OMG! One of my movie channels is televising Mutiny On The Bounty again. I believe it was just last week I critiqued a critic for critiquing Marlon Brando negatively saying he played a terrible Fletcher Christian, when there is no way in the world he knew how Fletcher should have been portrayed unless he had a crystal ball.
I found him to be typical Marlon Brando and a unique character among a diverse crew. If he was not played adequately that was the fault of the director and not the actor. The critic claimed that Marlon directed himself, which further infers a lack of control.
I should like to find a copy of the original film with Charles Laughton and Clark Gable (1935.) None of the later two gave me a distaste for Captain Bligh great enough to declare a mutiny. I should think life at sea in The Kings Navy had to be rough to bear, and a penchant for brutality greater than that shown would be necessary to take over the ship.
The story itself is an interesting one. There is a villain and a hero. Either is dependent on your point of view.
One thing always puzzles me. I know they were not murderers. Before that they were not mutineers. They just committed a crime punishable be hanging. Why leave the only persons alive who could tell of the crime? They lived the rest of their lives in fear for no reason.
With that in mind, this little item comes to mind. How many other mutinies are unknown because they did eliminate all those who would testify against them? Maybe many of the ships believed lost at sea were MUTINED!
Interesting fact. Each of the production crews sought authentenicty and shot many scenes on location, including England, France, Tahiti, Pango Pango and Walla Walla.
No scenes were shot on Pitcairn Island because ancestors of the mutineers were afraid somebody watching the film might recognize them and have them taken back to England to be hanged.
Pitcairn scenes were actually shot in Pitcairn, Pennsylania, just down Turtle Creek, from Wilmerding.
Thanks for all the facts and opinions about Mutiny on the Bounty. I didn't even know or check to see if there was a 1935 version with Charles Laughton and Clark Gable. Why do they have to keep making retakes? I guess they know that there will be a box office draw and they need to bring in current stars and current movie techniques to make the movie believable in that era.
Enjoyed your usual humor in the last two paragraphs. I seem to recall that even Errol Flynn was supposedly an offspring of Fletcher Christian, But I'm usually wrong. Never mind!
Stories Worth Wiping Your A** With
Whether you're making a deposit at the stank bank, dropping a return at the squat shop, or conducting a brown business meeting, these perfectly timed tales provide the literary fragrance your privacy deserves. F
Enjoyed your usual humor in the last two paragraphs. I seem to recall that even Errol Flynn was supposedly an offspring of Fletcher Christian, But I'm usually wrong. Never mind!
Ron