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Mutiny on the Bounty

Mutiny on the Bounty

  • Status: Released
  • 08-11-1962
  • Runtime: 185 min
  • Score: 7
  • Vote count: 306

The Bounty leaves Portsmouth in 1787. Its destination: to sail to Tahiti and load bread-fruit. Captain Bligh will do anything to get there as fast as possible, using any means to keep up a strict discipline. When they arrive at Tahiti, it is like a paradise for the crew, something completely different than the living hell aboard the ship. On the way back to England, officer Fletcher Christian becomes the leader of a mutiny.

Marlon Brando

First Lieutnant Fletcher Christian

Trevor Howard

Capt. William Bligh

Richard Harris

Seaman John Mills

Hugh Griffith

Alexander Smith

Richard Haydn

William Brown

Percy Herbert

Matthew Quintal

Gordon Jackson

Seaman Edward Birkett

Chips Rafferty

Michael Byrne

Noel Purcell

Seaman William McCoy

Eddie Byrne

John Fryer

Tim Seely

Midshipman Edward Young

Tarita

Maimiti

Frank Silvera

Minarii

Keith McConnell

James Morrison

Rahera Tuia

Tahitian

Ruita Salmon

Tahitian

Nathalie Tehahe

Tahitian

Tematai Tevaearai

Tahitian

Odile Hinano Paofai

Tahitian

Teretiaiti Teyahineheipua Maifano

Tahitian

Virau Tepii

Tahitian

Maeva Maitihe

Tahitian

Louise Tefaafana

Tahitian

Tinorua Vaitahe

Tahitian

Adrien Vaatete Mahitete

Tahitian

Tufariu Tumatana Haamoeura

Tahitian

Lee Anna

Comptesse de Brissac

Antoinette Bower

Lady Gwendenare

Alan Callow

Thomas Hayward

Michael Dugan

John Norton

Larry Duran

Minor Role

Lisa Simone

Bit Part

Gilchrist Stuart

Minor Role

Matahiarii Tama

Chief Hitihiti

Torin Thatcher

Staines

Roger Ward

Minor Role

Gordon Thomas Wise

Seaman

Ben Wright

Graves

Henry Daniell

Court-martial Judge (uncredited)

CinemaSerf

For me, this was never going to be better than the Laughton/Gable version from 1935, but despite the rather hammily over-cooked effort from Marlon Brando, it does make for a decent enough version of the story of HMS "Bounty". It's a small ship with a big task. Sail round the world to Tahiti and procure some breadfruit trees then take them to the Caribbean for use a fodder for the slaves. Right from the outset, we realise that Captain Bligh (Trevor Howard) is not a man to mess with. He is a brutal authoritarian who punishes the slightest of misdemeanours from his crew mercilessly. As the voyage proceeds, fresh water runs short and the food starts to move about the plate by itself, the men turn to Lt. Christian (Brando) for some sort of relief. The two officers are pretty much at odds from the start with the flamboyant subordinate quite a contrast to the ship's more hardened master. It's their arrival on the island that finally causes the men to reach breaking point and for Christian to execute the unthinkable in maritime law. The story is history, so we now what happens as Howard turns in a remarkably convincing effort - his deep and gravelly voice helps too - as the commander who would rather water the trees than his men. Richard Harris, Hugh Griffith and a face of recognisable Britons pad out the crew effectively and the aesthetics of the production, especially at sea, are powerfully illustrative of the dangers to the sailors of the sea and their taskmaster. It does fall away a little towards the Pitcairn aspects of the story, and I just didn't love Brando's accent/overly theatrical effort - but is still well worth a watch.