Of the two roles, I have found the Fletcher Christian character the harder of the two to figure out. I've watched all three films once and each film (and actor) has a different interpretation of how, when, and why Christian decides to mutiny. There's no denying the dramatic tension between the rigid Captain Bligh and the handsome Christian. The beauty of the South Pacific Islands (and the native women who inhabit them) is another lure to the MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY story. Besides the two main characters, part of the fun of the three BOUNTY films is spotting the young up and coming actors who play the officers and crew of the HMS Bounty. So take a sea sickness pill, pull up the anchors, and let's hit the high seas to explore the three different versions of MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY.
MGM would bankroll the first two versions of MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY beginning with Frank Lloyd's 1935 version. The source material was the novel Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. Three writers (Talbot Jennings, Jules Furthman, and Carey Wilson) would craft the screenplay. MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935) opens in Portsmouth, England in 1787. We find First Lieutenant Fletcher Christian (Clark Gable) bursting into the King George tavern, pressing five men of various degrees of skullduggery (and one innocent man) to join the crew of the Bounty. Its two year mission is to sail from Portsmouth, England to the South Pacific island of Tahiti, pick up breadfruit plants, and transport them to the West Indies to plant as cheap food to feed the slaves working on English plantations. The captain of the Bounty is the brutal Captain William Bligh (Charles Laughton). His officers include Roger Byam (Franchot Tone), a midshipman from a family of sea officers. Bligh's sadistic side is shown early when he orders the flogging of a seaman who's already dead. The ship leaves Portsmouth for the open seas.
Early on, Christian and Bligh butt heads on the treatment of the crew. Bligh wants discipline and punishment if rules and orders are not obeyed. The more compassionate Christian wants to teach and train the new crew. The Bounty barely makes it through some terrible weather. Later, the ship runs into the doldrums (no wind) forcing Bligh to make his crew pull the ship via row boats, rotating the tired men. The crew are close to exploding under Bligh's tyranny when they finally reach Tahiti. The natives paddle out to greet the crew. Bligh meets with the island's chief Hitihiti (William Bambridge) and makes his request for one thousand breadfruit plants. It's paradise for the seamen after their perilous journey. Beautiful women are everywhere, dazzling the sailors like sirens. Hitihiti's granddaughter Tehani (Movita) falls in love with Christian.
The time comes for the Bounty to leave. A few deserters like Burkitt (Donald Crisp) are caught trying to stay on the island. Bligh learns that the breadfruit will need more water than the ship can store. Bligh cuts the crew's water rations in half. As the ship sails, Bligh accuses Christian of stealing coconuts. But the final straw for the crew is when Bligh orders the perennially drunk but now very ill Dr. Bacchus (Dudley Digges) to the top deck. The beloved Bacchus promptly dies. The crew mutinies and Christian begrudgingly becomes their leader. Christian puts Bligh and many officers and crew loyal to the captain in a row boat and sets them adrift. Byam misses the row boat and reluctantly stays on the Bounty. "We can never be friends again," Byam tells Christian. Christian orders the Bounty to turn around and return to Tahiti.
Bligh and his men eventually reaches East Timor in the row boat. Christian and the mutineers celebrate Christmas in Tahiti. Christian weds Tehani. Life is good on the island until a mysterious English ship appears on the horizon months later. Christian and his men gather their families and sneak away on the Bounty. The English ship the Pandora is captained by none other than Captain Bligh, obsessed with catching Christian. Byam and Stewart (Douglas Walton) who remain on the island welcome Bligh back only to be thrown into the irons by the tyrannical captain. Bligh wants Christian but Byam doesn't know Christian's destination. Bligh takes Byam, Stewart, Burkitt, and Ellison (Eddie Quillan) back to England to be court martialed. The men are convicted by Lord Hood (David Torrence). Byam rails against the false charges, condemning Bligh's brutality as a sea captain. Christian and his crew reach Pitcairn Island, evacuate everyone onto the island and scuttle the ship where they remain (supposedly) for the rest of their lives. Byam's conviction is overturned with the help of family friend Sir Joseph Banks (Henry Stephenson). Bligh's honor is maintained but his treatment of his crew places a stain on his reputation.
