Review of Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) by Ric W — 24 Nov 2007

With "Mutiny On the Bounty," Hollywood moved the fantastical epic to a whole new level. Exotic island location shoots, a cast of half-dressed men and women, and tense confrontation on the high seas are the selling points that helped it receive eight Academy Award nominations, and solid box office clout, becoming the top-grossing movie of the year. Its timeless story was first portrayed on the big screen in 1933's "In the Wake of the Bounty" starring Errol Flynn. The 1935 adaptation, however, went on to become the first remake to win Best Picture and is often considered the best of the numerous remakes which have come and gone since then.

Charles Laughton plays Captain Bligh, the historic captain of the H.M.S. Bounty, a small ship set to sail for Tahiti over 200 years ago. The voyage, expected to last 2 years, is ventured in order to retrieve ample breadfruit trees and bring them back to native England. Bligh is a strict tyrant onboard, a man who enforces authority by providing stern examples of his wrath, including flogging a man who is already dead, keel hauling members of his crew, and awarding only half-rations to some of the already-exhausted sailors. The optimistic second hand Fletcher Christian (Clark Gable) seems to believe that obedience and patience will get through to Bligh sooner or later and rationalism will prevail. The crew continues to suffer until the long-awaited arrival at Tahiti. There, they experience a taste of paradise, if only briefly, thanks to some shore leave. On the way back to England, after yet another punishment, Christian leads the infamous mutiny and sends Bligh and his devout followers adrift on a small boat to fend for themselves while the crew returns to idyllic Tahiti.

The film is charged with intense characters who all clash with each other at different points. Since some of the actors can only do what they can with smaller, stock roles, it's good to see how involving each of their plights becomes as the movie progresses. The revolt itself, a great example of quick and masterful editing, is carefully planted later in the picture so that when it occurs, adrenaline is high and the results are rousing. The special effects in particular are capable and complimentary to the story. They certainly would have been impressive for viewers back in 1935, and, interestingly, a lot of the film was shot on location in Tahiti.

Laughton and Bligh are at the top of their game here as stubborn men bound by their claustrophobic surroundings. While neither won acting awards for the movie, Gable had won Best Actor the year before for his hilarious work on "It Happened One Night" and Laughton the year before that for "The Private Life of Henry VIII." The poise and command of their characters is marred only in certain sections where they speed up their dialogue during an era when sound had yet to capture all the nuances of articulate speech. The supporting players are equally fine, including Franchot Tone as Roger Byam, a rookie whose blind devotion to the chain of command proves risky, and Dudley Digges as the ship's doctor, a drunk with seasoned experience on the high seas. Watch for David Niven and James Cagney in smaller, uncredited cameo roles.

Perhaps the most startling and arresting sequence comes late in the picture, when Bligh has been ostracized from his crew and left adrift in the middle of the ocean. Abandoned with limited supplies for over 7 weeks, he is able to pull off a miracle using only his tenacity, devotion, and endurance. The scene also captures a gentility to the captain that makes the Bligh/Christian duality more ambiguous than simply right or wrong. While Bligh's punitive methods are barbaric, his compassion and affection for his crew is also represented.

As with most films based on true stories, there is much debate as to the authenticity of "Mutiny On the Bounty." Supposedly, in real life Bligh was later promoted within the British Army, despite the incidents that occurred, and many of the extant tales of brutality onboard the ship have proven to be shaky in veracity at best. It doesn't change the fact that the film is a glorious classic to this day, filled with drama, comedy, romance, action and adventure all in one.