Young Jim Hawkins obtain Cpt. Flint's treasure map while working in the family inn. The local dignitaries (Squire Trelawney and Dr. Livesey) decide that it is real and organize an expedition. The trouble begins when some of Cpt. Flint's pirate crew led by Long John Silver manage to get hired as crew members. The Disney version was fairly faithful to the book.

Costuming

The 18th cebtury costuming I have noted in the film seem reasonably accurate. The interesting aspect of the costuming is that the book is set in the mid-18th century before children's clothes had been invented. Note that Jim wears essentially the same clothes as the men in the film.

Assessment

It is hard to go wrong when a movie is based on a story like Robert Lewis Stevenson's Treasure Island. I think this is the definative film version of Treasure Island. The 1934 version is also very good, but Driscoll is a far better little actor.








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Created: 9:27 PM 10/3/2005
Last updated: 12:49 AM 8/13/2011