JohnHowardReid Associate producer: Albert Lewin. Producer: Irving Thalberg. A Frank Lloyd production. Copyright 4 November 1935 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp. New York opening at the Capitol, 8 November 1935 (ran 4 weeks). Australian release: 26 February 1936. 13 reels. 132 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Captain loves the sea, hates the sailors.NOTES: Academy Award, Best Picture (defeating Alice Adams, Broadway Melody of 1936, Captain Blood, David Copperfield, The Informer, Lives of a Bengal Lancer, Les Miserables, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Naughty Marietta, Ruggles of Red Gap and Top Hat).Also nominated for Best Actor, Clark Gable, Charles Laughton, Franchot Tone (Victor McLaglen for The Informer), Directing (John Ford for The Informer), Screenplay (Dudley Nichols for The Informer), Film Editing (Ralph Dawson for A Midsummer Night's Dream), and Music Scoring (Max Steiner for The Informer).Best Male Performance of 1935: Charles Laughton for Mutiny on the Bounty and Ruggles of Red Gap — New York Film Critics. Best Picture of 1936 — Film Daily poll of U.S. film critics. Negative cost: $1,900,000. Initial domestic rental gross: $4,460,000. Re-made in 1962 and again in 1984.COMMENT: You won't find any books on Frank Lloyd or a small library of articles and interviews. In fact, I've seen only two articles on the man. Yet he won the Academy Award for Directing twice (The Divine Lady and Cavalcade). Among his other big successes were Berkeley Square, Under Two Flags, Wells Fargo, If I Were King (one of my favorite movies), and Blood on the Sun. He is described as being not an actor's director (despite the great performances in his movies — I mean in Mutiny on the Bounty he has all three of his stars nominated for Best Actor — who can top that?) but a director of props and scenery and action.I agree with the last statement. Lloyd is certainly a master of action and atmosphere. Isn't that what the movies are all about? Lloyd bought the screen rights to Mutiny on the Bounty as soon as the novel was published. He sold the rights to MGM on condition that he direct the movie. When most directors — even the bravest — were tied to long- term studio contracts which forced them to work on projects with which they were not sympathetic, Lloyd was free- lancing on his own terms. In fact, Frank Lloyd's reputation within the industry was so high, that he could not only choose his films and studios, but he could stand up to moguls like Thalberg (whom he once dressed down in front of the entire cast and crew when the MGM chief dared to offer a "suggestion" — both Gable and Laughton had complained to Thalberg that Lloyd was not giving them enough attention).Lloyd never worked on a film that he didn't passionately believe in. If this isn't the mark of a true auteur, what is?"Mutiny on the Bounty" is an unqualified triumph from first to last. A meaty script which sticks close to the book (and historical facts), thoroughly convincing performances, miraculous photography and effects, meticulously accurate costumes and sets, edited with pace, directed with flair and style and feeling, — all this adds up to engrossing, riveting entertainment which doesn't merely justify an Academy Award for Best Picture, but positively demands that honor!

Eric Stevenson I admit to not being that familiar with many of Clark Gable's movies except of course "Gone With The Wind". It was weird how I didn't even recognize him at first. That's actually probably a good thing seeing as how an actor should be used to different kinds of performances. With Oscar Month on TCM, they had to feature this. This is based on a true story which I had in fact heard of. I think the only bad thing about this movie is that it is a little too long. Of course, when telling a story based on true events you really do need all the time you can get. I was kind of turned off by the idea of a whole movie taking place on a ship.That's why I was rather pleasantly surprised to see that it also took place on an island. I really do love the atmosphere this creates. Everything comes off as so authentic and you really just get a great sense of fun with these parts. I was kind of surprised at how violent this movie got. This actually showed some pretty graphic depiction of blood, a rarity back then. I still love how we focus on everyone's individual stories. As a history buff, it's always nice to learn more about significant historical events and I don't recall this from history class. Clark Gable was against being in a movie without romance although some of the crew men has some cute little relationships with the natives. ***1/2

grantss 1787. HMS Bounty sets sail from England for Tahiti in the South Pacific. Her First Lieutenant is Fletcher Christian, an officer who cares about the welfare of his men. Her captain, Captain Bligh, on the other hand, drives his men mercilessly and punishes them for the most insignificant thing, to the point of manufacturing infractions. Bligh becomes universally hated by the crew and a confrontation with Christian appears inevitable...Decent telling of the (true) story of the Bounty. The sailing scenes are quite authentic and you get a good feel for what life at sea must have been like in the late-1700s. Good work by Charles Laughton as Captain Bligh - he captured the menace and maliciousness of Bligh very well. Clark Gable is fine as Christian, though at times maybe a bit too cavalier and cocky to be naval officer.Not great though. The story does feel a bit dry at times and is fairly conventionally told. I much preferred the 1984 version starring Anthony Hopkins and Mel Gibson. (I haven't yet seen the 1962 version starring Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard).Won the 1936 Best Picture Oscar.

edwagreen No wonder this won the Oscar for best picture of 1935. This was a far superior version than the remake of 1962.This version produced 3 actors being nominated for best actor. Charles Laughton stole the film with his venomous performance as Captain Bligh. He was truly the embodiment of evil. He really gave cruelty a new meaning as well as interpretation here. As his assistant, who would ultimately lead the mutiny, Clark Gable was most impressive here. Despite his one scene, why was Franchot Tone nominated for best actor? Of course, in 1935, they didn't have the supporting categories.This terrific film shows what men will do to fight tyranny, no matter where it is. It is really an indictment of military life in the 1700s.