Watching: Treasure Island

Overview

This film has nothing to do with Robert Louis Stevenson's classic story, but rather a naval base of the same name located in San Francisco Bay. Set amid WWII, TREASURE ISLAND follows two American code specialists that are hard at work trying to decipher Japanese messages and sending confusing messages back to deceive the enemy. The film explores sexual themes that were prevalent during the period, but not shown in the movies of that era. Frank, a bigamist, is married to two women and is pursuing a third wife. Samuel and his wife Penny are in a ménage à trois, which he participates in to cover up his homosexuality. As the pressures of the men’s lives begin to eat away at them, the dead body starts to torment Frank and Samuel's subconscious, interacting with the private stories of their lives.