A former member of the crew of the HMS Bounty recounts the story of the mutiny aboard ship.A former member of the crew of the HMS Bounty recounts the story of the mutiny aboard ship.A former member of the crew of the HMS Bounty recounts the story of the mutiny aboard ship.
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This film is a documentary. In approaching it, it helps to make allowances for the early date. But its age is also a benefit, as it is presumably the first film that was ever made of Pitcairn and shows it at perhaps its prime. I have read that the island now suffers from even fewer vessel visits and a declining population. This movie could not be replicated today, and I am glad it exists and glad to have seen it (which was quite accidental!).
Movie techniques were primitive in 1933, and the film's master is not in good physical condition. The acting is (as others have commented) abysmal, with the exception of the mother towards the end of the film. I agree that the future greatness of Errol Flynn would not be guessed from this. On the positive side, the scenery is spectacular and the story is exciting.
Try accepting the movie on its own terms, and you will enjoy it. I would give it more than 6 points, but have to round the number off. It is better than I expected from the average score.
Movie techniques were primitive in 1933, and the film's master is not in good physical condition. The acting is (as others have commented) abysmal, with the exception of the mother towards the end of the film. I agree that the future greatness of Errol Flynn would not be guessed from this. On the positive side, the scenery is spectacular and the story is exciting.
Try accepting the movie on its own terms, and you will enjoy it. I would give it more than 6 points, but have to round the number off. It is better than I expected from the average score.
Most reviewers seem to have the wrong idea about this film, it's not meant to be a version of 'Mutiny on the Bounty' or even a feature film! It's basically a doco/travelogue, with a few 'flashbacks' enacting a few scenes of the Bounty 'drama'. The main interest is the scenes filmed on Pitcairn Island, probably the first, and the far from ideal living conditions of the inhabitants. Of the 'dramatic' scenes spliced in, considering the lead was most likely a seasoned 'stage' actor, and hammy as they come, the young, totally inexperienced Errol Flynn, signed for his looks alone, probably comes out best of all? It wasn't this film that Jack Warner signed him on, it was a 'lost' movie called 'Murder in Monte Carlo' he made in England about a year later that got him to Hollywood, and the rest as they say, is history! Incidentally, the derogatory remarks made about Australia by another reviewer, are nonsense!
This film combines documentary, travelogue-style footage with dramatic 'reconstructions' of the mutiny on the Bounty.
Much of it is silent, ie with music only, as I recall. It's very much a primitive sound-movie, in which the director is still working with silent movie techniques, although not in any sophisticated way.
The acting in the dramatic scenes is uniformly abysmal; very 'stagey' acting even by the more experienced performers. The only interest is in seeing Errol Flynn in his first movie role. He's dreadful: very wooden delivery; as stiff as a parody of amateur theatricals, with no star presence whatsoever.
But I find it of interest for this very reason. It shows that even a superstar like Errol Flynn didn't hatch from the egg fully formed, and that however bad you are to start with, there's still hope ...
Much of it is silent, ie with music only, as I recall. It's very much a primitive sound-movie, in which the director is still working with silent movie techniques, although not in any sophisticated way.
The acting in the dramatic scenes is uniformly abysmal; very 'stagey' acting even by the more experienced performers. The only interest is in seeing Errol Flynn in his first movie role. He's dreadful: very wooden delivery; as stiff as a parody of amateur theatricals, with no star presence whatsoever.
But I find it of interest for this very reason. It shows that even a superstar like Errol Flynn didn't hatch from the egg fully formed, and that however bad you are to start with, there's still hope ...
In the Wake of the Bounty (1933)
* 1/2 (out of 4)
Errol Flynn made his debut in this film, which is an early version of Mutiny on the Bounty as well as a travelogue. The old sailor sits at a bar and tells the story of Fletcher Christian (Flynn) and that infamous journey where he helped lead a mutiny. This footage is told via a story but half of the film uses narration to talk about the Pitcairn Island, which is where the travelogue stuff comes from. For some strange reason it was this film, which made Warner sign Flynn, which is rather shocking because he is very wooden in his few scenes here but I guess the studio could have been going on his looks. The film contains quite a bit of female nudity from the locals on the island but these seem more like models due to their looks. This is a really strange film but thankfully it just runs 60-minutes but in the end this is just for those wanting to see a young Flynn before fame.
* 1/2 (out of 4)
Errol Flynn made his debut in this film, which is an early version of Mutiny on the Bounty as well as a travelogue. The old sailor sits at a bar and tells the story of Fletcher Christian (Flynn) and that infamous journey where he helped lead a mutiny. This footage is told via a story but half of the film uses narration to talk about the Pitcairn Island, which is where the travelogue stuff comes from. For some strange reason it was this film, which made Warner sign Flynn, which is rather shocking because he is very wooden in his few scenes here but I guess the studio could have been going on his looks. The film contains quite a bit of female nudity from the locals on the island but these seem more like models due to their looks. This is a really strange film but thankfully it just runs 60-minutes but in the end this is just for those wanting to see a young Flynn before fame.
This is a documentary about the people of Pitcairn Island. In among what is straight documentary, there are a few scenes which acts out the mutiny on the Bounty. If that were not bad enough, the action opens with a few old tars telling yarns in a tavern. And if that were not bad enough, the acting in these scenes (Errol Flynn excepted) is really, really bad.
It is worth watching as a documentary of Pitcairn Island. It is also worth watching to see the germs of stardom in Errol Flynn.
I have never ever seen another film quite like this one - which is just as well.
It is worth watching as a documentary of Pitcairn Island. It is also worth watching to see the germs of stardom in Errol Flynn.
I have never ever seen another film quite like this one - which is just as well.
Did you know
- TriviaThanks to Warner Brothers' publicity department, it was long told that on his mother's side, Errol Flynn was a direct descendant of Fletcher Christian, the character he portrays in this film. Modern research has shown that Flynn was not descended from any of the Bounty mutineers.
- Quotes
Midshipman Young: I wonder how much longer it'll be before those black dogs put a knife in our backs?
Fletcher Christian: I care not if it be tonight. Death would be a release from the remorse which dogs my footsteps day and night, night and day.
- Crazy creditsOpening Card: In the Wake of the Bounty is not a drama. It is the first of a series of great travel films to be produced by Expeditionary Films, Ltd, depicting strange incidents, strange places, and strange peoples. Each travel feature will contain the thread of a story based upon a true life drama. The mutiny of the Bounty has been acclaimed as the most tragic and strange sea story of all time -- when a crew of British sailors sent their commander and eighteen companions adrift upon the Pacific and signed a sinister pact with a pagan race -- to live, in isolation, upon a rock, at the bottom of the world. The mutiny, which was a bloodless affair, was the result of an effort to transport breadfruit trees from Tahiti to the West Indies by Lieutenant Bligh, who was afterwards the Governor of New South Wales. The audience will follow in the Wake of the Bounty with Mr. and Mrs. Charles Chauvel, as they traversed 15,000 miles in the South Seas to secure the exact backgrounds upon which the drama of the Bounty was enacted. Expeditionary Films has not spared time or money to blaze a new trail-- a trail which they hope will lead to many pleasant hours amidst adventure and romance.
- ConnectionsEdited into Pitcairn Island Today (1935)
- SoundtracksThe Hebrides Overture: Fingal's Cave, Op. 26
(uncredited)
Music by Felix Mendelssohn
Played under main titles/prologue
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- Also known as
- Tras el motín a bordo
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- Runtime
- 1h 6m(66 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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