Synopsis:
When a seaman (Richard Harris) on a breadfruit-seeking excursion to Tahiti accuses harsh Captain Bligh (Trevor Howard) of stealing cheese and is severely beaten, morale begins to wane, and First Lieutenant Fletcher Christian (Marlon Brando) soon leads a mutiny against Bligh.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• At Sea
• Hugh Griffith Films
• Lewis Milestone Films
• Marlon Brando Films
• Mutiny
• Richard Harris Films
• Richard Haydn Films
• Ruthless Leaders
• South Sea Islands
• Trevor Howard Films

Review:
This notorious big-budget adaptation of Charles Nordhoff’s 1932 novel — the second American iteration after Frank Lloyd’s Oscar-winning 1935 version co-starring Clark Gable and Charles Laughton — is, thankfully and perhaps surprisingly, better than its storied reputation would lead you to believe. While Brando’s heavily improvised, arguably “foppish” performance as Fletcher Christian tends to be polarizing, I happen to be a fan:

… and was reminded, for better or for worse, that I’m a film lover who can fairly easily dissociate movies (the end product) from their makers and constituents. To that end, Brando’s childish behavior during the filming of this movie (see also here and here) was intolerable enough to essentially demote him from Hollywood’s elite — until his resurgence with The Godfather. (So it goes with divas of all genders.) At least it likely helped fuel Howard’s rage as boorish Bligh.

The film’s most eye-rolling sequences are those taking place on Tahiti, as the uniformly beautiful women make themselves available to the men, and island living is viewed as nothing short of paradise.

With that enormous caveat aside, the rest of the script works quite well as a tale of moralistic concern. What does it mean to go against the orders of the person in charge of everyone’s livelihood out on the open sea? What constitutes torture, versus “merely” a heavy hand? What happens to a person’s sense of self when they’ve given up the status they’ve worked for throughout their entire existence?

To the film’s credit, we are curious to see how things end for all involved. Watch for Richard Haydn as the ship’s breadfruit-focused botanist:

… and Hugh Griffith (drunk for the majority of the production) as seaman Alexander Smith.

Note: This movie began life under the direction of Carol Reed, but fairly quickly shifted over to Lewis Milestone; this was his final feature.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

• Marlon Brando as Fletcher Christian
  
• Trevor Howard as Captain Bligh
  
• Richard Harris as Seaman Mills
  
• Robert Surtees’ cinematography
  

Must See?
Yes, for its historical relevance, its notorious controversy (and box-office failure), and Brando’s performance.

Categories

• Historically Relevant
• Oscar Winner or Nominee

Links:

• IMDb entry
• NY Times Original Review
• TCM Articles