Based on historical events and a classic book by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall, Mutiny on the Bounty's plot is pretty well spelled out in it's title and (awkwardly, as if to say, 'here is the moral of the film you haven't even seen yet') at the beginning of the film. The HMS Bounty is on a relatively simple voyage to Tahiti to collect breadfruit plants for Jamaica with a crew of a few officers and midshipmen led by the charismatic and motivational Fletcher Christian (Clark Gable) and the iron-fisted disciplinarian Captain Bligh (Charles Laughton). After several overzealous punishments dealt by Bligh lead to fatal results and an idyllic few months in Tahiti are cut short, the strain becomes too much for the crew and Christian leads a mutiny against Bligh whom is cast adrift. Bligh survives and brings some of the mutineers back to England where they must stand trial and almost certain death for their crimes against God and country. Will Christian sacrifice his new life in Tahiti to help save his crew, and will Bligh face the consequences of his actions or will he have a compassionate change of heart?
The historical accuracy and depiction of its characters have been scrutinized and long debated, but I have not read the book and am certainly not a scholar on the subject so I can only evaluate this film on it's own merits. Gable once again gives a strong performance and Laughton is effectively slimy if not very deep. The film begins very optimistically as the Bounty sets sail, and the pace and escalation of conflict as Bligh's ego and arrogance are exposed is gripping and interesting. The scenes in Tahiti were humorous and sometimes insightful, and the camerawork and photography for scenes on the ship and in the sea were very impressive for the time, hearkening to more recent and incredible films like Master and Commander. While still a good film, the nearly fatal flaw of this film is that after the climactic titular event, the pace and interest level of the film drop sharply for me. The film just kind of coasts to the finish line, and the ending seems a bit too cut and dry and wrapped in a pretty bow; nevertheless, there's enough there to justify most of it's classic status and it still ranks as one of the better (but not best) of the Best Picture winners thus far.
I actually really enjoyed this movie. It was redone in the sixties with Marlon Brando as Gable's part however, it did not win an Oscar. I guess I didn't know how attractive Gable was until this movie. I mean with sometimes the moustache he can kind of look like a beady-eyed creep (harsh, I know) but man he is a good lookin' gent! My biggest problem with the movie was that Gable's name was Mister Christian which reminded me of the song "Sister Christian" by Night Ranger. So I was singing that any time they said his name, kind of like church "call and response" liturgy. The first part of this movie had a great mix of the serious and humor. The second half is sort of like a Tahitian South Pacific. Two captains aboard the bounty fall in love with Tahitian ladies. (I, of course, sing "NOTHING LIKE A DAME!!!!!") The one thing, that Tim actually mentioned during the movie, was that the violence, though sporadic, hits you like a ton of bricks. I mean people are dying and getting whipped... it was pretty intense for the thirties. The acting in this movie is very good. Laughton does an amazing job at making you hate him. And Gable, while saving the ship from Captain Bligh's tyranny walks a fine line between hero and villain while his shipmate and bestie, Byam is always on the right side by staying dutiful to his country and friends with the his mutinous buddy, Mister Christian (Oh, the time has come...).
A tragedy nearly occurred during filming when an 18-foot replica of the Bounty with two crewmen aboard separated from its tow and was adrift for two days before being found by a search party.
"When you're back in England with the fleet again, you'll hear the hue and cry against me. From now on they'll spell mutiny with my name."
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