Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Movies»Movies by Decade»Movies - 1950s
    Movies - 1950s Movies - T 3 Mins Read

    Treasure island (1950)

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    Walt Disney’s first fully live-action film came about more from necessity than from a business plan. Both Disney and distributor RKO had a sizeable amount of British pounds tied up in the UK after World War II.

    Government restrictions prevented Disney from taking the money out of the country, so he decided to use it to make a movie.

    Shooting entirely in England and adding only one American – young Disney contract player Bobby Driscoll (Song of the South, So Dear to My Heart) – to the otherwise all-British cast, Disney set about adapting Robert Louis Stevenson’s adventure classic Treasure Island to the screen.

    treasureisland12

    The early goings-on follow Stevenson’s book fairly faithfully. At a coastal Inn, pirate Black Dog (Francis De Wolff) comes to deliver a message to Captain Billy Bones (Finlay Currie).

    As the old captain dies, he passes a treasure map on to the innkeeper’s young son, Jim Hawkins (Bobby Driscoll), who hooks up with local bigwigs Doctor Livesy (Denis O’Dea) and Squire Trelawney (Walter Fitzgerald) for a treasure hunt.

    Boarding Captain Smollet’s (Basil Sydney) ship, the Hispaniola, Jim meets one-legged cook Long John Silver (Robert Newton), who takes an instant liking to the boy.

    But Silver has an ulterior motive. He and most of the crew have planned a mutiny, hoping to find the treasure themselves. When the dust settles from the mutiny, Silver and his band follow the map to the treasure, with Jim in tow.

    A series of scrapes and double-crosses follow, culminating in a tough moral dilemma for young Jim.

    British actor Robert Newton made such a splash as Long John Silver that he became forever identified with the role, playing one pirate or another for much of the rest of his career, including the excellent Australian children’s TV series, The Adventures of Long John Silver (1955).

    treasureisland_002The ending of the film was changed from Stevenson’s original to highlight the relationship between Jim and Long John, but the adventurous spirit remained the same.

    So did the action, so much so that the film’s violence earned it a PG rating from the MPAA in its 1975 US re-release.

    Not wanting a PG blemish on its otherwise G-rated family record, Disney edited out a few offending scenes to get the desired rating.

    In 1992, with the PG stigma no longer an issue (thanks to taboo breakers like The Watcher in the Woods and The Black Hole), Disney released a video version of Treasure Island in its original, uncut form.

    Jim Hawkins
    Bobby Driscoll
    Long John Silver

    Robert Newton
    Captain Smollett

    Basil Sydney
    Squire Trelawney

    Walter Fitzgerald
    Dr Livesey

    Denis O’Dea
    Capt. Billy Bones

    Finlay Currie
    George Merry

    Ralph Truman
    Israel Hands

    Geoffrey Keen
    Ben Gunn

    Geoffrey Wilkinson
    Blind Pew

    John Laurie
    Black Dog

    Francis De Wolff
    Mr Arrow

    David Davies
    Redruth

    John Gregson
    Gray

    Andrew Blackett
    Morgan

    William Devlin

    Related Posts

    • Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
      Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
      Below-par Walt Disney musical about a good-natured witch, played by Lansbury, and some children who help the British war effort…
    • Sword In The Stone, The (1963)
      Sword In The Stone, The (1963)
      Getting a mixed reception on its release, this feature-length cartoon account of young King Arthur's magical misadventures from Disney -…
    • Little Mermaid, The (1989)
      Little Mermaid, The (1989)
      Plucky mermaid Ariel, daughter of King Triton, is unhappy with her life beneath the waves and makes a deal with…
    • Sleeping Beauty (1959)
      Sleeping Beauty (1959)
      Based on Charles Perrault's enduring fairy tale, this was Disney's most expensive cartoon to date, costing $6 million and taking…
    • Mary Poppins (1964)
      Mary Poppins (1964)
      One of Disney’s most delightful tales, Mary Poppins featured the best integration yet of cartoon and live-action film. Based on the…
    • Long John Silver (1954)
      Long John Silver (1954)
      Long John Silver - filmed in Australia four years after Walt Disney's version of Treasure Island - had Robert Newton…
    • Cinderella (1950)
      Cinderella (1950)
      Though screen adaptations of Cinderella abound, none is as well-remembered as the 1950 Disney animated version. Returning to full-length animated features for…
    • Peter Pan (1953)
      Peter Pan (1953)
      Sir James M. Barrie's book Peter Pan was a long-time favourite of Walt Disney's, and the pioneering animator worked for years to…

    Disney
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleTrash (1970)
    Next Article Tron (1982)

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Empire Strikes Back, The (1980)
      The darkest of the original Star Wars trilogy, The Empire […]
    • Izeena
      1 9 6 6 (UK) 15 x 10 minute episodes This offbeat Sunday-evening […]
    • Operation: Runaway (The Runaways)
      1 9 7 8 – 1 9 7 9 (USA) 17 x 60 minute episodes David […]
    • SKribble
      1 9 7 3 (UK) This 15-minute Monday lunchtime Thames Television […]
    • Wattoo Wattoo
      1 9 7 8 (France) 60 x 5 minute episodes This 5-minute French […]
    • Green Man , The
      1 9 9 0 (UK) 3 x 50 minute episodes This three-part series was […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disco Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.