Wonderful character development!

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

I've never read the book Treasure Island so I can't compare this 1934 adaptation to the source material but rather give a point of view as someone who watched the film out of admiration for the stars involved. Treasure Island doesn't have the unmanufactured feel or the neo- realism of the pervious pairing of Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper of The Champ (then again few films do) but I was satisfied to get my fill of another Beery-Cooper pairing. The chemistry they share, what a pure and natural delight.For me Cooper's performance in Treasure Island is priceless; a little kid trying to act tough. I can't help but let out an "awwwww!!" at any moment when he's in over his head. I can see how his performance would rub others the wrong way but I can't get enough of it. Cooper's relationship to Beery in reality was nothing like it was in fiction but watching him on screen you would never think otherwise. You can see the admiration Jim Hawkins has for Long John Silver on his face and likewise, when he discovers the truth about Long John, just look at the pure horror that bestows his face. Wallace Beery on other hand looks just like a true, rugged seafarer and a beast of a pirate. Being an actor of the silent era he has a beat up face which says so much. Beery simply had the look this role required. Treasure Island saw the return of the swashbuckler to Hollywood, popular during the 1920's but almost nonexistent during the pre-code era. Coming from MGM, the production values are second to none, even throwing some exotic animals into the mix and a taster of what was to come in MGM's Mutiny on the Bounty.Before Beery appears on screen Lionel Barrymore as Billy Bones steals any scene he's occupies and when I say steals, I mean steals. I can't determine whether or not his performance is supposed to be funny or not but his scenery chewing grounceness, rambling and his constant desire for rum cracks me up ("Bottle of rum ya old hag!!").The ending is an emotional punch to the gut albeit one of mixed emotions. It's not clear during the film whether or not Long John has any affection for Jim or is just manipulating him and taking advantage of his naivety. Regardless watching Jackie Cooper crying his little heart out as Beery embarks of the ship, you would need to have a heart of stone not to be moved.

"Jim Hawkins" (Jackie Cooper) is a good lad who does his best to help his widowed mother manage "The Admiral Benbow Inn" which is situated on the shore overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Everything appears to be running smoothly until one particular evening when a seedy man by the name of "Captain Billy Bones" (Lionel Barrymore) appears with a large chest and demands a room. Although his very presence is rather disturbing it soon becomes obvious that he is quite nervous about something. Not long afterward some other rogues come after him and their mere appearance causes him to have a heart attack and die. Unfortunately for them, Jim finds the hidden treasure map before they do and soon he and the local magistrate, "Doctor Livesay" set off in a ship in search of the island where treasure is buried. What they don't realize however is that the recently hired cook—and Jim's new friend--named "Long John Silver" (Wallace Beery) knows quite a bit more than he lets on and he has a secret agenda all of his own. Now, rather than reveal any more of the film I will just say that this was a pretty good pirate movie which is suitable for the entire family. I should probably also add that even though the movie I saw happened to be in color from what I understand it was originally filmed in black and white. So if that makes a difference then it might be best to check which version is available if necessary. That said, while I cannot comment on how good the original black and white version was I can say that the colorized version managed to capture the surroundings in a superb manner. In short, while this movie may be old it's still fairly decent and I recommend it for a family night at home should the opportunity presents itself.

Hollywood vintage adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson pirate adventure from an eyeball-rolling Wallace Beery and a splendid Jacke Coogan . Again we live the roaring adventure of men against the sea . We share the struggles, the heartaches, the laughter of courageous souls who leave their houses they love to dare the wrath of the angry pirates. Upright men and greedy pirates in conflict with their destiny enacting the Robert Stevenson's most thrilling story. Jim Hawkins (an appealing acting by Jackie Coogan) encounters the map that lead to a distant island where is a buried treasure. Then , the young boy join forces with captain Smollett (Lewis Stone), Squire (Nigel Bruce), Doctor Livesey (Otto Kruger) and of course a boisterous Long John Silver(a brilliant triumph by Wallace Beery who is notably snarly , though relatively subdued) journey to isle of hidden bounty. The young cabin boy Hawkins has a treasure map and a boatload of kill-crazed pirates eager for the riches hidden on Treasure Island . Jim Hawkins matches with peg-legged Long Silver and adventures go on .Fun story of high seas adventure plenty of intrigue , fights and action. The whole piece of adventure teems with emotion , thrills , humor , atmosphere and being pretty amusing . Appropriately adventurous rendition of Robert Stevenson's often-filmed and spine-tingling tale , in which Wallace Beery hands perfectly the role as rogue pirate and gives a memorable acting, as always. Jackie Coogans as sympathetic naive Jim is fabulous and appealing . Delightful performance by Charles Chic Sale as Ben Gunn, as well. At the film appears usual and notorious secondary actors in several Hollywood productions, such as Lionel Barrymore as Billy Bones , Otto Kruger as Doctor Livesey , Lewis Stone as Captain Smollett , Douglass Dumbrille as Pirate of the Spanish Main and Watson's Nigel Bruce as Squire . The motion picture was well directed directed by Victor Fleming . This production is powered by the great Wallace Beery and likable Jackie Coogan. Also available in horrible colorized version . Rating : Above average . Well worth watching , you'll be on the edge of your seat . Other renditions -being multitudinous remakes , as there are many films made of it- based on this classic novel are the followings : Disney take on (1950) by Byron Haskin with Robert Newton , Basil Sydney and Bobby Driscoll , respectable full-blooded second-best the classic Fleming version ; European retelling (1974) by John Hough with Orson Welles , Angel Del Pozo , Lionel Stander and Kim Burfield ; Teasure Island (1999) by Marc Charlesbois with Jack Palance , Patrick Bergin and Kevin Zegers ; TV recounting by Fraser C Heston with Charlton Heston , Christian Bale and Richard Johnson ; and cartoon-Sci-Fi version Treasure planet (2002) directed by John Musker and Ron Clemens . Furthermore , Muppet's Treasure island and recent rendition (2012) starred by Eddie Izzard .

