Long John Silver Returns to Treasure Island

THE STORY: Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum, sixteen men on a dead man's chest...This movie is a sequel to the film, Treasure Island. Its one of my favorites and  think most people would agree with me that its a really entertaining movie!

After the events on Treasure Island in the first movie, Long John Silver finds himself and his crew in Porte Belo (sp) a colony in the Caribbean. Long John and company are without a ship or much money, but spend their time in an inn owned by Purity Pinker. Purity yells at Long John a lot, but she actually thinks he would make a good husband. Fate gives Long John a hand when he discovers that his pirate foe, El Toro has seized another vessel and taken the daughter of the colonial governor, Elizabeth, as a hostage. Long John also finds that Jim Hawkins, the kid from the first movie was also captured. (I can't recall why Jim was on this ship however)

Long John hatches a plan.He appeals to Governor Strong to let him deliver the ransom money to El Toro. He'll then set a signal fire to indicate which direction that El Toro sails afterward and the governor can ambush him. Long John's real intention is to find Jim. Jim has a medallion which is the key to finding more gold on Treasure island. Long John suckers El Toro by telling him that he'll signal the governor to sail south while they head north to the treasury. With the governor's forces going in the wrong direction they'll be able to ransack the gold in the colonial warehouse and split it. When they get to the warehouse, El Toro betrays Long John and plans to kill him and keep all of the money. But Long John Silver is even craftier. His men were hiding in the warehouse. They battle El Toro's guys and win. During the fight, Long John orders Jim to take Elizabeth back to the Governor. When Jim is gone, Long John hatches an even more devious plan. He lets El Toro go...knowing full well that the governor will think El Toro sacked the warehouse while Long John and his men actually take the gold. With this money they plan to buy a ship and return to Treasure island.

Things go slightly awry. Long John's men are captured  a few days later. Without a crew Long John is solemnly alone in the inn, while Purity schemes to get him to marry him. Long John wants to 'adopt' Jim, only to get his hands on the medallion. The governor won't let him and plans to send Jim back to England on a ship called The Thistle. But fate once again lends Long John a hand. The Thistle's captain, MacDougal comes to the inn looking for a crew. The original crew has fallen ill with scurvy. (what the hell is Scurvy, anyway?) Long John frees his men and they leave on the Thistle. All the while Long John, as the cook, plans a mutiny. Jim, who is fond of Long John for some reason, still rats to Captain MacDougal when he finds out about the mutineers plan. Macdougal, who claims to be very religious, strands the mutineers and Jim on Socoro island. Socoro Island also happens to be the hideout for El Toro. Long John takes advantage of that by distracting El Toro's men and stealing his ship.

Once again at Treasure Island Long John and his crew discover that Israel Hands, an evil pirate from the first movie is marooned there. Hands was supposedly killed by Jim in Treasure Island, but was only blinded. Enraged and bitter he tries to kill Long John and his crew, but leads them to safety when El Toro shows up. El Toro has another ship that arrived at his hideout and he used it follow Long John, seeking vengeance. Hands only helps Long John when Long John promises that he'll take him to Cornwall so he can find and kill Jim Hawkins. Being blind, Hands doesn't realize at first that Jim is right there with Long John. He finds out though and while Long John and his crew are finding the treasure he attempts to kill Jim. Jim leads him on a long chase...which is strange because you'd think a young healthy boy could outrun and lose a blind man on a tropical island. Jim trips Hands on a cliff and Hands falls to his death...unless he's like one of those movie maniacs that comes back in another sequel.

Still, Long John and crew have El Toro to deal with. El Toro and his crew capture Jim and force Long John to surrender himself. It seems that even though Long John is a pirate, and a conniving thief (and murderer...in Treasure Island, Long John killed the first mate of the ship he was on.) He is fond of Jim, kind of like a son or nephew. (This is evident in both movies...and that's what made them interesting and Long John kind of sympathetic) I said Long John was conniving...he surrenders himself to free Jim but has his men toss a few bombs made from the golden goblets in the treasure and some gunpowder into El Toro's men. Then they attack and kill them all. El Toro isn't dead though and tries to kill Long John one last time. Having only one leg, you'd think Long John was helpless, but he leaps onto El Toro knocking him down and then flattens him with one punch. Victorious, Long John, Jim and the crew sail back to Porte Belo with the treasure. Long John, seemingly a respectable man now that he has riches, avoids marrying Purity, running off with Jim at the end. (Which is kind of unsettling...I mean, Purity's no super-model, but Jim is...well, a boy!)

