It's 1787 and the cargo ship Bounty sets sails from England for the beautiful South Pacific island of Tahiti. Captained by William Bligh (Trevor Howard), the crew's mission is then to transport a haul of breadfruit to Jamaica, providing a cheap food source for slaves working on the plantations.
After a difficult voyage, exacerbated by Bligh's penchant for mercilessly flogging his wretched crew, Seaman John Mills (Richard Harris) and 1st Lieutenant Fletcher Christian (Marlon Brando) mastermind a mutiny, overthrowing Bligh and returning to the sanctuary of Tahiti. All is well, until Bligh makes an unwelcome return, with the might of the Royal Navy behind him and revenge on his mind...
Director Lewis Milestone assembled an all-star cast for this remake of Frank Lloyd's 1935 classic. Featuring a typically brooding performance by Marlon Brando, the tight-trousered one's on-set antics are now as celebrated as the historically questionable end product, including pulling crew members away from filming to prepare huge parties for visiting friends, and refusing to continue until the crew agreed to create a replica of the ship for the scene in which the Mutiny is burned and destroyed. Brando also went on to marry his on-screen lover Traita Teriipia, who played Maimiti in the film.