This first version of MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY paints Bligh clearly as a sadistic villain yet it had the good fortune of casting Charles Laughton as the Captain. As warped as Bligh is in following English maritime rules to the letter, Laughton makes Bligh sympathetic at times. There's no question about Bligh's character. Clark Gable's Fletcher Christian is another story. We first meet Christian basically kidnapping six men (albeit pirates and thieves except for Ellison who's there for a drink with his wife) from a tavern because the Bounty needs more men. But Christian is portrayed as a tough but fair First Lieutenant who cares more about the men he commands than Bligh. Gable (who shaved his famous moustache for the role) plays Christian in that classic 30s hero role -- dashing and roguish with a hearty laugh (imagine Errol Flynn on the high seas). What makes this MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY interesting is there is a second romantic leading man besides Gable. Franchot Tone as Roger Byam. The two men become friends, both pursue different women on Tahiti only to see their friendship torn apart by Christian's decision to join the mutineers. Christian's decision to overthrow Bligh comes back to haunt the idealistic Byam who Bligh turns his hatred toward on Bligh's return voyage to Tahiti.
Of the three BOUNTY films, the first and oldest version is the most explicit in showing Bligh's brutality in keeping discipline with his crew. We see an already dead sailor flogged because Bligh had ordered the punishment before the man died. We see another crew member keel hauled (thrown over the bow of the ship and pulled underneath it before he's pulled back up from the stern). This sailor also dies. Byam is forced to sit up in the crow's nest during a ferocious storm for disobeying one of Bligh's orders. Then, we have the unfortunate situation of crewmen Ellison. Ellison is neither a thief nor a pirate. He's just the wrong person at the wrong time when he's grabbed by Christian and forced to serve on the Bounty. Ellison has a wife and a new child he leaves behind. Forced from his family for two years, Ellison is one of the crew members court martialed for mutiny when Bligh returns and grabs him among others. Ellison had nothing to do with the mutiny. He's an innocent man. The filmmakers soften his situation by allowing him to see his wife and child one last time before he's hung (off screen). Ellison's ordeal is heart wrenching. Officer Byam receives a late pardon but not Ellison or Burkitt.
Clark Gable was on his way to becoming a major movie star, Franchot Tone was an up and coming matinee idol, and Charles Laughton was on an incredible streak of roles including Dr. Moreau in THE ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (1932), Henry VIII in THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII (1933), and Inspector Javert in LES MISERABLES (1935). But MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY provided a kick start for a few of the supporting actors (although not as many as the next two versions). Donald Crisp as the big chested Burkitt would have a long career in film often playing patriarchs in films like John Ford's HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY (1941) or Anthony Mann's THE MAN FROM LARAMIE (1955). THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD fans will recognize Herbert Mundin (Much the Miller) as the dim witted cook Smith. Mundin is the one comic role in MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY. He ends up with a wife on Tahiti and disappears in the middle of the film, presumably happy to stay on the island. Movita who plays Fletcher Christian's Polynesian love interest Tehani was actually Mexican-Ameican. She would appear in John Ford's FORT APACHE (1948) as a Mexican woman. Ironically, Movita would become Marlon Brando's second wife. Brando would play Fletcher Christian in the 1962 remake and leave Movita for his BOUNTY co-star Tarita. And rumor has it that James Cagney (who was vacationing on Catalina Island when the cast and crew of MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY landed to film the harbor scenes) can be seen in a few opening group shots as one of the crew (I was not able to spot him).
Hollywood's first shot at MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY was a rousing success, garnering six Academy Award nominations and winning one for Best Picture. Made by MGM (the most prestigious studio at the time), MUTINY had great production value, up and coming and established movie stars, and a mixture of drama, action, and some comedic moments typical of big studio films in the 30s. What's unexpected is how vividly director Frank Lloyd depicts Captain Bligh's viciousness toward his crew in the name of English sea law. Neither the 1962 or 1984 versions would be so graphic in showing whippings and keel haulings. One other item worth noting with this first version is there are two romantic leads in Clark Gable and Franchot Tone. Fletcher Christian is the only romantic lead in the latter versions. But in Lloyd's film, Fletcher Christian although played roguishly by Clark Gable is not a choir boy. He kidnaps men to work on his ship. He breaks from his English officers and supports the mutineers against Captain Bligh. He doesn't sail away to a uncharted tropical island but a rocky, desolate patch of land in an inhospitable part of the world. The studio needed a second lead to give the audience some hope (even though Tone's Byam almost hangs).
