The 1932 publication of Charles Nordhoff and James Norton Hall's
Mutiny on the Bounty
sparked a revival of interest in the titular 1789 ship mutiny, and this 1935 MGM movie version won the Oscar for Best Picture.
Clark Gable
stars as Fletcher Christian, first mate of the infamous HMS Bounty, skippered by Captain William Bligh (
Charles Laughton
), the cruelest taskmaster on the Seven Seas. Bligh's villainy knows no bounds: he is even willing to flog a dead man if it will strengthen his hold over the crew. Christian despises Bligh and is sailing on the Bounty under protest. During the journey back to England, Bligh's cruelties become more than Christian can bear; and after the captain indirectly causes the death of the ship's doctor, the crew stages a mutiny, with Christian in charge. Bligh and a handful of officers loyal to him are set adrift in an open boat. Through sheer force of will, he guides the tiny vessel on a 49-day, 4000-mile journey to the Dutch East Indies without losing a man. Historians differ on whether Captain Bligh was truly such a monster or Christian such a paragon of virtue (some believe that the mutiny was largely inspired by Christian's lust for the Tahitian girls). The movie struck gold at the box office, and, in addition to the Best Picture Oscar, Gable, Laughton, and
Franchot Tone
as one of the Bounty's crew were all nominated for Best Actor (they all lost to
Victor McLaglan
in
The Informer
). The film was remade (badly) in 1962 and adapted into the "revisionist" 1984 feature
The Bounty
with
Mel Gibson
as Fletcher Christian and Anthony Hopkins as Captain Bligh.