After World War II, the British government was somewhat
short on cash. A decision was made that movie-makers couldnt
take the profits they made from their films out of Great Britain.
The Disney Studio already had a large hoard of these so-called "frozen
assets" in England. One solution, of course, was to actually
spend that money there.
"The first thought," Walt later recalled, "was I
should start a cartoon studio there. And I didnt think I could
because you have to train artists for it or else import them ...
So I had this story of 'Treasure Island' I wanted to do and I suggested
we go over and do 'Treasure Island'." (For more of Walt's recollections
of his British Films, visit this month's Walt's
Thoughts).
Walt chats with Robert Newton ("Long John Silver")
on the set of 'Treasure Island"
As film critic, historian, and author Leonard Maltin
says, "First off, you had a great story, which you know will
still be remade in the twenty-first century and still be read.
He found the ideal actor to play Long John Silver, Robert Newton,
who played it several times afterwards, he was so identified with
the part. It gave a good role to his young discovery Bobby Driscoll,
whod done so well for Walt in 'Song of the South' ... And
[he] put a really rousing, rollicking, good, old-fashioned boys
adventure tale on film."
It also gave Walt the opportunity to spend a few
months abroad. He took Lillian, Diane, and Sharon with him and
they had a wonderful time together -- with the exception of a trip
to the famous Strasbourg Clock in France. Walt had seen this
mechanical marvel when he was in France after World War I, and
was very eager for his family to share this wonderful experience.
So, on a particularly hot day, he sent his wife and two daughters
into a tiny church to do so. The church gradually filled up with
tourists and the Disneys were pushed up to the base of the clock,
which necessitated craning their necks to see anything. The big
event was to come at noon, when the clock would chime. But Sharon,
who was about 12, began to feel claustrophic. Tears ran down
her cheeks. And by the time the little family got outside, she
was thoroughly miserable.
Where was Walt? As Diane recalled some years later,
"He had seen the clock. And it was so crowded that he figured
there wasnt room for him ... He was outside taking pictures
... But we had to see it ... So we came out and my sister was
in a terrible hysterical state and mother and I were very irate
and irritable and hot under the collar. And Daddy was furious.
He had built it up so much and then we didnt get the full
enjoyment of it."
The original advertisement for "Treasure Island"
upon its release in 1950
When "Treasure Island" was released in July 1950
it was both a commercial and a critical success. Of course, of
the four early British films, "Treasure Island" has remained the
most famous, not least of all because it was Walts very
first all-live-action film. But there are certainly delights to
be found in the remaining three -- particularly "Robin Hood" and
"The Sword and the Rose" which came out in 1952 and 1953.
Maltin: "Those costume pictures and swashbucklers
that he made in the early '50s were notable for several reasons.
One was, it brought him into association with a talented young
director named Ken Annakin and Annakin would go on to direct a
number of other films for Walt, most notably "Swiss Family Robinson"
[See the Video] but also
"Third Man on the Mountain" and other movies. And so that was a
strong and positive association that emerged from his English
period.
"And the other thing was the serendipitous
hiring of a very talented matte artist named Peter Ellenshaw,
who was able to create scenes and settings that looked real but
werent. And whose talent was so prodigious that he finally
wound up working for Walt here in Hollywood and spent the rest
of his career at the Walt Disney Studio.
"The other thing to be said about those swashbucklers
is that theyre great fun. I think "The Story of Robin Hood
and His Merry Men" is one of the really unsung Walt Disney movies.
Its a delightful film that rests in the shadow of the later
animated "Robin Hood" (which was made after Walts death).
Its a wonderful movie in its own right and its
got great villainy and great action scenes, great imagination,
partly because they were trying not to copy the Errol Flynn movie.
They didnt want to do the same thing that had been done
before.
"And Walts producer, Perce Pearce, and
his director, Ken Annakin, found wonderful British actors. The casts
of those films are just terrific and so Id like to see those
films be better known. I think theyre awfully good. The
Sword and the Rose is a wonderful film, a terrific piece
of historical fiction, and Robin Hood is a delight."
Maltin is somewhat less enthusiastic about "Rob Roy,"
which he feels is the least of these four films. But, as he writes
in his book "The Disney Films": "More significant than anything
else is the fact that with this film, Disney suspended operations
in England and decided to make his live-action films at home."
For more about Walt's British pictures, be sure to visit this
month's Theater, Interview
with Ken Annakin and Walt's
Thoughts.