MGM would roll the dice a second time, remaking MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY in 1962. Based on the same book by Nordhoff and Hall with a new screenplay by Charles Lederer (and several uncredited screenwriters), this MUTINY was an even bigger production as the cast and crew actually filmed in the French Polynesian islands of Tahiti, Bora Bora, and Moorea for all the exterior scenes. Directed by Lewis Milestone (who took over for Carol Reed early during filming), the second MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY would be beset by budget woes, script changes, and the unprofessional behavior of its leading man Marlon Brando who drove cast and director crazy. Yet, MUTINY is a big, beautiful film to watch especially its island scenes. The film is fairly faithful to the first version until its third act where perhaps the offscreen clashes between actor, director, and script rewrites provide an unsatisfactory finale.
Gorgeously photographed in Technicolor by Robert Surtees (THE GRADUATE), the 1962 version of MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY lets us know right away that Fletcher Christian (Marlon Brando) will be more of a romantic hero than Clark Gable's Fletcher. Christian arrives to the Bounty in Portsmouth, England Harbor in 1787 escorted by two beautiful women: one French and one English. He's greeted with contempt by Captain William Bligh (Trevor Howard). Christian was not Bligh's first choice to be his second in command on the Bounty. Bligh welcomes gardener William Brown (Richard Haydn) who will be his expert on whether the breadfruit plant can be transplanted from Tahiti to Jamaica to feed the island's slave population. The Bounty leaves Portsmouth for Tahiti. This MUTINY crew are made up more of volunteers and regular sailors than thieves: Seaman John Mills (Richard Harris), Alexander Smith (Hugh Griffith), Seaman Matthew Quintal (Percy Herbert), Seaman Edward Birkett (Gordon Jackson), and Seaman William McCoy (Noel Purcell) among the crew.
The ship is barely at sea when Bligh's zeal for punishment rears its ugly head. Seaman Mills is flogged for allegedly stealing a block of cheese. Bligh is obsessed with completing his mission successfully. He makes the foolhardy choice (against Christian's reservations) to go West around the Cape of Good Horn (the tip of South America) instead of East and around the Cape of Good Hope (Africa). The Bounty endures four weeks of rough seas and terrible storms, making little head way. Bligh runs the crew ragged. His gamble costs them previous time. In the end, Bligh reluctantly heads East. He takes his frustration out on the crew. For his part, Christian doesn't really side with either Bligh or the crew. Luckily for everyone, the Bounty finally reaches Tahiti.
The ship is met by hundreds of natives. Upon reaching shore, Bligh meets with the island's chief Hitihiti (Matahiarii Tama). Bligh brings a chest full of gifts for the chief and reveals they have come for breadfruit. While Christian and Brown begin collecting breadfruit samples, the men discover the island's other beauty: the local women of the island. At an extravagant feast, Hitihiti's daughter Maimiti (Tarita) flirts with Christian. Bligh orders Christian to stay away from her which insults Hitihiti. If Christian won't sleep with his daughter, Hitihiti declares no breadfruit for the Bounty. Bligh relents. After five months of rest, the breadfruit come out of their dormant period. The Bounty prepares to depart. Mills and Quintal try to desert but they're chased down by Christian and Midshipman Ned Young (Tim Seely). Bligh places the deserters in irons as the Bounty sails for Jamaica.
Brown tells Bligh the breadfruit will need more water if they're to survive the voyage. Bligh cuts the crew's water rations. The men begin to go mad without water, some dying. Mills becomes an instigator, prodding Christian on how many more men have to die under Bligh. When Christian tries to give water to one crazed seaman, Bligh kicks the ladle from him. Christian snaps and hits Bligh. The crew arm themselves and Christian takes command of the Bounty. Christian sends Bligh and some crew members off in a rowboat (they eventually make it to land). The Bounty turns around and returns to Tahiti. Maimiti joins Christian as do other islanders. The Bounty searches for a far off island to evade the inevitable return of a British ship. Christian discovers Pitcairn Island by accident. The English map makers have it wrong on all the maps. The island is a paradise. But when Christian begins to suggest returning to England to regain his honor and face Bligh at a trial, Mills and the crew will make a rash decision that will have irreversible results for Fletcher Christian.
Many critics and movie fans think Marlon Brando is miscast as Fletcher Christian but I disagree. I would pay money to see Marlon Brando play a hotel doorman. Fletcher Christian is a bigger than life historical character and Brando was the bigger than life actor to play him (Brando turned down another big historical character T.E. Lawrence of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA to play Fletcher Christian). Christian is portrayed early on as a playboy, arriving to the docks with two beautiful, fashionable women and wearing a red cape. In another scene, Brando has Christian wearing a lavender scarf. Christian seems to be at a crossroads of his life. Brando plays him like some of Brando's other characters: a loner, a rebel. He's got money, good breeding, but is the British navy the place for him. He seems to want to get the voyage over with and get on with his good life.
