The seafaring adventure Mutiny on the Bounty was a critical and box-office hit for MGM in 1935, and although the Oscars were still in their infancy, a two-time prize-winner for Best Director was at the “captain’s wheel.” Frank Lloyd had already picked up statues for The Divine Lady (1929) and the previous Best Picture–winner Cavalcade (1933). This time, he was chosen to guide audiences through a screen adaptation of the 1932 novel Mutiny on the Bounty. The historical accuracy of both the book and film have been analyzed and criticized, but they are based on actual events that transpired back in 1789.

Two of the three leads had won Academy Awards as well. Charles Laughton was honored for The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), and Clark Gable was fresh from his win in It Happened One Night (1934). The third leading role, that of a fictional character Roger Byam (based on crew member Peter Heywood), was portrayed by MGM star Franchot Tone. All three would receive nominations for Best Actor—the one and only time three performers from the same film would occupy that category. It prompted the Academy to initiate separate awards for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress the following year.

Clark Gable and Charles Laughton lock horns at sea on the HMS Bounty.

Mutiny on the Bounty is the infamous tale of a British naval expedition to Tahiti, led by William Bligh (Laughton), a sea captain with a terrible reputation regarding the treatment of his officers and crewmen. The mission at hand: gather a thousand breadfruit plants from Tahiti and transport them to the West Indies, where they’ll be used to feed the slaves en route to America. In the opening scene we see the ship’s lieutenant Fletcher Christian (Gable) and others in a “press gang” sent out to forcibly recruit able-bodied men for the journey (a controversial practice that was abolished in the 1800s).

Captain Bligh’s infamous reputation turns out to be understated as he routinely and savagely abuses the crew and officers aboard. An observer to these inhumane proceedings who serves as narrator in the original novel is midshipman Peter Byam (Tone). He is torn between his loyalty to the navy and Bligh, versus his budding friendship with Christian and compassion for the tortured crew. While the scenery is gorgeous, shot on location in Tahiti and elsewhere at a hefty expense, it’s the heated confrontations between Laughton and Gable that deliver the real wow-factor. These are two major stars of the era, different in all respects from manner to acting style, going toe-to-toe in a battle for decency over tyranny. Laughton establishes one of the screen’s great villains with his Captain Bligh. Might equals right, in his eyes. He is a ruthless dictator who passes judgment with disdain for humanity and no mercy in his punishments.

After they leave Tahiti, things come to a head when Bligh pushes the ship’s amiable but ailing surgeon Mr. Bacchus (Dudley Digges) too far. He collapses and dies in front of everyone on board. Under Christian’s leadership, they grab weapons and seize the ship, setting Bligh and 18 of his loyalists adrift with insufficient rations and a map. Byam, who is below deck when the mutiny occurs, makes it clear he doesn’t approve, but it’s too late for him to join the others in the boat, which is full and has lowered to the sea. He tells Christian they are no longer friends as Christian orders the Bounty to return to Tahiti.

Movita, Franchot Tone, and Clark Gable.

Time passes on the island paradise. Byam marries Tehani (played by Movita, future wife of Marlon Brando). Christian weds and fathers a child with Maimiti (played by Mamo). The two men eventually reconcile their friendship at Christmastime. Their happiness is brief when a ship, the HMS Pandora, is spotted heading for shore. Byam wishes to return to England to report that he was forced to stay on board during the mutiny. Christian joins his wife and child, plus most of the other crew members and several Tahitians. Together, they slip away to find the Bounty and escape to points unknown.

When Byam boards the HMS Pandora, he discovers that Bligh is the captain. Having survived the elements, the discarded tyrant made it back to England before setting sail yet again for Tahiti in search of revenge. This is a fictional device in both the novel and film, since the real Bligh, who did survive, was not aboard the HMS Pandora when they docked in Tahiti. To Byam’s great shock, he and the remaining crewmen from the Bounty are imprisoned as fugitive traitors. They are brought back to England where they are court-martialed and tried for mutiny.

Meanwhile Christian and the Bounty find their secret haven in the mist, and after disembarking in a boat, they purposely crash the Bounty into the rocky shores of Pitcairn Island, marooning themselves in this hidden paradise. It should be noted life on Pitcairn was far from the idealistic society, free from oppression, that Fletcher Christian envisions in this film. In actuality, tensions were high. Male Tahitians were enslaved, and the mutineers endured alcoholism, murder, and disease. But that’s for a different story—an unhappy coda conveying some of the painful realities of human nature.

In London, Byam is found guilty and sentenced to death. After the verdict, he speaks out against Bligh and his severe cruelty. His passionate plea sways Sir Joseph Banks (Henry Stephenson) and Lord Hood (David Torrence) enough to approach King George III, who pardons Byam in the end. It’s a bittersweet resolution in many respects, at least as far as the film’s story goes. We don’t see justice served for Captain Bligh, although we can only imagine how it haunts him that Byam goes free and has a successful naval career. It’s bittersweet as well that Byam leaves his wife in Tahiti to return to London.

It satisfies beautifully, however—in restored picture and sound on Blu-ray Disc—as a sweeping adventure with a powerful, dramatic, and often fictional story, exotic locations, and outstanding performances throughout.

Mutiny on the Bounty