Mutiny (1952)

Touches You

the audience applauded

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

"Each man kills the thing he loves," wrote Oscar Wilde in "The Ballad of Reading Gaol,". Poor Patrick Knowles, trapped in a prison of his own making, kills the thing that's keeping him there, the bitchy Angela Lansbury. Well, she deserved it. She was about to stab Captain Mark Stevens, who is trying to sneak his ship full of gold past the British blockade in the War of 1812. We don't hear much about the War of 1812, probably because we didn't "win" it. And the burning of the White House was hardly an American home run. In the original "Master and Commander", the enemy "Acheron" was an American ship, not French. The British blockade featured in this film was successful -- to the extent that the Brits wanted it to be successful -- because after finishing with Napoleon in Europe, Britain found itself with a much larger fleet. The Battle of New Orleans, which made a hero of Andrew Jackson, was a major victory for the US -- fought several months after the signing of the peace treaty. News didn't travel at the speed of light in 1814.Let's see. I believe that takes care of the historical interlude. Now back to the movie, such as it is. The acting. Nobody stands out. How could they, when the script is so burdened with stereotypes? Mark Stevens is the hero. Patrick Knowles is the weak first officer who betrays his friend and pays for it by self sacrifice later. He grovels at the feet of Angela Lansbury who is treacherous, selfish, and unworthy of his devotion. Gene Evans is the grubby leader of the inevitable mutiny. The officers and guests dine at a genteel dinner table. The crew are slobs and get drunk.The dialog is larded with nautical expressions. "Keep a weather eye open for the captain." A submarine sinks a British ship, but the submarine is far more advanced than that used by the Confederates fifty years later. Much of the story is filmed at night and the upload on YouTube shows it as splotches of black and white.It's not insulting or preachy. It's simply one hundred percent routine, the pinnacle of commercial perfection.

All you 3 out of 10s are not looking at the 'big picture' here - the historical background added interest; the presence of a woman on board and a strong one at that; 'mateship' overriding one of the mens' love for that woman, and causing one to go to the assistance of the other and the good acting made this worthwhile for me. I did enjoy Angela Lansbury as the scheming grasping female lead! I could overlook the absence of full sized ships, however I was disappointed it was not in colour. We are so spoilt nowadays. There was a time when all movies were black and white only and when colourised movies were released everyone said people wouldn't like them, audiences would get ill watching them - how wrong they were. I'm surprised a film made in 1952 was B & W - there must have been a tight budget.

Mutiny has to be down at the bottom of the list of the films of Edward Dmytryk. It's a story that takes place during the War of 1812 where U.S. Navy Captain Mark Stevens is given a mission to get a big shipment of French bullion to build a fleet. Stevens gets a cashiered former British naval captain Patric Knowles to help, but Knowles and a few of his former crew like Gene Evans and Rhys Williams have their own agenda.The script here is almost laughable in its ignorance. The film actually starts out with a scene of British impressment of American seamen and we hear word of war being declared. During the course of the film it's mentioned that we got to get that bullion back from Knowles and his confederates who stole it because word has just been received that the Washington, DC was burned to the ground.Now I granted travel wasn't what it is today. But the burning of Washington took place in 1814 and even with all the detours Stevens and the shipment took, it didn't take two years.Angela Lansbury considered this the nadir of her film career and it probably was. But she plays Knowles's wife and the reason Knowles got drummed out of the British Navy was for embezzlement of his ship's payroll to pay for her extravagance. She's a piece of work Angela and she overacts the part with relish.Everybody in the cast has done better work, pass this one by if you can.

I admit that I liked MUTINY, but I also admit that, had it run on longer than its 77 minute length, it would have quickly worn on me.I've always been a sucker for seafaring films as well as historical ones, so the fact that MUTINY takes place at sea coupled with being set during the War of 1812 definitely worked to its advantage.And then there was Angela Lansbury, sharpening her teeth for her role as Raymond Shaw's mother in 1962's THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE. Lansbury's Leslie is a real tramp; a money-hungry social climber who returns with Patric Knowles to the ship only because she believes he's the Captain. When she finds out that he's only first-mate, her lovey-dovey ways fly right out the hatch. Lansbury is good here, the best performance in the film, and its worth watching for her alone.I'll give it 6 out of 10 and say that its worth a watch if you find it on one rainy afternoon.