Author:
Webmistress Susan
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Date Posted: 13:53:36 08/21/06 Mon
I finally watched the 1934 version Treasure Island starring Jackie Cooper and Wallace Beery again (and posted some representative sound clips of Beery on the introduction page for comparison), and, while there were a few things I liked better about the '34 version, overall I found the 1950 version far superior ...
Of course, Wallace Beery, though he did occasionally put a bit of a growl in his voice, sounded flat and bland in comparison to Robert Newton's unforgettable vocal intonations ... not to mention the facial expressions! Put the two next to each other, and Beery is just plain boring. Of course it's really not fair to compare; Beery obviously didn't have the creativity that Newton had. Beery's interpretation wasn't bad considering he was really a pioneer in that role, but Robert Newton (and Disney) added so much to the character that was not there before--either in the 1934 version or in the book. Personally, I didn't find Beery's LJS especially lovable to start with, though he was affable and mildly sympathetic in the beginning, but without the overwhelming charm Robert Newton projected in the role or adequate development in their relationship before Jim catches on to him, Jackie Cooper's copious crying spells over him seem hard to believe. In fact, Cooper's whole performance seemed hard to believe--he's swaggering, tough, and wise like an adult one minute (more cloyingly precocious than actually mature), yet he pouts and blubbers like a baby at the drop of a hat. (And his voice reminded me of Judy Garland in the Wizard of Oz! His repeated exclamations of "Upon my word!" and "Bless my soul!" just didn't sound natural and got very annoying after a while.) Of course, that isn't entirely Cooper's fault; the director and the screenwriter surely had a lot to do with the characterization, which to me doesn't ring true to the Jim Hawkins of the book at all. By comparison, while Bobby Driscoll's American accent was totally out of place, I never doubted for a second that he was Jim Hawkins--his behavior was always consistent and believable.
One of the things I preferred about the earlier version is that some of the scenes that are glossed over in the Disney version are played out more fully. Billy Bones was more "fleshed out" (pardon the pun)--though I didn't find the characterization consistent with the book. And Jim's commandeering of the Hispaniola was more like the book (lotsa great shipboard action). In fact, the showdown between him and Israel Hands (Douglas Dumbrille) is probably my favorite scene, with Dumbrille's portrayal seeming the most piratey to me in the whole film. Also, the battle between the pirates and the good guys has some real hearty cutlass clanging!
However, things I didn't like about it were the addition of a lot of scenes that *weren't* in the book (like the drawn-out, sentimental parting between Jim and Long John, who by then I've come to like even less than I did in the beginning, the party scene at the beginning, etc., etc.). By comparison, the Disney version is very streamlined, even if it's abbreviated in some spots, and never dull. And the sets were much grittier (from the crooked plaster walls at the Admiral Benbow and the cobbled streets of Bristol to the dark, rough-hewn area below decks on the Hispaniola, and the storm at sea, with water pouring in through the hatch as Mr. Arrow makes his way above) and seemed more historically accurate, giving you that feeling that you really *are* in the 18th century. Ben Gunn was much more deranged (believable for a guy who'd been marooned for so long--the Ben Gunn in the book was even kookier!) in the 1950 version. The 1934 Ben Gunn was merely a little weird, while his big fuzzy wig looked totally fake, and, come on, who could eat a monster hunk of cheese that huge in one sitting for the first time in years--at sea, no less--without immediately losing it over the side? And while I haven't re-read the book in several months now (remiss of me, I know! ;-)), the 1950 relationship between Jim and Billy Bones, although abbreviated, seemed much truer to the book. And I much preferred the 1950 version when Jim returns to the stockade and finds his friends missing. Long John's concern for him (and the clever trick he plays with the map) make him much more endearing in the Disney version.
BTW, the 1950 version is also fresh in my mind since I watched it with my five-year-old nieces, who wanted to know more about pirates, this weekend. Most of it went over their head due to the language, but they loved Jim Hawkins and especially Long John Silver! (But they kept asking me again and again whether he was a good guy or a bad guy--hmm, how do you answer that to a five-year-old? I told them he was a little bit of both--he was a bad guy, but he became a good guy. I think they'll enjoy the TV series much more. Anyway, there are two more Robert Newton fans in the world now!)
PS: One thing I remember liking about the Charleton Heston version (that's the one with Oliver Reed as Billy Bones, right?) was the music by the Chieftains! I have it on their CD "Film Cuts" and play it all the time.
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