Treasure Island (1920)

Adventure | 4 April 1920

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HISTORY

Stevenson's novel was first published in serial form in the magazine Young Folks from July 1881 to June 1882 under the title The Sea Cook or Treasure Island. Stephen Fox was a pseudonym for Jules Furthman. Announcements of the film's upcoming production in trade journals during September 1919 stated that Jack Holt would play Long John Silver and that Wallace Beery would play Israel Hands, though both roles were eventually filled by different actors. The film opened in New York on 11 April 1920, and some contemporary sources give that date for the film's release. For information on other film versions of Stevenson's novel, see the listing above for the 1918 Fox version.
 Treasure Island is presumed to be a lost film. However, film stills exist showing Lon Chaney playing two different pirates, "Blind Pew" and "Merry."
...

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Stevenson's novel was first published in serial form in the magazine Young Folks from July 1881 to June 1882 under the title The Sea Cook or Treasure Island. Stephen Fox was a pseudonym for Jules Furthman. Announcements of the film's upcoming production in trade journals during September 1919 stated that Jack Holt would play Long John Silver and that Wallace Beery would play Israel Hands, though both roles were eventually filled by different actors. The film opened in New York on 11 April 1920, and some contemporary sources give that date for the film's release. For information on other film versions of Stevenson's novel, see the listing above for the 1918 Fox version.
 Treasure Island is presumed to be a lost film. However, film stills exist showing Lon Chaney playing two different pirates, "Blind Pew" and "Merry."

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SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
ETR
17 Apr 1920
p. 2290
MPN
24 Apr 1920
p 3739
MPW
13 Sep 1919
p. 1655
MPW
5 Jun 1920
p. 4682
MPW
24 Apr 1920
p. 560, 600
New York Times
12 Apr 1920
p. 13
Variety
16 Apr 1920
p. 36
Wid's
18 Apr 1920
p. 12
CAST
PRODUCTION CREDITS
NAME
PARENT COMPANY
PRODUCTION COMPANY
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
DIRECTOR
PRODUCER
WRITER
Stephen Fox
Scen
PHOTOGRAPHY
ART DIRECTOR
Art dir
SOURCES
LITERARY
Based on the novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (London, 1883).
LITERARY SOURCE AUTHOR
DETAILS
Release Date:
4 April 1920
Production Date:

Copyright Info
Claimant
Date
Copyright Number
Famous Players-Lasky Corp.
26 March 1920
LP14923
Physical Properties:
Silent
Black and White
Length(in reels):
6
Country:
United States
SYNOPSIS

Young Jim Hawkins helps his widowed mother run the Admiral Benbow Inn on the west coast of England. When former pirate Billy Bones is killed at the inn by other pirates seeking the map to the lost treasure of Captain Flint, Jim finds the map and turns it over to his mother's friends, Dr. Livesey and Squire Trelawney, who organize an expedition to recover the treasure. Jim stows away aboard Livesey and Trelawney's ship, which is manned by a crew largely chosen by Long John Silver, a one-legged pirate posing as a cook. Silver's plans for a mutiny are discovered by Jim and reported to Livesey and Trelawney, who manage to hold the pirates at bay until they arrive at the island and take refuge in a shelter with Jim and the loyal crew members. A battle with the pirates results in the map being turned over to Silver and his gang, but the pirates are eventually routed, and Jim and the others find Flint's treasure through the services of Ben Gunn, a pirate who had been stranded on the ...

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Young Jim Hawkins helps his widowed mother run the Admiral Benbow Inn on the west coast of England. When former pirate Billy Bones is killed at the inn by other pirates seeking the map to the lost treasure of Captain Flint, Jim finds the map and turns it over to his mother's friends, Dr. Livesey and Squire Trelawney, who organize an expedition to recover the treasure. Jim stows away aboard Livesey and Trelawney's ship, which is manned by a crew largely chosen by Long John Silver, a one-legged pirate posing as a cook. Silver's plans for a mutiny are discovered by Jim and reported to Livesey and Trelawney, who manage to hold the pirates at bay until they arrive at the island and take refuge in a shelter with Jim and the loyal crew members. A battle with the pirates results in the map being turned over to Silver and his gang, but the pirates are eventually routed, and Jim and the others find Flint's treasure through the services of Ben Gunn, a pirate who had been stranded on the island.

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GENRE
Genre:


Subject
Subject (Major):

Subject (Minor):
Legend
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement Award

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The American Film Institute is grateful to Sir Paul Getty KBE and the Sir Paul Getty KBE Estate for their dedication to the art of the moving image and their support for the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and without whose support AFI would not have been able to achieve this historical landmark in this epic scholarly endeavor.