Treasure Island 1950 Ok.ru

[Keith Cogswell]

Parentsneed to know that there is much PG-worthy violence in this Disney outing, including fatal shootings and stabbings, and some of the pirates, when threatening the life of young Jim Hawkins, might seem truly nightmarish to very little viewers. Jim himself has to kill one. Later theatrical and TV re-releases of

Young Jim Hawkins is a paragon of justice and virtue. Most of the pirates are greedy, treacherous rascals. Long John Silver stands in both camps (depending on whose side is winning), and while he's an untrustworthy scalawag and a killer, his almost-fatherly affection for Jim makes him a fascinating antihero. Female characters are totally invisible -- Jim's mother, briefly present in the book, isn't even here.

Drinking among the seamen, one so drunk he washes overboard (his inebriation encouraged by Long John Silver as a deliberate act of murder). Ex-pirate Billy Bones quite likely dies of alcoholism. At least it's not glorified.

Parents need to know that there is much PG-worthy violence in this Disney outing, including fatal shootings and stabbings, and some of the pirates, when threatening the life of young Jim Hawkins, might seem truly nightmarish to very little viewers. Jim himself has to kill one. Later theatrical and TV re-releases of Treasure Island excised the worst of it to get a "G," but the video version restores it. You'll see much drinking as well, but it's not glorified. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.

Bobby Driscoll plays Jim Hawkins, a fatherless boy managing his mother's English inn, whose residents include a sickly, hard-drinking ex-pirate named Billy Bones (Finlay Currie). When Billy's menacing former shipmates track him down, Bones lives just long enough to give Jim his secret map pointing the way to treasure buried by a fearsome pirate called Flint. Jim takes the map to the foppish local squire and his doctor friend, who decide that it would be grand adventure to fit out a ship and get the treasure themselves. At the docks they hook up with a salty, one-legged cook called Long John Silver (Robert Newton), who promises to find them an experienced crew. Jim Hawkins goes along as a cabin boy when the ship sets sail, and he becomes quite a friend of the colorful Long John. Only by chance does Jim overhear the truth -- that Silver was quartermaster under the late Captain Flint, and the crew he hand-picked are actually Flint's old gang of cutthroats, reassembled and preparing to kill Jim and the few non-pirates aboard once the treasure (or at least the map) is in their hands.

For modern viewers used to the faster action and ghoulish fantasy tinges of Disney's later Pirates of the Caribbean features, the action here is relatively mild and a little stagy at times. But it's still an immortal moment when a homicidal swab climbs the rigging after Jim, or when Long John Silver asserts his command over the unruly pirates. The timeless Stevenson plot has the good guys trying to think one step ahead of the mutineers (who outnumber them), with the slippery Long John repeatedly putting himself in the middle -- he's willing to deal with any side that's winning -- and staying close to innocent Jim at all times. Robert Louis Stevenson's pirate classic had been filmed several times already, most notably as a black-and-white "talkie" in 1934. This 1950 version added lush color and lovingly detailed sailing ships and costumes (plus grand vistas of 18th-century sailing ports that are actually lifelike paintings), and a most seaworthy cast.

The question always remains: Does Long John really have a soft spot for the boy, or is he just using Jim as a hostage and pawn? The characters' relationship makes Long John one of the most interesting of the many villains in Disney annals. Actor Robert Newton's eye-rolling, teeth-gritting portrayal made the role his very own. He also played a much-less sympathetic lead in Blackbeard the Pirate and encored as Long John Silver in a short-lived TV series and a non-Disney sequel to Treasure Island, found on video as Long John Silver. Practically every time somebody does a pirate impersonation heavy on the "Arrrs!" they're unknowingly imitating Newton's mannerisms, and an actor (or a pirate) can't do better than that for a legacy.

Families can talk about Long John Silver, especially compared to other classic Disney villains; he's a murderous cutthroat, and yet almost a surrogate father to Jim, even as he uses the boy as hostage and bait. Is a villain more effective if he's somehow likeable? You could compare the movie with the book Treasure Island and ask if the filmmakers captured the spirit of Robert Louis Stevenson's plot and characters (especially Long John) or made them "Disney-fied."

