Treasure Island (1934)

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Movie
German title Treasure Island
Original title Treasure Island
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1934
length 105 minutes
Rod
Director Victor Fleming
script John Lee Mahin ,
John Howard Lawson ,
Leonard Praskins
production Hunt Stromberg
for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
music Herbert Stothart
camera Clyde De Vinna ,
Ray June ,
Harold Rosson
cut Blanche Sewell
occupation

Treasure Island is an American film adaptation of Victor Fleming from 1934. It is the first sound film adaptation of the eponymous novel by Robert Louis Stevenson . In the main roles are played by Wallace Beery as pirate Long John Silver and Jackie Cooper as Jim Hawkins.

action

England , mid-18th century: Jim Hawkins and his widowed mother run Admiral Benbow , an inn near Bristol . One stormy evening, the mysterious and uncouth seafarer Billy Bones appears in the Benbow and is given quarters. He stands out among the other guests for his regular drunkenness, in which he speaks of a mysterious treasure. He also seems to panic to avoid other sailors. One day, Bones receives an unwanted visit from two sinister pirates, the Black Dog and the Blind Pew. The seriously ill Bones can't stand this excitement and falls dead. Jim and his mother find a treasure map in the remains of Bones that leads to the treasures of the legendary pirate captain Flint. The local squire Trelawney and the doctor friend Livesey collect money and men to go on the ship Hispaniola in search of the treasure, with Jim being made a cabin boy.

The ship is led by the strict captain Smollett. Also on board is the one-legged ship's cook Long John Silver, who was once a pirate on Flint's ship and now wants the treasure for himself. The Squire falls for Silver's skillful kindness and lets him choose other men for the ship, who are also pirates. Although Billy Bones had previously warned Jim about a one-legged pirate, the cabin boy also quickly befriends the cook. Shortly before the ship reaches Treasure Island in the Caribbean , Jim Hawkins overhears a conversation between Silver and the sailors who are discussing their planned mutiny in an apple barrel. Jim then reports to the Squire that Dr. Livesey and Captain Smollett of his experience. This lead in knowledge allows them to save their lives from the pirates and entrench themselves in a fort on the island. You can successfully defend yourself against the pirates, with three servants of the squire and many of the pirates dying.

On his forays into the island, Jim meets a neglected man named Ben Gunn, who turns out to be the only resident of the island and was abandoned on the island three years ago. Jim takes a rowboat built by Ben Gunn and secretly swims to the Hispaniola to prevent the pirates from escaping. He unties the ship and sails it to a safe place, but he also has to shoot the pirate Israel Hands in self-defense when he tries to kill him with a knife. Jim returns to the fort, which has since been handed over to Silver and his men - along with the treasure map. Silver takes Jim hostage , but also ensures that he is not killed immediately - as requested by the other pirates. Silver does this, however, not without ulterior motives, because the support of his own men is dwindling and he plays with the idea of ​​changing sides.

Dr. Livesey tries to get Jim, but the boy wants to stay with Silver because he gave him his word. The pirates finally go in search of the treasure, but there is no more treasure at the specified location. The remaining men mutiny against Silver, but Dr. Livesey and Ben Gunn step in and chase away the pirates. It turns out that Ben Gunn had already found Flint's treasure and kept it hidden in his cave, which is why the honest men had so willingly exchanged their fort and the treasure map for Silver. The group leaves the island with the treasure map and Silver as a prisoner. Jim does not want to see his former friend Silver hanging and releases him in the next port. As a thank you, Silver gives him his parrot, but secretly steals a small part of the treasure for himself.

background

This version was the fifth film adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel, but the first as a sound film . The exterior scenes were filmed mainly at Emerald Bay on Santa Catalina Island off California, other scenes were shot in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's studio. The film largely sticks to the original, with the notable difference that the farewell between Jim and Silver is much longer and more heartfelt than in the book. The film celebrated its world premiere on August 17, 1934 in the United States.

Treasure Island performed disappointingly at the box office in 1934 . In his autobiography, Jackie Cooper later stated that he was the wrong choice for the role of Jim Hawkins - in his opinion a slightly older British boy would have been better. Cooper and Wallace Beery had previously appeared together in the films The Champ (1931) and The Bowery (1933). Beery is said to have been dissatisfied with actually playing the smaller role in the film alongside child star Cooper. Therefore, he often withdrew from filming for several hours and took long breaks so that shooting a two-and-a-half-page scene - which was actually only scheduled for one day - took almost a week.

Reviews

When it was released, most critics were positive about the film, but also criticized it as too long. Mordaunt Hall wrote in the New York Times on August 18, 1934 that the film was "a moderately satisfactory adaptation" of Stevenson's novel. Like many adaptations, the film has a synthetic effect and does not achieve the “strength and depth of the parent's work”. Nevertheless, this film is one of the more successful adaptations of a literary classic. Hall particularly praised the film sets and most of the actors. Wallace Beery is "extremely good at jumping over the set with one arm and a parrot on his shoulders." even if his character might not be precisely the Silver Stevenson intended. In its 1934 review, Variety praised the film's photographic effects, with which one “couldn't help being impressed”.

Leonard Maltin gave the treasure island three and a half out of four stars in his short review, it was a "touching adaptation" with a "stormy" Beery in the lead role. It is a "fine film" with high production standards. The lexicon of international films was also positive: "A captivating implementation that shows the material a lot of respect and is supported by a fascinating soundtrack."

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Bill Goodman: Treasure Island (1934) - Articles. In: Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved October 29, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Treasure Island (1934) - IMDb Locations. Retrieved December 3, 2017 .
  3. ^ Treasure Island (1934) - IMDb Trivia. Retrieved December 2, 2017 .
  4. ↑ AFI | Catalog. Retrieved December 3, 2017 .
  5. ↑ AFI | Catalog. Retrieved December 3, 2017 .
  6. ^ Movie Review - Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper in a Film Version of Stevenson's "Treasure Island." Retrieved December 3, 2017 .
  7. ^ Leonard Maltin : Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide . Plume, New York 2015, ISBN 978-0-14-751682-4 , pp. 732 (English).
  8. ↑ Treasure Island. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed October 29, 2019 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used