Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
- Starring:
- Clark Gable, Charles Laughton, (more)
- Director(s):
- Frank Lloyd
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- NR
- Category:
- Action / Adventure
Member Rating
My RatingSynopsis of Mutiny on the Bounty
The 1932 publication of Charles Nordhoff and James Norton Hall's Mutiny on the Bounty sparked a revival of interest in the titular 1789 ship mutiny, and this 1935 MGM movie version won the Oscar for Best Picture. Clark Gable stars as Fletcher Christian, first mate of the infamous HMS Bounty, skippered by Captain William Bligh (Charles Laughton), the cruelest taskmaster on the Seven Seas. Bligh's villainy knows no bounds: he is even willing to flog a dead man if it will strengthen his hold over the crew. Christian despises Bligh and is sailing on the Bounty under protest. During the journey back to England, Bligh's cruelties become more than Christian can bear; and after the captain indirectly causes the death of the ship's doctor, the crew stages a mutiny, with Christian in charge. Bligh and a handful of officers loyal to him are set adrift in an open boat. Through sheer force of will, he guides the tiny vessel on a 49-day, 4000-mile journey to the Dutch East Indies without losing a man. Historians differ on whether Captain Bligh was truly such a monster or Christian such a paragon of virtue (some believe that the mutiny was largely inspired by Christian's lust for the Tahitian girls). The movie struck gold at the box office, and, in addition to the Best Picture Oscar, Gable, Laughton, and Franchot Tone as one of the Bounty's crew were all nominated for Best Actor (they all lost to Victor McLaglan in The Informer). The film was remade in 1962 and adapted into the "revisionist" 1984 feature The Bounty with Mel Gibson as Fletcher Christian and Anthony Hopkins as Captain Bligh. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 132 mins
Complete Cast of Mutiny on the Bounty
- Clark Gable - 1st Mate Fletcher Christian
- Franchot Tone - Roger Byam
- Herbert Mundin - Smith
- Eddie Quillan - Ellison
- Francis Lister - Capt. Nelson
- Ian Wolfe - Samuel
- DeWitt Jennings - Fryer
- Wallis Clark - Morrison
- Dick Winslow - Tinkler
- James Cagney - [uncredited]
- Marion Clayton - Mary Ellison
- Harold Entwistle - Capt. Colpoys
- Robert Livingston - Young
- Will Stanton - Portsmouth Joe
- Byron Russell - Quintal
- Harry Cording - Soldier
- King Mojave - Richard Skinner
- William Stack - Judge Advocate
- Mary Gordon - Peddler
- David Torrence - Lord Hood
- Pat Flaherty - Churchill
- Charles Irwin - Byrne
- David Thursby - McIntosh
- Charles Laughton - Capt. William Bligh
- Dudley Digges - Bachus
- Donald Crisp - Burkitt
- Henry Stephenson - Sir Joseph Banks
- Spring Byington - Mrs. Byam
- Ivan Simpson - Morgan
- Stanley Fields - Muspratt
- Vernon P. Downing - Hayward
- Lionel Belmore - Innkeeper
- Mamo Clark - Maimiti
- Alec Craig - McCoy
- Maria [Movita] Castaneda - Tehani
- Nadine Beresford - Ellison's Mother
- John Harrington - Mr. Purcell
- John Powers - Hillebrandt
- Percy Waram - Coleman
- Doris Lloyd - Cockney Moll
- Crauford Kent - Lt. Edwards
- Eric Wilton - Captain of Board
- Hal LeSueur - Millard
- Winter Hall - Chaplain
- David Niven - (uncredited)
- Douglas Walton - Stewart
- Director(s):
- Frank Lloyd
- Writer(s):
- Jules Furthman, Carey Wilson, Talbot Jennings
- Producer(s):
- Irving G. Thalberg
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- NR(Mild Violence)
- Categories:
- Action / Adventure
- 1935 - Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - Best Picture
- 1998 - American Film Institute - 100 Greatest American Movies
- 1935 - Film Daily - 10 Best Films
- 1935 - New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actor
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