Mutiny on the Bounty - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of Mutiny on the Bounty or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Mutiny on the Bounty

[victoria]

Byam was supposed to be 17 when the Bounty sailed, and Sir Joseph Banks was 45.

[ella]

Future singing star Dick Haymes worked as an extra.

[addison]

Charles Laughton, playing William Bligh, who performed one of the world's greatest feats of navigation after having been cast adrift at sea by the Bounty mutineers, was in reality terrified of the ocean and was violently seasick throughout most of the filming.

[harry]

The first film based on historical events (and which also used the names of some of the real-life people involved, notably William Bligh and Fletcher Christian) to win the Oscar for Best Picture.

[ivan]

The top-grossing film of 1935.

[jeffrey]

Clark Gable was initially disappointed when Franchot Tone was cast as Byam. The two actors had been bitter rivals for the affections of Joan Crawford while filming Dancing Lady (1933), and they did not like each other at all. However, during filming Gable surprisingly became close friends with Tone when they discovered a mutual interest in alcohol and women, both of which were abundantly available in Avalon, the island of Catalina's famous pleasure town.

[clayton]

Cary Grant eagerly sought the role of Midshipman Roger Byam, but the part went to Franchot Tone instead.

[carla]

Features the two previous Best Actor Oscar winners: Charles Laughton and Clark Gable. Both were also nominated for Best Actor for their performances in this film. It is also the only time that when at least two actors or actresses were nominated in the same category for one film for their performances that they had both already won the same award in other years prior to the film.

[frances]

It was Captain Courtney of the Tigress who ordered the dead sailor to be flogged in the novel.

[christina]

Ships of the Royal Navy were not called "HMS" until some years after the Bounty mutiny. The ship was actually referred to as "His Majesty's Armed Vessel Bounty".

[liam]

MGM was not about to send the principal cast and crew members so far away, but they were dispatched to Catalina Island for a lengthy location shooting. For a scene in which Mr. Christian spoke to some island women, technicians cut together Clark Gable on Catalina with extras in Tahiti.

[duane]

Herbert Mundin previously starred in another Frank Lloyd film, 1933's Cavalcade, which also featured another famous ship, the ill-fated RMS Titanic. Both Cavalcade and Mutiny on the Bounty won the Best Picture Oscar.

[eli]

Although some members of the supporting cast like Eddie Quillan and DeWitt Jennings affected English accents, it was decided that Clark Gable should not attempt an accent.

[wallace]

Clark Gable initially felt he was badly miscast as an English naval lieutenant in an historical epic. However, he later said he believed this was the best movie he had starred in.

[wesley]

Clark Gable had to shave off his trademark mustache for this film for historical accuracy. Mustaches were not allowed in the Royal Navy during the time the story takes place.

[cameron]

The character of Dr. Bacchus, who was a highly-functioning alcoholic, shares his name with the ancient Roman god of wine.

[camila]

During filming Clark Gable and Franchot Tone were said to have become romantically involved with Mamo Clark and Movita, who played their girlfriends in the movie.

[leo]

According to a 1940 "New York Times" news item, Frank Lloyd announced his intention to film a follow-up, called "Captain Bligh", which he planned to produce on an independent basis at Universal following his work on The Howards of Virginia (1940). Lloyd's sequel, which was never made, was to cover Bligh's career as governor of the Australian penal colony, with Charles Laughton recreating his role. According to 1945 and 1946 HR news items, Charles Nordhoff wrote a novel-length sequel to the Fletcher Christian story, which was to be produced by Carey Wilson and have Clark Gable reprise his role. The sequel, which was never produced, was to take Christian back to England and to South America.

[frances]

This was MGM's most expensive film since Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925), costing $2 million.