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Storyline
H.M.S. Avenger is headed into battle against the French fleet during the Napoleonic Wars, and the dark shadow of two recent mutinies in the English fleet concern Captain Vere. He relies on his cruel and often sadistic Master-at-Arms John Claggert to maintain what he believes to be tenuous order and discipline aboard the ship. When a new seaman, Billy Budd, is pressed into service from a passing merchantman, his innocent, happy-go-lucky attitude quickly endears him to both his messmates as well as the ship's officers. However, his charismatic naivete seems to bother Claggert, whose perverse depravity makes him resent Billy's good-natured purity, especially after the teenager's promotion to fore-top captain. The mean-spirited Claggert unfairly plots to put him on report and ultimately perjures himself when he accuses Billy of conspiring to mutiny. Written by
Gabe Taverney (duke1029@aol.com)
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Taglines:
The Men!.. The Mutiny!...The Might!... The Magnitude Of Herman Melville's Classic Adventure of the High Seas!
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Quotes
Master At Arms Claggert:
We must serve the law, sir, or give up the right and privilege of service. It is only within that law that we may use our discretions according to our rank.
Captain Vere:
You're so intelligent and so lucid for the rank you hold, Master At Arms.
Master At Arms Claggert:
I thank you, sir.
Captain Vere:
Yes, that's no flattery, Mr. Claggart. It's a melancholy fact. It's sad to see such qualities of mind bent to such a sorry purpose. What's the reason for it?
Master At Arms Claggert:
I am what I am, sir. And what the world has made me.
Captain Vere:
The world? The world demands that ...
[...]
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Crazy Credits
As the actors' names appear on the screen, the character each plays introduces himself
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Connections
Version of
Encounter: Billy Budd (1955)
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This film which was made at the now legendary, Allied Artists Studios (cough cough) is nothing short of a Masterpiece. Filmed totally on board a reconstructed Man O'War, it features Oscar level performances by Peter Ustinov, Terrance Stamp, Melvin Douglas and the performance of a lifetime by Robert Ryan (as Klaggart, the very human manifestation of evil). If one accepts this movie as a biblical allegory, then it could not end any other way. This is not your typical Hollywood fare, it is filled with intelligent performances, and good direction under difficult conditions. And it's in glorious black and white.