The 1950 Disney adaptation of TREASURE ISLAND is the most famous version, supplanting even the original novel in people's minds, but this 1934 version is no slouch. Wallace Beery is every bit as great a Long John Silver as Robert Newton, and Jackie Cooper absolutely blows the stiff Bobby Driscoll out of the water. Visually, the black and white looks marvelous, adding the right amount of gothic undertones and menace. Everyone is cast to perfection and director Victor Fleming portrays the swashbuckling action well.
There are a few drackbacks though: for one, Jim doesn't come of age much. In the book, by the end, he is aware of Silver's amoral nature, even if he can't bring himself to wish the man harm due to the odd father-son bond between the two. However, here Jim is much too childlike even up through the end and I didn't care for having him help Silver escape. The ending was much too weepy for what is essentially a child's adventure story. It strips Silver of his menace and strips Jim of his development from childhood to adolescence. However, as they did in THE CHAMP, Coogan and Beery possess a great chemistry that makes most of their interactions enjoyable.
Overall, this is a good adventure film of the old school.
There are a few drackbacks though: for one, Jim doesn't come of age much. In the book, by the end, he is aware of Silver's amoral nature, even if he can't bring himself to wish the man harm due to the odd father-son bond between the two. However, here Jim is much too childlike even up through the end and I didn't care for having him help Silver escape. The ending was much too weepy for what is essentially a child's adventure story. It strips Silver of his menace and strips Jim of his development from childhood to adolescence. However, as they did in THE CHAMP, Coogan and Beery possess a great chemistry that makes most of their interactions enjoyable.
Overall, this is a good adventure film of the old school.