Long John Silver's Return to Treasure Island Reviews

A totally unnecessary sequel to Treasure Island, Long John Silver is at best a middling little pirate film. Its sole reason for existence is to showcase the title character so memorably created by Robert Newton in Island. In that first film, Newton's enjoyably hammy performance was balanced by a variety of other factors; here in Silver, it's the whole show, and that's not good. Newton's Silver is an over-the-top impersonation that is hard to take as the focus of an entire film, and it quickly becomes tiring. Matters are not helped by the fact that Silver's script is a hodgepodge of elements all thrown together; there's a nod to having a main plot, but it's really just an excuse to have one segment follow another, and the number of subplots that are generated over the course of the piece only make it more of a mishmash. The photography is nice, and some of the locations are engaging as well. But even though the supporting cast has some strong players, such as Connie Gilchrist, they're hampered by the script. Byron Haskin's direction is functional.