They don't make movies like this anymore. A movie where the characters are actually interesting and there aren't any snazzy effects to keep you watching. A movie thats just plain fun to watch! This movie is great...I think its more entertaining than Treasure Island. Long John and his men use a lot of 'pirate talk' in this movie, though. It becomes almost comical after awhile. Long John always goes "Arrrr" and the characters say things like "I like the cut o' yer jib", "Shiver me Timbers!" and "Belay, ye scurvy squids!". Admittedly that makes the film fun to watch. Long John Silver was played by Robert Newton.(in this movie and in Treasure Island) Newton must have felt typecast because he also played Blackbeard in Blackbeard the pirate. However this movie is waaaay better. Newton actually made me believe he WAS Long John Silver...and Newton himself has been dead since the fifties!

Best Lines: "Oh, Long John, mi amigo, your mother must have been a witch!"- El Toro comments on Long John's wily cleverness.

"You make it sound real apper-tizin'..."- Long John's response to El Toro's threat to peel his hide like a mango.

"Master Hawkins threw a knife and saved me!"-Elizabeth tells her father, Gov. Strong how Long John and Jim saved her from El Toro. Its weird, but her voice sounds dubbed in. When I first saw this scene I said to my friend, John, 'Is she even in the same room?' "

"Ahoy...the serving of information where this bum-boat is headed is the dish we're hungry for, by thunder...this be time for council or I'm a shark!"- One of Long John's men seeking information on when they will take MacDougal's ship.

"We'll take this slaver from Cap'n MacDougal, cut out his pious tongue and let it flap a sermon in the sun!"-Long John's crewmate laughs about the plan to get rid of MacDougal and take the ship.

"Arrrr-sometimes them what's quote the bible has less bible in their hearts then them that don't!"- Truer words were never spoken. Long John says this when the supposedly pious Captain MacDougal plots a devious end for the mutineers.

"Milk! Sop o' weaklings!"- Long John must be lactose intolerant. He shuns milk and wants rum!

1.) Why is Elizabeth's voice dubbed? It damn sure sounds like it.

2.) After taking El Toro's ship Jim coerces Long John to fly the Union Jack instead of the Jolly Roger. (skull and crossbones) Long John orders the crew to salute it and they do...but the salutes are..uh...American! British salutes have an open palm facing outward. Now, I could be wrong...the brit salute may have been like the salute we use in the US back then....if I am let me know. If I'm right, it kind of destroys the illusion of these pirates being English and all. Especially Jim's salute.

3.) What the hell did the crew make the bombs out of when they attack El Toro? Yeah, I said above they made it out of goblets and gunpowder, but how much freaking powder could they possibly have had? The bombs went off like grenades and they threw quite a few!

4.) While fooling El Toro about the warehouse robbery, Long John tries to get a good look at Jim's medallion. He says he'll cover it with his hand so it doesn't glint in the moonlight and alert El Toro. Moonlight!? Its pretty [unwrite]ing bright outside....like daylight! Really. When he said moonlight I did a double take. Its a pretty big gaff for this movie...its well done, but this part was ridiculous You'd think they'd dub over that line...they dubbed Elizabeth's lines and she never says anything important!

5.) How the [unwrite] did Long John get into the Long boat of El Toro's man without being seen? C'mon, he's supposed to be sneaky and clever but he has one leg! There's no cover! So this one legged man hopped along the beach and into a boat...a small boat, covered himself with a sheet and wasn't seen? Is he a pirate or the Invisible Man!?

NUDITY AND SEX: None.

HUH? : After Long John steals El Toro's boat  the El Toro's first mate laments that they're marooned. El Toro reminds him that their other boat will arrive in a few days. So the first mate FORGOT that they had another boat? This guy is the first mate? Thats like forgetting you have two cars!

Israel Hands is a pretty good shot for a blind man! He kills a few guys with one shot (which is all you get with those old flintlock pistols, until you go through the lengthy ritual of reloading.) For that matter, Hands sneaks into Long John's camp and kills a few guys while they sleep. He chases Jim and almost catches him several times! Oh, come on! Hands is blind! There's no [unwrite]ing way he hit anything from a distance! Or chased a spry young lad all over! Is he Daredevil, the man without fear?*

Long John is pretty forgiving for a pirate. Jim basically ratted him out to Captain MacDougal. It wouldn't be as unbelievable but this is the second time Jim betrayed him. In the movie Treasure Island Jim blabs about Long John's mutinous plans to the Captain. In both movies Long John forgives Jim and says he admires his honesty. In both movies he also defends Jim when his pirate crew want to basically kick the crap out of the kid for being a fink. Amazingly, the other pirates think of Long John as a real bad-ass!

THE TALLY: Well, Blow me down! Hey, this is a good pirate movie, one that kids will enjoy as well as the whole family. Despite his evil deeds Long John is a hero of sorts and he does not belong in the Inferno. In this day and age of crappy movies on tape, this flick is as good as finding pieces of eight! As Long John would say 'arrrr-men'.

*Daredevil is a comic book superhero that is blind! he can do incredible athletic feats and gets around easily because he has heightened senses and a sixth 'Radar' sense that allows him to navigate better than sighted people.