Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)

Mutiny on the Bounty is a 1962 American epic adventure historical drama film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Lewis Milestone and starring Marlon Brando, Trevor Howard, Richard Harris, Hugh Griffith, Richard Haydn and Tarita in her only role. The screenplay was written by Charles Lederer (with uncredited input from Eric Ambler, William L. Driscoll, Borden Chase, John Gay, and Ben Hecht), based on the 1935 novel by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. Bronisław Kaper composed the score.

The film tells a heavily fictionalized story of the real-life mutiny led by Fletcher Christian against William Bligh, captain of HMAV Bounty, in 1789. It is the second American film produced by MGM to be based on the novel, the first being Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), which was also based on the Nordhoff-Hall novel.

Mutiny on the Bounty was the first motion picture filmed in the Ultra Panavision 70 widescreen process. It was partly shot on location in the South Pacific and became the most expensive film ever made (soon replaced by Cleopatra). The film had a troubled production, with Marlon Brando clashing with original director Carol Reed and eventually facilitating his firing and replacement with Lewis Milestone. This was Milestone's final film before his death in 1980.

The film was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on November 8, 1962. It received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics and was a box office flop, losing more than $6 million (equivalent to $64 million in 2025). Nonetheless, Mutiny on the Bounty was nominated for seven Oscars at the 35th Academy Awards, including for Best Picture.