Mutiny on the Bounty

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Frank Lloyd directs. Arthur Edeson behind the camera. Herbert Stothart scores. Margaret Booth cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Tahitian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Shot for just $1.9M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
• 291 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
• 3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Tahitian.
• 4Directed by Frank Lloyd, shot by Arthur Edeson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 5Original score by Herbert Stothart. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 6Editor Margaret Booth shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 7Charles Laughton and Clark Gable and Franchot Tone carry the top of the cast.
• 8Marketing tagline: "Clark Gable as the daring mutineer in the screen's most exciting adventure story!".
• 9IMDB entry: tt0026752 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 10Classified under 13 themes, including "ship", "mutiny", "island", "boat".
• 11Released under 20 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography

Arthur Edeson

Original score

Herbert Stothart

Editing

Margaret Booth

Makeup / hair

Ben Nye

Runtime

132 min · 2h 12m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$1,950,000

Box office

$4,460,000

Return

229% of budget

Original language

EN

IMDB

Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) ↗

Also by

Frank Lloyd

• 
  The Woman in Room 13

  1920 · ★ 10.0
• 
  The Eagle of the Sea

  1926 · ★ 10.0
• 
  The Sin Flood

  1922 · ★ 10.0
• 
  The Eternal Flame

  1922 · ★ 10.0
• 
  The Voice from the Minaret

  1923 · ★ 10.0
• 
  Adoration

  1928 · ★ 10.0

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Film historian Kenneth Turan reflects on MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY.

  Featurette · Official
• 

  ▶
  Larry Karaszewski on MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935)

  Featurette
• 

  ▶
  Trailer

  Trailer · Official
• 

  ▶
  Theatrical Trailer #2

  Trailer · Official
• 

  ▶
  "The Man Is Dead"

  Clip · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• John Chard2020-06-20
  ★ 8/10

  When you're back in England with the fleet again, you'll hear the hue and cry against me. From now on they'll spell mutiny with my name. A tyrannical ships captain takes his reluctant crew on a two-year voyage that will change British maritime law forever... Directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Charles Laughton, Clark Gable and Franchot Tone, this 1935 version of the often filmed tale of the "Mutiny on the Bounty" (book by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall) is the template by which other adaptations would come to be judged. We are in safe hands from the off due to the casting of Laughton as the strutting evil peacock that is Captain Bligh, and Gable as Fletcher Christian, the handsome hero who decides enough of tyranny and raises a sailor army to usurp the tyrannical Bligh. The pic positively thrives on the characterisations, instead of giving over to fanciful sea faring shenanigans, it's more concerned with the principal players and the conflicts that said characters partake in. Based upon an actual real life instance, there's a realism factor on show as the sailors of The Bounty deal with the harsh realities of sea voyage in the 1700's, this before their captain thinks nothing of flogging an already dead shipmate!. We witness the best and worst of men at sea, this be a time where loyalty and harsh discipline were in turn expected and meted out as a course of nature. It's a tragic tale, though it's a little let down in the mid-section when the ship gets to Tahiti and it's all jolification and frivolity, which belies the harsh nature of the core beast. Yet once Laughton and Gable square up against each other, we are in the presence of greatness, mortal enemies are born and they take us to a finale that asks us the audience if it is indeed justified? 9/10

  Read full review ↓
• CinemaSerf2022-06-19
  ★ 8/10

  A really outstanding adaptation of this story of the tyrannical behaviour of the Royal Navy Captain Bligh (Charles Laughton) who was tasked with sailing round the world to procure breadfruit trees as cheap fodder for slaves in the Caribbean and in so doing brutalises his ill fed and thirsty crew to the point of mutiny lead by Lieutenant Christian (a very dashing Clark Gable). I found Franchot Tone a rather good looking but wooden "Byam" and Gable's accent is probably best to be glossed over but the production standards, and excellent maritime photography are proof positive of what could be done without computer animation. There is a rousing score from Herbert Stothard and a great supporting cast of professionals - especially Ian Wolfe's efforts as the odious ship's clerk "Maggs" and Herbert Mundin's rather hapless "Smith" - giving this story added depth, a soupçon of humour and lots of style as they battle the hostilities of the sea and the inhumanities of a brute. It's history, so not too much room for jeopardy with the narrative, but Laughton proves to be entirely convincing as a man never to be crossed.

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

  US

Key crew

• NovelCharles Nordhoff
• NovelJames Norman Hall
• EditorMargaret Booth
• ProducerIrving Thalberg
• CinematographyCharles G. Clarke
• CinematographySidney Wagner
• Set DecorationAlbert C. Wilson
• Makeup ArtistBen Nye
• Makeup ArtistRobert J. Schiffer
• Makeup Department HeadMonte Westmore
• Makeup ArtistPerc Westmore
• Unit ManagerUlric Busch
• Second Unit DirectorJ. Walter Ruben
• Assistant Art DirectorA. Arnold Gillespie
• Stunt DoubleGene Coogan
• Stunt DoubleFred Graham
• StuntsHarvey Parry
• StuntsGil Perkins
• StuntsAllen Pomeroy
• StuntsCharles Schaeffer
• Assistant CameraCliff Shirpser
• Assistant CameraHarkness Smith
• Second UnitGlenn Strong
• OrchestratorCharles Maxwell

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• ship
• mutiny
• island
• boat
• sailing
• based on true story
• tahiti
• 18th century
• tyrant
• flogging
• voyage
• high seas
• mutiny on the bounty

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere1935-11-08· New York City, New York
• Theatrical1935-11-22

Also known as

International titles

• Rebelión a bordoES
• Motim a BordoBR
• Revolta na BountyPT
• Meuterei auf der BountyAT
• Бунтът на БаунтиBG
• Vzpoura na lodi BountyCZ
• Mytteri på BountyDK
• Kapina laivallaFI
• Naftiki antarsiaGR
• Lázadás a BountynHU
• Mered al Ha-BountyIL
• Senkan Baunti-go no hanranJP
• LázadókHU
• O Grande MotimBR
• Motín a bordoAR