Captain Bligh as played by Trevor Howard has a chip on his shoulder. He may have had to work harder to get where he's gotten than Christian. He seems jealous of Christian's high born class. Bligh has no sense of humor. When Midshipman Young laughs at how Bligh walks, Bligh punishes the young cadet. "I'm not a figure of fun," he reminds both Christian and Young. Bligh may also have an inferiority complex. Chief Hitihiti is disappointed it's Bligh and not the more well known Captain Cook who has returned to their island which Bligh notices. Bligh has anti-social tendencies as well. In one of MUTINY'S funniest sequences Bligh is forced to dance with Maimiti much to his dread.
Even though he objects at times, Christian puts up with Bligh's overhanded discipline. He acknowledges Bligh's authority even though Bligh senses contempt from him. But when Bligh emasculates him in front of the men, Christian snaps, striking Captain Bligh and altering his future forever. After his actions, did Christian make the right decision or did Bligh goad him and get under his skin? Bligh was all about the mission and not his men. More sailors may have died unnecessarily if Christian doesn't act. But Christian sulks and hides in his quarters after the mutiny. The crew respect Christian for his decision, not fully realizing the sacrifice he made for them. In the end, when the Court Martial Judge (Henry Dashiell) excuses blame for Bligh for losing his ship, he condones Bligh for his excessive zeal toward his crew. Bligh's career is finished and his chance to pursue Christian done.
Besides Brando and Howard, Richard Harris (CAMELOT) is sneaky good as Seaman John Mills. He starts out the movie as a lazy sailor, trying to avoid any hard work. But when he's flogged for allegedly stealing cheese, Mills changes. He doesn't want to go back to the Bounty and Bligh once he experiences Tahiti. Thrown in irons for trying to desert, Mills will be the provocateur that encourages Christian to mutiny. In a way, Mills is like Judas in that he will betray Christian at the end of the film. Movie fans will recognize some of the other crew members from various films: Percy Lambert (THE BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER KWAI and MYSTERIOUS ISLAND), Gordon Jackson (THE GREAT ESCAPE and TVs UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS), Hugh Griffith (BEN-HUR and TOM JONES), and Richard Haydn (THE SOUND OF MUSIC). Harris was the first actor of the first two BOUNTY films to receive third billing.
After viewing the first two MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY films, there are some facts and falsehoods to separate. Captain Bligh would not return right away to Tahiti like he did in the first MUTINY film to pursue Christian. It would be several years and Christian long gone before Bligh made it back to the South Pacific and successfully complete his breadfruit mission. Unlike its depiction in the second MUTINY film, Pitcairn Island was not a tropical paradise but a fairly inhospitable island. As to what happened to Fletcher Christian and the mutineers, history does not have a firm decision. Some say Christian was murdered on Pitcairn Island by either the crew or the natives that came with him. Other reports say that Christian returned to England incognito and visited his family. It's a mystery that may never be answered.
THE BOUNTY (1984) directed by New Zealander Roger Donaldson would be the third version of this tale. Produced not by MGM but by Producer Dino De Laurentiis, this version would not be based on the Nordhoff and Hall book but a different book called Captain Bligh and Mr. Christian by Richard Hough. The screenplay is by renowned screenwriter Robert Bolt (LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS) and LAWRENCE OF ARABIA director David Lean was originally attached to direct. One could see how the strong personalities of Captain Bligh and Fletcher Christian would appeal to Lean. But Lean would have to drop out of the project and up and coming director Donaldson would helm the film instead.
THE BOUNTY is unique in that it begins with Bligh's naval hearing upon his return to England from having his ship taken from him and uses flashbacks to tell the story of the HMS Bounty and its mutiny. Bligh appears before Admiral Hood (Laurence Oliver) and the suspicious, inquisitive Captain Greetham (Edward Fox). The first two films had Bligh's hearing near the end of each film. And breadfruit are barely focused on in this version. The other interesting take from THE BOUNTY is that the film begins with Lieutenant William Bligh (Anthony Hopkins) and Fletcher Christian (Mel Gibson) as friends. Christian has dinner at Bligh's home and plays with Bligh's children. Bligh has been assigned this mission to bring breadfruit from Tahiti to Jamaica to feed the West Indies slaves. Bligh wants to make his mark before he becomes too old. He asks Christian to be his Master's Mate. Sailing Master Mr. John Fryer (Daniel Day-Lewis) is Bligh's second command but Bligh wants Christian with him as Christian has connections that Bligh does not.
