Treasure Island

Although Robert Louis Stevenson meant for his classic novel to be a somber moral tale of greed and the wages of sin, somehow it evolved into a jolly boy's adventure. Hollywood has partially been to blame, and this 1934 MGM version (the first talkie adaptation of the novel) reteamed child star Jackie Cooper with his burly cast-mate Wallace Beery from their 1931 tearjerker sensation The Champ. Obviously, this paternal Long John Silver (Beery) was never going to do any harm to young, fatherless Jim Hawkins (Cooper), or vice-versa, as director Victor Fleming solidly, if unimaginatively, puts the pirate tale here through its well-worn paces. The all-star cast includes Lionel Barrymore (very good indeed as short-lived retired buccaneer Billy Bones) and a pre-Dr. Watson Nigel Bruce as Squire Trelawney. Despite the presence of these acting icons, the MGM film was later overshadowed by the 1950 Disney version, in which Robert Newton made Long John Silver entirely his own. Part of the Warner Archive Collection of manufactured-on-demand discs, extras include three vintage MGM short subjects, including a dialogue-free color cartoon, and the Oscar-nominated short "Strikes & Spares," which will astound for its bowling trick shots and its vintage racial stereotyping. Recommended. (C. Cassady)