Treasure Island (1950)

December 15, 2024 11:35 PM

The treasure seeking adventures of young Jim Hawkins and pirate captain Long John Silver.
posted by TheophileEscargot (6 comments total)

My 11 year old son actually quite liked this one. It's pretty fast moving. The sets and effects look quite real: I wonder if they actually just had a bunch of sailing ships in a harbour.

It doesn't hurt that the young kid does a load of stuff that a modern movie probably wouldn't let him: serve rum, literally bite the bullet while undergoing surgery, and shoot a pirate dead in the face.

Robert Newton's performance as Long John Silver is astonishingly charismatic, switching instantly from affability to menace. He almost deserves to have his West Country accent immortalized as How Pirates Talk.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 11:40 PM on December 15, 2024 [4 favorites]

Robert Newton's Long John Silver characterization is the primary source of the modern pirate accent, which he created for this film. His performance is literally one for the ages, even if it isn't historically accurate, so he has been immortalized in a sense.
posted by abraxasaxarba at 1:01 AM on December 16, 2024 [5 favorites]

Well, we meet the character Long John Silver running a tavern in Bristol, so it's perfectly reasonable that he has that accent. It's the regional accent where he is.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 1:37 AM on December 16, 2024 [1 favorite]

Does anyone literally say "Arr, Jim lad!" during this? (I once made a pirate character named R. Jim Ladd in City of Heroes.)
posted by Halloween Jack at 5:14 AM on December 16, 2024 [2 favorites]

Robert Newton's Long John Silver characterization is the primary source of the modern pirate accent, which he created for this film. His performance is literally one for the ages, even if it isn't historically accurate, so he has been immortalized in a sense.

It's been decades since I watched this but his Silver is burned into my soul as the only right and proper presentation of the character. (With due respect to Black Flags, and every other pirate related product since 1950). I remember enjoying this film a bit.

The book is also a pretty quick, fun read.
posted by Atreides at 7:43 AM on December 16, 2024 [1 favorite]

If you're going to read the book be sure it's the version with NC Wyeth's illustrations. They're gorgeous.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 5:39 PM on December 16, 2024 [5 favorites]