Early in the voyage, Bligh's portrayed as more lenient, crew friendly. But when the brutish Churchill (Liam Neeson) and Quintal (Neil Morrissey) complain about a dancing exercise ordered by Bligh to stay fit, Bligh has both of them gagged for insubordination until Christian asks for leniency. Bligh's seamanship is questioned by Fryer when Bligh decides to go around Cape Horn instead of the Cape of Good Hope. After 31 days of grueling winds and storms and nearly capsizing and just 85 miles to show for it, Bligh turns around. Bligh loses faith in Fryer and makes Christian his second in command. Morale is low until the Bounty reaches Tahiti. This BOUNTY has no problem showing the native women topless as the islanders paddle out to greet them. Bligh meets with King Tynah (Wi Kuki Kaa) and explains their mission. The Bounty has to wait for the breadfruit to grow allowing the crew and island women to become close. Christian begins a relationship with the King's daughter Mauatua (Tevaite Vernette).
As Christian falls in love with Mauatua and falls under the spell of her and the island, his relationship with Bligh begins to splinter. Christian spends more time on the island than on the ship, angering Bligh who eventually orders Christian to return. As the ship prepares to leave with its cargo of breadfruit, tensions grow on the island. The alcoholic Dr. Huggan (Malcolm Terris) is found dead, tormented by some locals. Churchill tries to desert only to be caught by Bligh and Cole (Bernard Hill). Christian sneaks back to the island to say goodbye only to learn that Mauatua carries his child. Churchill is flogged in front of the crew. As the ship continues its voyage, Bligh begins to go a little mad, complaining that the ship is filthy, having Christian order the men to scrub and scrub again the decks. When Christian takes one of Bligh's coconuts, Bligh puts the crew on half rations. Mr. Young (Philip Davis) suggests to Christian to take the ship. Bligh considers trying to take on Cape Horn again. The crew are at a breaking point. Christian leads the revolt, grabbing Bligh and Fryer.
The crew are ready to kill Bligh, Fryer, and Cole but Christian intervenes. There will be no slaughter of the officers. Bligh feels betrayed by his friend. Christian sends Bligh and his men off in a row boat. For the last third of the film, THE BOUNTY alternates between Bligh and Christian's journeys. Bligh and his men stop on a different island for supplies and barely escape hostile natives. Christian and his mutineers return to Tahiti to pick up food and their women. King Tynah is shamed by Christian's actions. It means King George will send more ships to his island, searching for Christian. Both men have troubles on their respective boats. Bligh's men are dying of thirst and hunger when they crawl into East Timor. Bligh will make it back to England and face his peers. On the Bounty, the crew begin to turn on Christian as he vainly tries to find an island for them to inhabit. Christian puts his trust in his maps and stumbles across Pitcairn Island. Christian, Adams (Philip Martin Brown), Young, Mauatua, and the rest of the crew land on the island and burn the Bounty, ensuring they will never leave.
THE BOUNTY puts a little more emphasis on Bligh than Christian in this version. Bligh is humanized. We see him at dinner with his wife (Sharon Bower) and his kids. We also see that Bligh and Fletcher Christian are friends. Bligh asks Christian to join his mission and later promotes him after Fryer questions Bligh's sailing choices. It's only when Fletcher falls in love with Mauatua and begins to go native in Tahiti, neglecting his second in command duties does Bligh begin to turn on him. Bligh's embracement of discipline and punishment may stem from his Puritan background. Bligh begins to go a little mad from the heat. He may be jealous of Christian's lifestyle and attitude. But in the end, THE BOUNTY does not paint Bligh as responsible for losing his ship. Even with stern questioning from Hood and Greetham, Bligh is exonerated and Christian found guilty of mutiny.
Fletcher Christian as played by the ridiculously handsome young Mel Gibson in THE BOUNTY is portrayed as ambitious but a bit of a novice. He and Bligh get along early on. Christian, as in the other film versions, sees himself as an intermediary between crew and captain. But Christian succumbs to the temptation of the fairer sex on Tahiti. He sleeps with Mauatua. He dresses more like the Tahitians and even gets a tattoo. Like Franchot Tone's Byam in the first version, Gibson's Christian feels more at home with King Tynah and his people than Bligh. Bligh begins to torment Christian, forcing him to wear his naval jacket over his fresh tattoo, a painful order that Christian reluctantly follows. When he leads the mutiny, Christian's motive may be more to return to his beloved Mauatua on Tahiti as it is to protect the crew from Bligh's ego.
