Long John Silver (1954)

Director:

Byron Haskin

Writers:

Martin Rackin (written by) and
Robert Louis Stevenson (characters)

Release Date:

16 December 1954 (Australia)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Tagline:

The most rollicking rogue ever to sail the Spanish Main !

Plot:

In this sequel to Treasure Island, Long John hopes to rescue his friend Jim from a rival pirate and return for more treasure.

Plot Keywords:

Pirate | Sequel | Swashbuckler | Character Name In Title

Cast

Robert Newton	...	Long John Silver
Connie Gilchrist	...	Purity Pinker
Lloyd Berrell	...	Capt. Mendoza, 'El Toro'
Grant Taylor	...	Patch
Rod Taylor	...	Israel Hands (as Rodney Taylor)
Harvey Adams	...	Sir Henry Strong
Muriel Steinbeck	...	Lady Strong
Henry Gilbert	...	Billy Bowlegs
John Brunskill	...	Old Stringley
Eric Reiman	...	Lanky pirate
Harry Hambleton	...	Big Eric
Syd Chambers	...	Ned Shill
George Simpson-Lyttle	...	Capt. Asa MacDougall (as George Simpson-Little)
Tony Arpino	...	Mendoza pirate
Al Thomas	...	Mendoza pirate
Vladislaus Leonidis
Thora Smith	...	Elizabeth Strong
Billy Kay	...	Ironhand
Hans Stern	...	Reverend Monaster
Owen Weingott
Don McNiven	...	Sgt. Cover
Elwin Daniel	...	Dodd Perch (dying pirate)
Charles McCallum	...	Old naval officer
John Pooley	...	Young naval officer
Frants Folmer	...	Sentry
Fred Goddard
Kevin Healy
Jeffrey Bradley
Nicki Martino	...	Barmaid
Kenneth J. Warren		(as Kenneth Warren)
John Llewellyn
James Workman
Kit Taylor	...	Jim Hawkins
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Valerie Windus	...	Girl with Billy Bowlegs (uncredited)

Directed by
Byron Haskin

Writing credits
Martin Rackin		(written by)
Robert Louis Stevenson		characters

Produced by
Joe Kaufmann	....	producer (as Joseph Kaufman)
Mark Evans	....	associate producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
David Buttolph

Cinematography by
Carl E. Guthrie		(as Carl Guthrie)

Film Editing by
Manuel del Campo

Production Design by
Bill Constable		(as William Constable)

Costume Design by
Karl Raymond

Makeup Department
Edward Bower	....	wigs
Elsie Dayne	....	hair stylist
Nessa Tait	....	makeup artist
Dimitry Ustrizoff	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hans Adlerstein	....	assistant director
Maurie Power	....	assistant director

Art Department
Desmonde Downing	....	assistant set designer
Charles Woolveridge	....	set constructor

Sound Department
Alan Allen	....	sound recordist
Hans Wetzel	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Carl Kayser	....	camera operator (as Karl Kayser)
Warren Mearns	....	chief electrician
Ross Wood	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
John Wayne	....	costumes (uncredited)

Editorial Department
William Copland	....	assistant editor

Music Department
David Buttolph	....	musical director (uncredited)

Other crew
Mark Evans	....	production executive
Valerie Frost	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Treasure Island Pictures Pty. Ltd.

Distributors

• Distributors Corporation of America (DCA) (1955) (USA) (theatrical)
• Orrin Films (1957) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• New Trends Associates (1966) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Childhood Productions (1968) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• United American Video (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• Hollywood Classics (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Direct Source (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Roan Group, The (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Marengo Films (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Bridgestone Multimedia (2002) (USA) (VHS)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• BFS Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (USA) (all media)
• Delta Expedition (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Platinum Disc (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Better Television Distribution (2006) (worldwide) (TV)
• VCI Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)

Other Companies

• Sydney Symphony Orchestra  music performers

Also Known As:

Long John Silver's Return to Treasure Island

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Australia

Company:

Treasure Island Pictures Pty. Ltd.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Silver lays out the plan to 'El Toro' Mendoza to waylay Sir Henry's warehouse of jewels and rum, it called for two signal fires to send the governor's warships south as a diversion, while the pirates would head north toward the warehouse. However, only one signal fire was lit, which was the signal for Henry's men to go north as well.

Quotes:

Mendoza: Until your dying day I will be grateful.
[draws cutlass]
Mendoza: I regret to inform you, *this* is your dying day!

Movie Connections:

Follows Treasure Island (1950)

"Argh! A Land Lubber I'll Never Be!!"

Robert Newton returns once again to his famous role from TREASURE ISLAND, that of Long John Silver. Once more he chews the scenery with gusto and is just grand fun to watch in this particular role any time you can catch him.

This time Long John sets out to save young Jim Hawkins (played by Kit Taylor who sadly doesn't possess the memorable screen presence that his predecessor Bobby Driscoll put into the role) from a cutthroat pirate named "El Toro" Mendoza (Lloyd Berrell) but also added into the mix are a slightly more memorable crew of pirates following after Long John's lead and Long John's frequently comedic interactions with his main squeeze Purity Pinker (Connie Gilchrist), who has her eyes firmly set on marriage and settling down the old sea Captain. Things become truly adventurous when the band of pirates set out for a return to Treasure Island and meet up with some most unexpected surprises and obstacles along the way.

In many ways, this unofficial sequel to the classic Walt Disney film, has a more gritty, real down to Earth feel about it although it really adds little new to the mix. Still any boy who ever dreamed of pirates and searching for lost treasure should find much to enjoy here. Great fun overall, Newton is just a pure delight to watch in this entertaining, surprisingly well-written and executed boys fantasy brought to life.