It\u2019s entirely reasonable to ask. After all, if you found a can of tuna or a jar of spaghetti sauce from the 1950s, you\u2019d rightfully be concerned. There\u2019s a good chance opening it up and consuming it will turn into an unpleasant, if not dangerous, experience. But when it comes to bottled alcoholic liquids, the answer is, \u201CUsually, but with some important criteria.\u201D

Over my years as a rum geek, I\u2019ve been fortunate to taste several rums bottled over a hundred years prior. Among them, a Jamaican London Dock rum from the 1890s, shared with me by noted rum collector Stephen Remsberg. Others include a Rhum Saint James botted in 1885, and a 1924 Bally from Martinique. But the crown jewel of these experiences was the now-legendary Harewood House Barbados rum bottled circa 1780.

Alcoholic beverages have an advantage over other consumables in that the ethanol within acts as a natural preservative to inhibit microbial contamination (\u201Cmold\u201D) from taking hold. However, the degree of preservation roughly correlates with the liquid\u2019s alcoholic strength.

Wine, vermouth, or something similar at 10-15% ABV has higher odds of going off than a distilled spirit at a significantly higher ABV. There aren\u2019t any hard and fast rules here, but a properly sealed bottle of any distilled spirit is usually a safe bet to drink if bottled at 40% or higher. The well-known vintage bottle collector Eric Witz notes that liqueurs with high sugar content have an additional advantage in staying fresh, as sugar is also a preservative at sufficiently high levels.

For the first item, many old liquor bottles have paper tax strips affixed across the top. If there\u2019s evidence of a missing tax strip, or if it is loose or broken, it suggests\u2014but doesn\u2019t prove, that the bottle was previously open.

As for the fill level, if the liquid level in the bottle is significantly lower than you\u2019d expect, there\u2019s a good chance that the cork, cap, or other closure hasn\u2019t effectively kept the liquid in and the outside air out. The fill level is one metric vintage spirit collectors use to assess if they\u2019re willing to take a chance on buying an old bottle.

Before opening your find, it\u2019s worth pondering whether this bottle could interest a collector who might pay handsomely for it. There are several online resources where you can get a sense of whether your bottle is a sought-after-rarity or just another old bottle of 1977 Bacardi. (Many will jokingly say, \u201CIt\u2019s not safe to drink. Send it to me, and I\u2019ll dispose of it for you.\u201D)

Assuming you don\u2019t sell your found treasure, carefully remove the bottle\u2019s cork or other enclosure. If it\u2019s a cork, examine it closely and smell it. If it smells rancid or \u201Coff,\u201D there\u2019s a good chance the contents aren\u2019t what they once were. Maybe the bottle was stored on a hot radiator or a sunny windowsill for many years, forever diminishing the liquid within.

If the cork crumbles, not all is lost! A crumbled cork doesn\u2019t necessarily mean the bottle\u2019s contents have gone bad. Pour the bottle\u2019s contents through a very fine metal strainer; metal coffee filters work well.

Finally, pour a small sample and take a very small sip. Be prepared to spit it out if your brain says, \u201CDon\u2019t drink this.\u201D A bad-tasting bottle is rare but not unheard of. If it tastes reasonably like you\u2019d expect that type of rum to taste like, it\u2019s probably OK to invite a friend or three and enjoy!

As a final observation, there are a few famous and very vintage rums that command nosebleed-level price tags. In some instances, they have a little-known advantage that ensures the liquid in the bottle is up to snuff. Their leg up is that the rum\u2019s original container has already been opened up, the rum evaluated, and any bad rum removed from consideration.

When the Harewood House bottles were first discovered in 2011, there were 59 bottles in the lot, but only 23 were auctioned off. The 2013 auction notes from Christie\u2019s notes of those bottles: \u201C\u2026over half were rejected for sale because of failed corks or very low levels resulting in only 23 bottles being considered suitable for recorking and sale at Christie\u2019s.\u201D

Another well-known example is Black Tot Last Consignment, which is actual Royal Navy rum originally stored in one-gallon stone flagons since the 1950s and 1960s. In the very early 2000s, Sukhinder Singh, The Whisky Exchange\u2019s co-founder, purchased several thousand flagons from a variety of sources. Circa 2009, a subset of the flagons was opened, and the rum was evaluated. Rum dubbed not up to snuff was removed, and a blend was created from the remaining \u201Cgood\u201D flagons. For a rum costing around USD 1,000 a bottle, you certainly wouldn\u2019t want to risk including rum from bum flagons in the blend.

To wrap all this up, if you have an old bottle of rum \u2014 or any distilled spirit, you can start with the assumption that it\u2019s likely OK to drink, again, assuming it has a high enough alcoholic strength. If it then passes the common sense evaluation steps described above, you\u2019re probably OK to enjoy your found treasure.

3a8082e126