Today in 1789, Fletcher Christian and his merry mutineers on board the H.M.S Bounty cast Captain Bligh and 18 of his crew adrift in a couple of lifeboats. The story will be told in 1932 by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall in a trilogy whose first book is MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY. Link to read an overview of the Voyage and the Mutiny.
My favorite Captain Bligh: Charles Laughton. No one in the world can say, "You traitorous dog," with quite the same snarling vituperation as Laughton. My favorite Fletcher Christian: oh, Clark Gable, hands down. As much as I adore Marlon Brando (at least in his early roles) he was not then nor would he ever be an 18th century man.
Such a wonderful classic!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite movie portrayal of a diabolical captain has always been Humphrey Bogart in The Caine Mutiny.
Oh yes, a wonderful portrayal. Bogart's best, I think. The ball bearings.
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