When Robert Louis Stevenson wrote TREASURE ISLAND in 1883, he probably thought that it was a good work, but hardly better than his TRAVELS WITH A DONKEY or SILVERADO SQUATTERS or his other coming fiction. It was a good early novel, and that was that. He would grow as a writer, but THE MASTER OF BALLENTRAE, DR. JECKYLL AND MR. HYDE, and WEIR OF HERMISTON were in the future, as was KIDNAPPED. So were the forgotten titles: PRINCE OTTO and THE WRECKERS and THE DYNAMITERS. But his best themes are in TREASURE ISLAND. Besides the expert handling of an adventure tale and a historical novel, there is also the issue of ambiguity in personality. Long John Silver is the first of a line of heroes/anti-heroes including Dr. Henry Jeckyll, Alec Breck Stewart, and James and Henry Durrie who while decent in some ways are weak or worse in other ways. Long John is capable of organizing a mutiny, ordering the murder of a troublesome crew member who won't join his plans, or planning to steal a treasure that does not belong to him. But he is human - he sees young Jim Hawkins as a decent kid, and ends up becoming a surrogate father to him in the novel (even protecting the boy from his less pleasant associates). But Long John cannot avoid (even at his best) being at his worse. To protect Jim, John has to keep him from the other non-mutineers (the Squire, Captain Smollett, Dr. Livesey), so he lies to Jim that they have denounced Jim as a mutineer and won't have anything to do with him. Subsequently, of course, Jim does learn this is a lie - from Dr. Livesey.Jim likewise finds ambiguity in his reactions. He can't help liking (even loving) the sea cook. But he realizes Silver is a bad man. Yet, in the end, he is glad that John escapes (even with some part of the treasure).In his autobiography, Jackie Cooper admits that when he is approached to this day by fans they start asking him about Wallace Beery, and Cooper has to admit that he never was close to Beery socially. They worked well together (Cooper played Beery's son in THE CHAMP, the 1931 film that gave Beery his Oscar). But Beery's personality (in real life) was always "troublesome". Reputedly he left the budding film industry in Chicago in the teens of the 20th Century when he was in danger of a rape charge. In later years his failed marriage to Gloria Swanson was due to his jealousy of her success and his slower success. When he worked with Cooper, he was at his Hollywood zenith as a star and talent, but he was fully aware of it. At one point, Cooper mentions an incident where Beery, he, and some others were eating lunch, and some autograph seekers approached them. While several (including Cooper) did not hesitate to give autographs, Beery refused. Afterwards, when asked about this, Beery said that he was a big star and he did not have to be pestered by this kind of thing.Yet, to the credit of both stars, their performances in TREASURE ISLAND are flawless. They get along very nicely in their roles - Jim Hawkins occasionally saying something kindly that raises the suspicious John Silver's spirits a bit. Beery and Cooper also perform well with the rest of the cast - check the scenes where Beery keeps his less and less friendly mutineer associates in line. He brings some dark humor to the situations (as when a treasure that they dig for is not in the spot they've waisted time at). Cooper's best moment without Beery, of course, is the sequence with Douglas Dumbrille as Israel Hands*, where they have a fight to the death (literally) in the rigging of the ship Hands was supposed to be guarding. Dumbrille, by the way, should be congratulated for his acting here - he manages not to show off that stentorian voice of his, but uses a more weaselly sounding voice quite effectively.Note also Lionel Barrymore's noisy and frightening, but ultimately frightened Captain Billy Bones, forcing the civilians in the Admiral Benbow Inn to sing "Fifteen Men on a Deadman's Chest", but quivering when told the one legged sea cook has been seen nearby. Also note William Mong's "Blind Pew", a scary enough figure for awhile, but at the end rather pathetic given his bizarre fate. Chic Sale's Ben Gunn is properly silly from years of isolation. Otto Kruger's Dr. Livesay is properly heroic seeking to make sure that Jim is not harmed by the mutineers. The cast, in short, is first rate, and matched by Victor Fleming's well handled directing. So the film merits a "10".*Historically, there was a pirate named Israel Hands, though he was dead by the time of TREASURE ISLAND (roughly 1740). Hands was one of Blackbeard's crew in 1716 - 1718, and was the only survivor of that crew from Blackbeard's last battle in 1718. The pirate chief shot him in the knee, wounding him severely enough to keep from fighting. Hands was put ashore before the battle, and watched while his mates were killed or captured (and eventually hanged). Hands died years later as a beggar in London. Oh, and the inn, "the Admiral Benbow" is named for Admiral John Benbow (died 1702) who was a hero of the Navy in the period of the War of the Spanish Succession.