Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)

In the year 1787, the Bounty sets sail from Britain for Tahiti under the command of Captain William Bligh. His mission is to retrieve a shipload of breadfruit saplings and transport them to Jamaica. The government hopes it will thrive and provide a cheap source of food for the slaves. The voyage gets off to a difficult start with the discovery that some cheese is missing. Seaman John Mills accuses Bligh, the true pilferer, and Bligh has Mills brutally flogged for showing contempt to his superior officer, to the disgust of his patrician second-in-command, 1st Lieutenant Fletcher Christian. The tone for the months to come is set by Bligh’s ominous pronouncement: “Cruelty with a purpose is not cruelty, it is efficiency.” Aristocrat Christian is deeply offended by his ambitious captain.

Bligh tries to reach Tahiti sooner by attempting the shorter westbound route around Cape Horn, a navigational nightmare. The strategy fails and the Bounty backtracks eastward, costing the mission much precious time. Singlemindedly, Bligh makes up the lost time by pushing the crew harder and cutting their rations. When the Bounty reaches her destination, the crew revels in the easygoing life of the tropical paradise – and in the free-love philosophies of the Tahitian women. Christian himself is smitten with Maimiti, daughter of the Tahitian king. Bligh’s agitation is further fueled by the fact that the dormancy period of the breadfruit means more months of delay until the plants can be potted. As departure day nears, three men, including seaman Mills, attempt to desert but are caught by Christian and clapped in irons by Bligh.