Treasure Island
CRITIQUE | THE TEXT | AT THE MOVIES
1934, 1950, 1954, 1954, 1956–1957
First editionOriginal title
The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys
First publication
1881–1882 in magazine Young Folks
First book publication
1883
Literature form
Novel
Genres
Literary, adventure, young adult
Writing language
English
Author's country
Scotland
Length
Approx. 67,000 words
Tab Hunter and Dawn Adams show off their chest in 1954's non-sequel to Treasure Island.
Beach Blanket Treasure Island
Return to Treasure Island (1954): Director Ewald André Dupont; writers Jack Pollexfen, Aubrey Wisberg; featuring Tab Hunter, Dawn Addams
Before anyone else could get out a sequel to Disney's very successful Treasure Island of 1950, a low-budget producer snuck in with this seeming followup.
To be fair, Return to Treasure Island (1954) does not pretend to be a continuation of the Robert Louis Stevenson tale but is an original story. It is not to be confused with the film Long John Silver that came out a month later and sometimes goes under a similar title.
The story jumps ahead a couple of centuries to take place in the present day (the 1950s, that is). The Admiral Benbow Inn is now run by a descendant of Jim Hawkins, one Jamesina (Jamie) Hawkins, played by B-actress Dawn Addams. Various thieving and murderous characters come around to the inn to steal the old treasure map Jamie's been keeping on display.
Again we get a race to the island, this time to find any treasure missed the first time. Various factions are involved, one of them including Jamie—that is, until they betray her. But she finds an unexpected ally on the island, not crazed castaway Ben Gunn, but blond beachbum and archeologist Clive Stone. Off come his beard and his shirt and, my god, it's Tab Hunter.
Together the two fresh-faced young people look like teen idols from a 1960s Beach Blanket movie. If they weren't always seeking treasure and being chased by bad men, we'd expect them to start dancing in the sand. One scene ramps up the sexual tension slightly by having Dawn, I mean Jamie, captured, tied up and whipped by sadistic bad guys.
There is a flashback scene featuring Captain Flint, whose treasure started it all, and briefly Long John Silver —but no return of Robert Newton.
For that we have to wait another six months....
— Eric
