This version of "Billy Budd" was aired on the Canadian Broadcast Corporation and although the sets are minimalistic and a bit cheap, the production is about on par with American teleplays from the same era...similar sets and similar acting. In fact, I liked it very much...but still recommend the 1962 film over it for many reasons...not the least of which is the sound. The sound quality of this surviving film is poor and the picture quality just okay....with a running time stamp over top of it. Optimal, it is not.
The story is set during the Napoleonic Wars. While IMDB says it begins in 1783, this was before Napoleon even graduated from military school. Instead, the film says it's 1798...and that is the correct year. On board a British naval ship comes a new seaman, Billy Budd. Budd is handsome and nice...very nice...if not a trifle slow witted. But he has a way about him and everyone aboard likes him, save Claggart, who hates everyone...especially Budd because he is so kind and gentle. While various crew members plot Claggart's demise, Budd is staunchly loyal. But what he earns for his loyalty is only hatred from Claggart...and Claggart goes to the Captain to report Budd for various things he never actually did. The slow witted Budd, unable to speak due to his stutter and his shock, responds by striking Claggart...who dies as a result. What's next for Budd?
I have no complaints about the acting...it was very good....as is he story. But because the video is in such bad shape AND the 1962 Peter Ustinov directed version so good, I recommend you see it first. Plus at only an hour, this CBC production does seem a tad rushed...more time showing Budd's character and interactions with the crew would have improved it a bit.