If nothing else, 1935’s Mutiny on the Bounty answers the burning question: What does Clark Gable look like without a mustache? The decision to shave off his facial trademark was a difficult one, but producer Irving Thalberg and Gable relented to conforming with historical accuracy, as Gable’s character, HMS Bounty executive officer Fletcher Christian, would never have been permitted facial hair in 18th century England’s Royal Navy.
Shot at MGM’s Culver City studios (for interiors) and around Santa Barbara and Monterey, California (for seafaring scenes), the historical epic was one of the costliest ever for the era, with a budget of $2 million ($50 million today) “due to the large cast of name players, the length of time in production and the expense entailed” in shooting the ship scenes, according to a THR field report dated Aug. 20, 1935.
Aside from Gable, fresh off his Oscar win for 1934’s It Happened One Night and at the peak of his stardom, the film starred Charles Laughton — who won best actor the year prior for The Private Life of Henry VIII — as the brutal Captain Bligh (plus an uncredited David Niven and James Cagney as crewmen).
The Frank Lloyd-directed picture was declared “one of the greatest of all time” by a THR review ahead of its November opening, with “b.o. records assured.” Bowing in theaters 90 years ago on Nov. 8, the film ended up making $4.5 million worldwide ($107 million today) and garnering four Academy Award nominations, pitting Gable and Laughton against each other in the best actor category, along with Franchot Tone, who played midshipman Roger Byam. It remains the only film with three best actor Oscar nominations. Alas, none of them won — and the Academy introduced a best supporting actor category the next year to avoid one film dominating the best actor field.
Mutiny on the Bounty did win best picture, making it the last film to take the top Oscar without winning in any other category.
This story first appeared in a November stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.