Mutiny On The Bounty (1935) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Director: Frank Lloyd Producers: Frank Lloyd, Irving Thalberg Cast: Charles Laughton, Clark Gable, Franchot Tone, Herbert Mundin, Eddie Quillan, Dudley Digges, Donald Crisp. Awards ceremony: -8th Academy Awards: March 5, 1936. Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, California. Other films nominated for Outstanding Production this year: -Alice Adams. -Broadway Melody Of 1936. -Captain Blood. -David Copperfield. -The Informer. -The Lives Of A Bengal Lancer. -A Midsummer Night's Dream. -Les Misérables. -Naughty Marietta. -Ruggles Of Red Gap. -Top Hat. Plot summary: The true story of The Bounty's journey from Portsmouth in England all the way to Tahiti in the South Seas at the end of the 18th century. The mission was to collect breadfruit plants and then transport them to the British West Indies. Captained by the cruel and inhumane William Bligh (CHARLES LAUGHTON), the ship becomes the victim of a mutiny by half the men on board led by acting Lieutenant Fletcher Christian (CLARK GABLE) who takes over and cast Bligh adrift after morale hits rock bottom. Bitter and determined to see Christian pay for his crimes, Captain Bligh successfully survives the ordeal and makes it back to England where some of the crew responsible for the mutiny are put on trial for the whole affair. Standout scene: The moment where Christian gathers the men to overthrow Captain Bligh and take command of the Bounty. Facts: -The 8th Academy Awards. -Three different actors from the film were nominated for Best Actor: Clark Gable, Charles Laughton and Franchot Tone. None of them won! -The film was directed by Frank Lloyd, who had already won the Academy Award for Best Director for the 1933 Best Picture winer Cavalcade (1933). -Herbert Mundin appears in his second film that won the Oscar for Best Picture (he co-starred in Cavalcade in 1933). -Clark Gable starred in back-to-back films that won the Best Picture Oscar: It Happened One Night in 1934, and Mutiny On The Bounty in 1935. (He would also later star in Gone With The Wind in 1939). Personal opinion: The sets, the ship, the cast, the story are all high grade. Charles Laughton is in full bastard mode here with a frighteningly brilliant performance as the cruel Captain Bligh, the commander of the HMS Bounty. You just can't take your eyes off him. He takes no shit and gives zero fucks in an absolutely magnificent performance. Clark Gable, sans moustache, co-stars as the reasonable and tolerant Master's Mate Fletcher Christian who rallies the men to overthrow Bligh. The momentum of the film crashes when the story reaches the island of Tahiti but it soon picks up again and you have to wait until around 85 minutes before the shit hits the fan! I thoroughly recommend the Blu-Ray of the film from The Premium Collection. The quality is outstanding. Did it deserve the Oscar? YES. 8/10

Review date: 09 February 2025