On November 13 in 1850, Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Scotland. Although early in his life Stevenson studied civil engineering in law, he eventually became a writer and the author of literary classics like Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
There have been different television and film versions of Treasure Island — including different ones with Orson Welles, Charlton Heston, a young Christian Bale, and even the Muppets. But for me, the film that stands out is the 1934 movie directed by Victor Fleming and starring Wallace Beery, Jackie Cooper and Lionel Barrymore. While I enjoyed some of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Wallace Beery’s Long John Silver is the first movie pirate I think of.
Beery’s interaction with the young Jackie Cooper in the 1934 Treasure Island are brilliant. Check out this wonderful scene where the pirate works to convince the young boy to help him escape the noose.
Beery worked with Cooper, who died in 2011, in another classic film, The Champ (1931). According to Wikipedia, Cooper later noted how difficult it was to work with Beery, who kept trying to undermine Cooper’s acting.
Although another child actor, Mickey Rooney, stated he enjoyed working with Beery, Cooper’s story actually enhances my viewing of Treasure Island. I like the image of Beery as a difficult man who tried to upstage child actors. What else would one expect of Long John Silver? Arrrrgh!
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