Romancefest 2021: Mutiny on the Bounty

Directed by Frank Lloyd

Written by Talbot Jennings, Jules Furthman and Carey Wilson

Based on the novel by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall

Starring Charles Laughton, Clark Gable, Franchot Tone, Movita and Mamo

USA, 1935

Hey, it's a Best Picture winner, everybody! MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY is the kind of title I have heard my entire life, and know the basics of, but never got around to watching until now. I'm glad I did.

In the late 18th century, the HMS Bounty disembarks on a two year mission to Tahiti, under the command of a tyrannical captain who over disciplines his mostly conscripted crew to the point of outright abuse. He even keelhauls a guy, in a special effects sequence that is pretty disturbing even today. You're not expecting them to show anything, and then they do, and the dodgy, dated effects sort of make it even more effective and shocking. 

After a stop over in Tahiti in which the men get to live the good life and fall in love with a couple of beautiful islanders, the men can't take the abuse anymore, set the captain and his loyalists adrift, and head back to paradise.

What they don't count on is the tenacity (and skill) of the captain enabling him to actually sail his tiny boat to safety, and return to capture the mutineers.

The movie takes the position that the captain, played by Charles Laughton, is an evil dictator, and the leader of the mutineers, played by Clark Gable, is a dashing hero. Most of the conflict plays out between those two, and it's great to watch, because both men aim for the heavens with their performances, especially Laughton. This may not be entirely historically accurate and I'm sure in real life there was a little bit more of a gray area when it comes to something as controversial as a mutiny.

Still, who needs gray areas when all you want is romance and adventure? Not me! Laughton's so good at playing a total jerk that I wouldn't have it any other way, and it's fun to see a young pre-mustache Clark Gable do his thing.