The Adventures of Long John Silver

Australian TV series or program

Martin Rackin
Byron Haskin
Joseph Kaufman
Robert Louis Stevenson

Written by

Martin Rackin
Kay Keavney

Directed by

Byron Haskin
Lee Sholem

Starring

Robert Newton
Connie Gilchrist
Kit Taylor

Country of originAustraliaOriginal languageEnglishNo. of seasons1No. of episodes26ProductionProducerJoseph KaufmanRunning time30 minutesProduction companies

Isola del'Oro
Treasure Island Productions

Original releaseNetworkABCRelease1958 (1958) –
1958 (1958)

The Adventures of Long John Silver is a TV series about the Long John Silver character from Robert Louis Stevenson's 1883 novel Treasure Island. It was made in 1954 in colour in Australia for the American and British markets before the development of Australian television.^[1]

Cast and characters

Robert Newton as Long John Silver^[2]
Connie Gilchrist as Purity Pinker
Kit Taylor as Jim Hawkins
Grant Taylor as Patch
Eric Reiman as Trip Fenner
John Brunskill as Old Stingley
Harry Hambleton as Big Eric
Gordon Chater as Alfredo
Ray Barrett as Paul

Newton and several of the other actors had the same roles as in the 1954 film Long John Silver, also shot in Australia.^[3]

Broadcast history

The series was shown in the United States from 22 September 1955,^[4] and in the UK on ITV in 1957. It was shown in Australia on the ABC in 1958, in the afternoon Children's TV Club. It was also shown on commercial regional TV in the mid to late 70s in Australia. In 1985 the series was repeated in the United Kingdom in a Saturday afternoon slot on ITV.^{[citation needed]}

For much of its international audience, the series aired after the death of its star, Robert Newton, who had died of a heart attack in Hollywood in March 1956.^{[citation needed]}

Episodes

No.	Title
1	"The Necklace"
Silver is arrested for murder
2	"Pieces of Eight"
Silver and his crew search for Spanish gold with a sailor (Albert Garcia)
3	"The Orphans' Christmas"
Hawkins and Silver help out at an orphanage run by a woman (Neva Carr-Glynn) who hates Christmas
4	"Execution Dock"
Silver falls ill and has nightmares about being put on trial for old crimes^[5]
5	"The Eviction"
6	"The Pink Pearl"
7	"Tale of a Tooth"
8	"Ship o' the Dead"
Jim sees a ship full of dead people but no one believes him
9	"Sword of Vengeance"
10	"Turnabout"
Silver is captured by a French captain (David Nettheim)
11	"Miss Purity's Birthday"
12	"Dead Reckoning"
13	"Devil's Stew"
14	"Where Men Are Men"
15	"The Master's Touch"
16	"The Siege"
17	"The Flag Flies Back"
18	"The Fish Wife"
19	"Dragon Slayer"
20	"Temple of Evil"
21	"To Purity, a Daughter"
22	"Ties of Blood"
23	"Strange Cargo"
24	"Infernal Cargo"
25	"The Crisis"

Production

Joseph Kaufman produced the series, and CBS -TV Film Sales distributed it. Filming was done in a studio in Sydney, Australia.^[2]

Lee Sholem later recalled, "That was a real fun show... and we had a magnificent company. And the salaries of the stars, except for Robert Newton, the highest paid actor got $200 a week. These actors in Australia were cheap as dirt. Of course, the dollar went a long way over there. We had a... regular cast of 18. Some of the stories and some of the acting were damn good."^[6]

References

^ Vagg, Stephen (14 April 2020). "Audio commentary for Long John Silver". Stephen Vagg audio commentaries (Podcast). Anchor FM. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Adventures of Long John Silver" (PDF). Broadcasting. 11 July 1955. p. 27. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
^ Vagg, Stephen (2010). Rod Taylor: An Aussie in Hollywood. Bear Manor Media. p. 40. ISBN 978-1593935115.
^ Woolery, George W. (1985). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series. The Scarecrow Press. pp. 20–22. ISBN 0-8108-1651-2.
^ "Execution Dock". The Adventures of Long John Silver. Season 1. Episode 4.
^ "Lee Sholem Interview". Cult Movies. No. 14. 1995. p. 50.