Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

My Review

The Best Picture of 1935 is…..”Mutiny on the Bounty.” This dramatization of the true story of the 1789 revolt against Captain Bligh of the HMS Bounty in the South Pacific was tightly directed by Frank Lloyd (“Cavalcade” 1933) from a screenplay by Talbot Jennings, Jules Furthman, and Carey Wilson. It was adapted from the 1932 novel of the same name by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall.

The cast includes Charles Laughton as Captain William Bligh, Clark Gable as Lt. Fletcher Christian, Franchot Tone as the midshipman, Donald Crisp, Herbert Mundin, Eddie Quillan, Henry Stephenson, Spring Byington, Dick Winslow, Hal LaSueur (brother of Joan Crawford), David Niven, James Cagney, and Dick Haymes. The watchable “Mutiny on the Bounty” was the highest grossing film of 1935 for producer Irving Thalberg and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

It was filmed in Tahiti, Catalina Island, and at MGM Studios in Culver City. “Bounty” was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning one for Best Picture. Non-winners include Best Director, Best Actor (Gable, Laughton, Tone), Best Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and Best Musical Score (Nat W. Finston, Herbert Stothart). Notable remakes include “Mutiny on the Bounty” (1962) starring Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard, and “The Bounty” (1984) featuring Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins.