... but that doesn't mean that I think it was the best picture of 1935. I'd probably give that nod to Top Hat. But 1935 was the first full year that the motion picture production code was in force, and so there were many adjustments being made. One was that the studios turned heavily to period pieces to pacify the censors, because they could argue that with all of those ruffles, top jackets, and petticoats in the way, there was no possibility any of the characters could be having sex!
But this is a fine production in spite of the reason it was probably made. MGM movies made in the era of Irving Thalberg were generally top notch in attention to detail. Of course, the acting is really the best part of the film. And I have to give special kudos to Franchot Tone. Never the star at MGM that Gable was, and never the legend that Laughton was, he gives a very nuanced performance of a man conflicted. His character has his loyalty to the British navy steeped into his being, probably due to family background, and thus wants no part of a mutiny, yet he sees the cruelty of Captain Bligh's treatment of the men and is fast friends with Fletcher Christian (Gable).
Laughton always gives a fine performance, but his performance as Captain Bligh is a bit one note here, threatening to chew scenery but ultimately resisting the urge. At no point did I ever see him as anything but two dimensionally cruel, and we have nothing to tell us WHY he behaves this way.
Gable has star quality as Fletcher Christian in probably the best role MGM ever gave him. How many people would remember him if not for the two roles he had at other studios in "It Happened One Night" and "Gone With the Wind"? The fact that all three main actors here were nominated for Best Actor of 1935 probably weakened all of their chances, but then Victor McLaglin would have probably won anyways, since he was that good - essentially a one man show in John Ford's "The Informer".
My rating is for how much I personally enjoyed the film. If you realize that period pieces adapted from literature are generally not my thing, and yet I enjoyed it and yet it held my interest throughout, I'd say a 7/10 is pretty good coming from me.
But this is a fine production in spite of the reason it was probably made. MGM movies made in the era of Irving Thalberg were generally top notch in attention to detail. Of course, the acting is really the best part of the film. And I have to give special kudos to Franchot Tone. Never the star at MGM that Gable was, and never the legend that Laughton was, he gives a very nuanced performance of a man conflicted. His character has his loyalty to the British navy steeped into his being, probably due to family background, and thus wants no part of a mutiny, yet he sees the cruelty of Captain Bligh's treatment of the men and is fast friends with Fletcher Christian (Gable).
Laughton always gives a fine performance, but his performance as Captain Bligh is a bit one note here, threatening to chew scenery but ultimately resisting the urge. At no point did I ever see him as anything but two dimensionally cruel, and we have nothing to tell us WHY he behaves this way.
Gable has star quality as Fletcher Christian in probably the best role MGM ever gave him. How many people would remember him if not for the two roles he had at other studios in "It Happened One Night" and "Gone With the Wind"? The fact that all three main actors here were nominated for Best Actor of 1935 probably weakened all of their chances, but then Victor McLaglin would have probably won anyways, since he was that good - essentially a one man show in John Ford's "The Informer".
My rating is for how much I personally enjoyed the film. If you realize that period pieces adapted from literature are generally not my thing, and yet I enjoyed it and yet it held my interest throughout, I'd say a 7/10 is pretty good coming from me.