Mutiny
on the Bounty is the rousing, handsome
adventure story of the sailing of the H. M. S. Bounty in 1787,
departing from Portsmouth, England for a two year voyage, its scientific
mission to transport breadfruit from Tahiti to the West Indies as an
inexpensive food source for plantation slave laborers. Before the ship
sets sail with a crew of English conscripts, preparations are made. A
toast is given by Midshipman Roger Byam (Franchot Tone), on his first
cruise as a midshipman:
To the voyage of the Bounty. Still waters
of the great golden sea. Flying fish like streaks of silver, and
mermaids that sing in the night. The Southern Cross and all the stars
on the other side of the world.
The ship is captained by a tyrannical, harsh,
sadistic disciplinarian Captain William Bligh (Charles Laughton) and his
well-respected Master's Mate (first officer to the Captain) Fletcher
Christian (Clark Gable, appearing without a mustache for the last time
in a film). Before they set sail in their third voyage together, Bligh
orders a flogging of a dead man, to punish the infraction to the letter
of the law. He tells Christian: |
|
They respect but one law - the law of
fear...I expect you to carry out whatever orders I give, whenever I
give them.
On the journey, Bligh quickly shows contempt
for the men, and treats them with brutality, in a regime of fear and
punishment. Bligh lectures the seamen: "The ship's company will
remember that I am your captain, your judge, and your jury. You do your
duty and we may get along. Whatever happens, you'll do your duty."
He barks chilling, staccato orders to his Master's Mate in an
oft-repeated line: "Mr. Christian - come here." He cruelly and
sadistically meets a sailor's request for water in the hot weather:
"I'll give you water. Mr. Morrison, keel haul this man."
Bligh continually goads Fletcher Christian who
has already gained the respect of the entire crew. Christian resents his
Captain's inhumanity (at one point, Bligh puts his men on half-rations):
I've never known a better seamen - but as
a man, he's a snake. He doesn't punish for discipline. He likes to see
men crawl. Sometimes, I'd like to push his poison down his own throat.
The voyage is long and arduous, but the Bounty
finally arrives in Tahiti. Christian is ordered to stay on deck, but
Byam is allowed to go ashore, where he is befriended by Hitihiti, the
island's chieftain. Byam is quickly entranced after meeting and falling
in love with one of the beautiful Tahitian women, Tehani (Maria
"Movita" Castaneda, who later married Marlon Brando!). When
the chief arranges for Christian to come ashore for one day, the
Master's mate also meets and falls in love with Hitihiti's
granddaughter, Maimiti (Mamo Clark).
See the unique collection of oil paintings of
the Bounty Chronicle. |
