False Treasure
Long John Silver (Robert Newton) is still both a drunk and in search of gold on Treasure Island and is in possession of a map which shows where more of Captain's Flint stolen treasures are supposedly hidden. But in order to make sense of a map Silver needs the medallion which is the maps key and it just so happens to be the medallion which Jim Hawkins (Kit Taylor) wears. The trouble is that Jim is being sent back to Britain and so Silver will need to free him but Silver also has to deal with Captain "El Toro" Mendoza (Lloyd Berrell) who is angered when Silver saves Governor Sir Henry Strong's (Harvey Adams) daughter from being kidnapped. And just to make matters worse there is Patch (Rod Taylor) who is after Jim for causing his loss of sight.
For what ever reason I have never gone wild over pirate movies, maybe it comes down to a lack of interest in pirates as a child and preferred watching westerns. There are some I enjoy, those which have a real swashbuckling sense of daring do but many have left me unmoved. And unmoved is most definitely how I feel about "Long John Silver" the follow up to "Treasure Island" with Robert Newton and his wild eyes returning as the title character. To me everything about "Long John Silver" is simply ordinary at best and occasionally not very good.
Now in truth there isn't much to say about "Long John Silver" as we have the alcohol sodden Silver after treasure, we have young Jim who is critical to finding it, an evil pirate which wants to scupper Silver's plan and of course the obligatory damsel in distress in the form of the Governor's daughter. It almost feels like someone took the pirate movie template, swapped the story around, put in the recognizable names and let it run. The end result is a typically colourful but not overly enthralling pirate movie which also has the feel about it that the budget didn't extend to big action so they filled it with dialogue which frequently drones on but fails to entertain.
The only thing it has going for it is that Robert Newton return to play Long John Silver and it has to be said that Newton's over the top eye bulging performance of the pirate has always be entertaining but it is as entertaining as "Long John Silver" gets for those not overly bothered by pirate movies.
What this all boils down to is that for me "Long John Silver" is now one of those movies which sadly does little for me thanks to the droning on of dialogue and the lack of exciting action. Maybe for those who loved the original "Treasure Island" and love pirate movies will find it more enthralling but for those seeking entertainment will find it in short supply in this sequel.
