Trivia

The ship built for the film sank in the Atlantic Ocean after taking on water on October 29, 2012 during Hurricane Sandy off of the East Coast of the United States. It was last seen with only the masts standing above the water. Two of the crew died: the Captain, Robin Walbridge, and Claudene Christian, the direct descendant of Fletcher Christian.

The scene where the ship arrives in Tahiti, to be rapturously greeted by the natives, was filmed in the same spot where the real Bounty dropped anchor in 1788. Six thousand local extras were used for the sequence.

Sir Carol Reed clashed with Marlon Brando and MGM studio management early in the production. He and Brando disagreed about the interpretation of Captain Bligh, who Brando wanted presented as an unambiguous and obvious villain, and Christian, who Brando wanted to play as a fop. Reed also had problems with the screenplay, but when he tried to omit certain scenes from the shooting schedule, executives ordered him to shoot directly from the script. He tried to convince production head Sol Siegel to fire Brando on the grounds that he was holding up production. When that didn't work, he asked to be relieved, but production head Sol Siegel refused to allow it. Then Siegel decided to fire him. Had Reed been allowed to quit, he would have been paid nothing for his time, but since MGM fired him, he pocketed two hundred thousand dollars for his time on the film.

Marlon Brando, wearing his naval uniform, was widely booed and jeered at the New York City premiere, while Trevor Howard received thunderous applause. Brando walked out of the cinema after the audience started laughing at his English accent.

The scene where Christian strikes Mills was problematic. On the first take, when Marlon Brando struck Richard Harris, it was a damp squib. Harris responded with a mock curtsy and waggled a limp wrist in the air. Brando didn't get the joke. On the second take, the blow was weak. Harris thrust his chin forward and said, "Come on, big boy, why don't you fucking kiss me and be done with it!" Brando glared, white with rage. Then Harris kissed him on the cheek, hugged him, and said "Shall we dance?" Angry and embarrassed, Brando stormed off the set.