1962 film by Peter Ustinov
Billy Budd is a 1962 British historical adventure-drama film produced, directed, and co-written by Peter Ustinov. It is adapted from Louis O. Coxe and Robert H. Chapman's stage play version of Herman Melville's 1924 novella of the same name. Terence Stamp, in his film debut, plays the title role, with Robert Ryan as John Claggart, Melvyn Douglas as the Dansker, and Ustinov as Captain Vere.
The film was released by Rank Film Distributors on September 21, 1962. It received generally positives reviews with film critic Pauline Kael calling it "one of the best films of 1962." It was nominated for five BAFTA Awards, including Best Film and Outstanding British Film. For his first-ever film role, Stamp was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and a BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles, and received a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor.
Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.