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Treasure Island Reviews

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Robert Newton has a field day as Long John Silver in this Disney adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic about 18th-century piracy and buried gold. Jim: Bobby Driscoll. Dr. Livesey: Denis O'Dea. Merry: Ralph Truman. Trelawney: Walter Fitzgerald. Smollett: Basil Sydney. Bones: Finlay Currie. Pew: John Laurie. Directed by Byron Haskin.

This was Disney's first totally live-action movie, and it is, by far, the best film version of the familiar Stevenson story. Disney regular Bobby Driscoll takes on the coveted role of Jim Hawkins, and a number of reliable British actors round out the cast. This version has a marvelous full-bodied visual style that never appears to be studio-bound. When Disney wanted to rerelease the film in the 1970s, the MPAA rating system had arrived, and because of some rather graphic violence, the movie was given the dreaded (by Disney) "PG" rating. The offending scenes had to be snipped to acquire the desired "G" rating, depriving audiences of some excitement, but this remains an extremely satisfying film.