Clark Gable stars as Fletcher Christian, first mate, in this adaptation of the novel by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall, based on the true story. This is not a film you will watch for entertainment purposes; instead, you will watch it because you want to learn more about the history. It’s not a light-hearted tale.
The captain of the Bounty, a man named Bligh, (Charles Laughton) is a cruel, sadistic man. He runs his ship so tight, his men can’t breathe. Every slight infraction is disciplined, often to the point of death. In fact, one man scheduled for a flogging was already dead when fetched for his punishment, but Captain Bligh ordered him flogged anyway, to obey the letter of the law.
Mr. Christian is a kind-hearted man, anxious to help keep order on the ship, but in disagreement with how the order is maintained. He speaks to Captain Bligh repeatedly about his cruelty to the men, only to be punished himself. The men’s rations are cut back nearly to the point of starvation, and yet Bligh still demanded their full day’s measure of work, plus.
After a long and terrible journey, the ship finally reaches its destination: Tahiti, where they will gather breadfruit trees to take to the West Indies. The men are kept busy collecting the trees, with little time for leisure, but it’s only through the interference of the tribal king that Mr. Christian is allowed any shore leave at all. Kept on board ship as punishment for standing up to the Captain, he is granted just one day of their entire visit to go ashore, and while there meets a young Tahitian beauty who immediately steals his heart. He promises to try to return someday to find her.
Once the ship sets sail again, Bligh starts in with his unreasonable and cruel demands, but now Mr. Christian has had all he can take. He rallies the men to mutiny, and they either kill or tie up all who oppose them. They put Bligh and the remainder of his followers in a boat with ten days’ provisions and set them adrift, while they set sail back to Tahiti. But they didn’t expect Bligh to come after them later on.
The mutiny proved to be a turning point in our history. Captains were no longer allowed to be kings over their ships and were made to curtail their punishments. However, the relatives and the descendants of the mutineers were treated very badly; mutiny is a punishable offense, much like being a traitor. It wasn’t until years later that Captain Bligh’s true nature was revealed and it was realized that these men were simply doing what they had to. I for one applauded them throughout the film.
This movie was brilliantly acted. You hate Captain Bligh on sight and I felt that Charles Laughton did a marvelous job with the role. And I always love Clark Gable. My only criticism was the really corny acting during the romantic parts. But it was still Clark Gable, so it’s all good. So good, in fact, that it took the Oscar for best picture.
I would really recommend this movie to a high school student who is either studying the novel of the same name in English, or is studying the mutiny itself in history. I do not recommend it to anyone under thirteen years of age, as the brutality of the captain would not be suitable for someone younger.
An interesting side note: Captain Bligh’s side of the story is told in this novel,“The Bounty Mutiny” as well as thoughts from Edward Christian, older brother of Fletcher, who worked to clear his brother’s good name.
Related Blogs:
Clark Gable: “Mr. Rhett, You is Bad.”