Mutiny on the Bounty (film)
"Mutiny on the Bounty" is a film produced by Irving Thalberg for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, featuring prominent actors Charles Laughton, Clark Gable, and Franchot Tone. Based on the first two books of a trilogy by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall, the film dramatizes the historical mutiny aboard the HMS Bounty, led by Fletcher Christian (Gable) against the tyrannical captain, William Bligh (Laughton). The narrative follows Christian's decision to imprison Bligh rather than execute him, leaving him and loyal crew members adrift at sea.
Filming presented numerous challenges, including crew seasickness and a tragic accident resulting in the death of a cameraman. While the film has been criticized for historical inaccuracies, particularly in its portrayal of Bligh as excessively cruel, these deviations stem from its novel-based narrative and adaptations made for dramatic effect. "Mutiny on the Bounty" has inspired two remakes and various cultural references, including a novel retelling the events from Bligh's perspective and a parody in "The Simpsons." The film remains significant in cinematic history for its storytelling and production challenges.
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Mutiny on the Bounty (film)
Identification Film about Great Britain’s Royal Navy in the late eighteenth century
Director Frank Lloyd
Date Released on November 8, 1935
The first American cinematographic version of the 1789 incident aboard the British Royal Navy ship HMS Bounty, the film Mutiny on the Bounty was a box-office blockbuster. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards but received only one, for best picture. It was the first film in which all three main actors were nominated for the best-actor Oscar.
Starring Charles Laughton, Clark Gable, and Franchot Tone and produced by Irving Thalberg for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Mutiny on the Bounty is based on the first two books in a trilogy of novels written by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. Because the film was shot at seas, it was plagued by problems, including stars’ seasickness. The most serious incident involved the accidental death of a cameraman.
The film recounts how the crew of the Bounty, under the leadership of Fletcher Christian, played by Gable, start a mutiny against their captain, William Bligh, played by Laughton, because of the many abuses he has inflicted upon them. Christian imprisons Bligh and gets control of the ship with the support of part of the crew. Eventually, he decides not to kill Bligh but leave him and those who support him in a boat adrift at sea. The film also recounts the subsequent trials.
The film is marred by a few historical inaccuracies, especially concerning the character of Bligh, who is presented as a cruel and vicious captain, so as to justify his crew’s rebellion. Most of these mistakes, however, are attributable to the fact that the film was not based on the historical events themselves but on the series of novels inspired by the events. Further changes were done by the scriptwriter to adapt the original characters to the characteristics of the actors playing them.
Impact
Mutiny on the Bounty has been remade twice—with the same title in 1962 and as Bounty in 1984. John Boyne’s novel Mutiny on the Bounty (2008) recounts the same events from the point of view of Captain Bligh. The mutiny on the Bounty incident has also been the subject of a parody in the episode “The Wettest Stories Ever Told” of the animated television comedy The Simpsons.
Bibliography
Alexander, Caroline. The Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty. New York: HarperPerennial, 2004.
Bret, David. Clark Gable: Tormented Star. Cambridge, Mass.: Da Capo Press, 2008.