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

[ruby]

During one scene, after a dozen or so takes, Marlon Brando gave up and simply walked off set muttering, "I don't know if it's going to work or not". Richard Harris was left agog. When it was clear that Brando wasn't coming back, he yelled after him, "Damn you! Look at me! Act! Who the hell do you think you are?"

[bernard]

Richard Harris insisted on third billing, despite being largely unknown to film audiences at the time.

[mathew]

Marlon Brando's weight fluctuated wildly during filming. He reportedly split the seat of 52 pairs of pants. The costumer solved the problem by putting stretch fabric in Brando's pants. Brando would frequently buy a 5-gallon tub of ice cream, row himself out into the lagoon, and eat it.

[bessie]

Marlon Brando personally coached Tarita on her dialogue.

[veronica]

In the scene of William Bligh's court-martial, the judge reprimands Bligh for his "excess of zeal" in administering discipline and comments contemptuously on his family background: "the Admiralty has always sought to appoint its officers from the ranks of gentlemen". This is unhistorical. In reality, the court not only exonerated Bligh, but praised him for his bravery and exemplary seamanship in his command of the open vessel that Bligh and the loyalists managed to reach Timor in. (This film passes rapidly over this voyage, in stark contrast to The Bounty (1984), which is markedly more sympathetic to Bligh.) In his book "The Hollywood History of the World" (1988), screenwriter and historical novelist George MacDonald Fraser calls this scene "an offensive fiction" and says that despite the film's insistence on the difference between Bligh and Christian's social backgrounds, "both men were from good, but not upper-class families."

[ethel]

The film was later parodied in Carry On Jack (1964), in which Percy Herbert (Seaman Matthew Quintal) also appeared.

[victoria]

At the "climax" of Maimiti's dance for Mr. Christian, there are two jump cuts, revealing that about a second of the dance is repeated twice, adding to the superhuman appearance of her efforts. Reviewers have not disparaged this special effect.

[bryan]

According to Bob Thomas's 1973 biography "Marlon: Portait of the Artist as a Rebel", after the firing of Carol Reed, Marlon Brando began to usurp the power of replacement director Lewis Milestone - a well-respected veteran with two directing Oscars to his credit. Milestone noticed that the cameramen would continue rolling in scenes featuring Brando after he had said cut, and would only desist after being signaled by Brando. Milestone considered quitting, but was dissuaded from doing so as it would generate more bad publicity for the film and M.G.M. He stayed on, but loafed around the set, leaving Brando to his own devices. One afternoon, a legendary occurrence transpired: The operating cameraman himself called cut, explaining that the sleeping director's feet were in the frame. When asked about the incident in 1979, Brando dismissed any criticism, saying that actors essentially directed themselves anyways. Hollywood insiders were outraged by Brando's treatment of Milestone, and the backlash from his behavior on this picture (he was blamed fairly or unfairly for the massive cost-overruns that doomed the picture financially) began the steady waning that led to the eclipse of Brando's star by the end of the 1960s.

[sylvia]

Marlon Brando's death scene was directed by an assistant, as Lewis Milestone couldn't bear dealing with him. An actress was kneeling beside Brando off-camera with his lines written on her forehead.

[russell]

One morning, Trevor Howard was nowhere to be found until the local police drove him to the dock two hours after his call. He had been up drinking and carousing all night, but still performed his scene flawlessly.

[stephanie]

Marlon Brando became quite obsessed with Fletcher Christian and the story of the Bounty. He did a huge amount of research and contributed considerably to the script. He also fell in love with the Tahititian locations, would marry one of his co-stars, Tarita, and would purchase the island of Tetiora, just 30 miles off Tahiti. Ironically his son's name, Christian Brando, has no connection to this film. He was born in 1958, and was named after his father's friend, fellow actor Christian Marquand, rather than Fletcher Christian.

[lynn]

In 1805, Bligh was appointed governor of New South Wales. Sometime afterward, complaints of his "oppressive attitude" filtered back to London. Many of these complaints were due to Bligh's attempts to combat corruption. The offenders eventually deposed Bligh.

[phyllis]

The film lost ten million dollars worldwide.