Finally the Oscar Project continues!! Part VIII focuses on the 1935 film "Mutiny on the Bounty." It stars Clark Gable as Mr. Christian and Charles Laughton as Captain Bligh. It was directed by Frank Lloyd. Starting this film my only previous exposure to the story was thanks to "The Simpson" spoof done a few years back. The spoof didn't really give away much of the plot since the title takes care of that.
While looking into the history of this movie I learned the fascinating story about which this movie is based. The events depicted in the movie took place near the end of the 18th century. From what I read many of the differences between the movie and the real life events are trivial. The story follows that the H.M.S. Bounty was to travel to Tahiti to transplant Bread Fruit plants to the West Indies. After the ship left Tahiti, the ship crew committed mutiny and overtook it. Captain Bligh and those loyal to him that could fit on the launch boat were set a drift and they miraculously were able to make it to a friendly shore. In the meantime Christian and the mutineers sailed back to Tahiti and then to the island of Pitcairn to hide from a returning British ship. The movie focuses on this being a turning point for the way that sailors were treated by their captain at sea. It was interesting to later learn that several descendants from the voyage of the Bounty are still alive and living on the islands of Tahiti and Pitcairn.
Enough about the history lets take a look at the movie. The scripting of this movie was excellent. It did a very good job of showing why the men needed to commit mutiny and turned Bligh into the villain that he needed to be. Once the mutiny took place it then gave Bligh several chances to show why he was made a captain of a ship and gave him a few redeeming qualities instead of leaving him a villain. I like that this movie included this depth of character. Though a bit more closure on his character would have been welcome. The small bits of humor sprinkled throughout the movie gave welcome relief to how cruel the treatment of the men was portrayed.
Fortunately for the scriptwriter he had some incredible talent reading the lines. Leading the cast was Clark Gable playing the lead mutineer. By placing Gable in the role, he was able to use his ability for reason to show why the crew did not mutiny earlier and allowed the audience to be okay with the mutiny once it happened. He was upstaged I felt however by the performance of Charles Laughton as Captain Bligh. The character could have easily been one note and only portrayed as a villain. However Laughton adds layers. He portrays the wickedness of the character perfectly, but also captures the pride that the character has, his loyalty to the navy and his great skill in being a captain. By the end of the film there is even some sympathy for the character, but the wickedness was portrayed so well that the sympathy that is generated does not take away from the story.
The movie, with it's simple plot, feels like some of the blockbusters of today. While as it is filmed it may not win an Oscar, it feels like one of the tent pole blockbusters that a studio would plan their summer around, and one of the good ones too. If you want to check out an old classic movie but usually aren't into the more "artsy" stories this is for you. I really enjoyed this movie and it gets a 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Do you remember the scene in Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)as Christian takes the Bounty, where Capt Bligh and a few of his loyalists are launched into a tiny boat to try to sail to Australia? Well, that amazingly skillful navigation and sailing was recreated this past summer. Visit their site: http://taliskerbountyboat.com/
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your blog.