All the BOUNTY films but especially the Brando version and THE BOUNTY contrasts English prudeness versus the open sexuality of the South Pacific natives. Fertility dances and suggestive hip movements especially by the Tahitian women are prevalent in all three versions. The Tahitian women sleep freely with the English sailors. Many become girlfriends and even wives of the seamen. But Bligh represents English morality and a repressed sexuality. In a very funny scene in THE BOUNTY, King Tynah sends one of his wives to sleep with Bligh. The rigid, moralistic Bligh wants nothing to do with her but knows it's expected. He asks Christian to interrupt them before they can consummate. Christian waits longer than he should than bursts into Bligh's quarters. When Bligh demands what requires his attention, Christian answers, "The ship's sinking sir." Bligh replies, "Good."
What are the odds that two of the most recognizable and respected actors (not named Hopkins and Gibson) currently in the business would have supporting roles in THE BOUNTY. Daniel Day-Lewis who plays Master of Sailing John Fryer has gone on to win multiple Oscars for Best Actor in films like Paul Thomas Anderson's THERE WILL BE BLOOD (2007) and Steven Spielberg's LINCOLN (2012). THE BOUNTY was an early role for Day-Lewis and it's not a showy one. Liam Neeson (TAKEN, SCHINDLER'S LIST) plays the thuggish Churchill, maybe one of the scarier crew members in any of the BOUNTY films. Churchill will suffer a severe lashing ordered by Bligh for trying to desert and eventually assist in the mutiny but he will end up staying on Tahiti rather than join Christian. Like Day-Lewis, THE BOUNTY was one of Neeson's first films. Neeson's career would explode beginning in the 90s. Also look for THE LORD OF THE RINGS: TWO TOWERS (2002) actor Bernard Hill who plays Bligh's taskmaster Cole. Hill would become known to millions as King Théoden in the Peter Jackson fantasy films. A quick note about the music. Nothing says 1980s more than an electronic music score. It was all the rage for that decade. THE BOUNTY'S music is by Vangelis whose best works included Hugh Hudson's CHARIOTS OF FIRE (1981) and Ridley Scott's BLADE RUNNER (1982). Vangelis's score is haunting and seems fitting for a film that takes place mostly on the open water.
So as we wrap up our cinematic journey from Portsmouth, England to Tahiti and finally, Pitcairn Island, what have we learned about Captain Bligh and Fletcher Christian from version one and version of two of MUTINY OF THE BOUNTY and THE BOUNTY? In the 1935 version, Christian is portrayed in the Hollywood Golden Era style as a lovable rogue, foreshadowing Clark Gable's ultimate role as Rhett Butler in Victor Fleming's GONE WITH THE WIND (1939). Marlon Brando's take on the Christian role in the 1962 version is as an outsider, a well to do playboy who tries not to take sides until Bligh humiliates him. Mel Gibson's Christian (besides as a heartthrob) is that of a greenhorn who falls hard for a local girl and mutinies as much to rejoin his love as to protect the crew that Bligh so callously treats.
On the Captain Bligh side, Charles Laughton's performance in the first version is pure villainy with just a dash of humanity. Trevor Howard in the second version is an older, crustier Bligh with more of a chip on his shoulder toward Christian and his class and good looks. Anthony Hopkins Lieutenant Bligh is painted as a more human figure with a wife and two small children. He's not perfect but by the film's end, he's cleared by the Admiralty of any wrongdoing. As we know, fact and fiction in films never do quite meet. The real Captain Bligh did seem to have issues when it came to commanding men. Not only was his ship the Bounty taken from him by his crew in 1789 for his treatment of the crew, years later as Governor of New South Wales in Australia in 1808, Bligh was arrested by his own military officer and under house arrest for a year for bad relations with the army.
I was able to forge ahead through MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (both versions) and THE BOUNTY without receiving a single lashing or keel hauling from my family (who sometimes rolled their eyes when I told them I was watching all three versions). It's always interesting to see how each group of filmmakers (director, screenwriter, and actors) tackle the same basic story. Each film has its own strengths and weaknesses but each version is a worthy and entertaining couple of hours to ride along with history on the voyage of the HMS Bounty and its dramatic conflict between Captain William Bligh and Fletcher Christian.
