Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

  Charles Laughton as Bligh

'Mutiny on the Bounty' is an adventure movie made in 1935 by Frank Lloyd and starring Clark Gable as Spencer Christian and Charles Laughton as Captain Bligh. The film, which was based on real-life events, was a major box-office success and won the Academy Award for Best Picture with seven further Award nominations. It is still regarded a classic and is memorable as an early high-water mark for the art of production design and the art of studio moviemaking.

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The American cast imbue this British cautionary tale with Depression-era optimism and the film's spare-no-expense canvas, travelogue quality, and moral center result in an adventure tale of remarkable beauty.

Set in the late 18th century when the British Empire ruled from the decks of its navy, the crew of the ship Bounty mutinies after months of savage mistreatment by their sadistic Captain Bligh (Charles Laughton). Led by Fletcher Christian (Clark Gable), the mutineers succeed in taking over the ship and they set their cruel captain and his supporters adrift in a boat and return the Bounty to Tahiti. Bligh manages to find port in a remarkable demonstration of seamanship and soon returns to Tahiti to look for the mutineers. He returns to England with some of the mutineers who face trial while Christian and the remainder find refuge on an isolated island.

Gable appears without his moustache, and Laughton's bee-stung lips flutter with harsh discipline. In between are a number of nominal sub-plots. It is generally regarded as the best movie made on the mutiny.

interestingly, 3 Hollywood stars appear in the movie, uncredited - James Cagney, David Niven and Dick Haymes.

Main Cast

Charles Laughton ... Captain Bligh
Clark Gable ... Fletcher Christian
Franchot Tone ... Roger Byam
Herbert Mundin ... Smith
Eddie Quillan ... Thomas Ellison
Dudley Digges ... Bacchus
Donald Crisp ... Burkitt
Henry Stephenson ... Sir Joseph Banks
Francis Lister ... Captain Nelson
Spring Byington ... Mrs. Byam
Movita ... Tehani
Mamo Clark ... Maimiti (as Mamo)
Byron Russell ... Quintal
Percy Waram ... Coleman
David Torrence ... Lord Hood

Directed by Frank Lloyd
Music by Herbert Stothart
Cinematography ... Arthur Edeson
Photography ... Sidney Wagner, Glenn Strong
Writer ... Talbot Jennings
Screenwriter ... Jules Furthman, Carey Wilson
Producer ... Frank Lloyd, Irving G. Thalberg