In, Mutiny on the Bounty, I was immediately enthralled by Charles Laughton's portrayal of the sadistic, cruel, and arrogant Captain Bligh. The audience hates Bligh for his barbaric actions and is instantly rooting for the "underdog" Fletcher Christian. This relationship illustrates the eternal theme of the young, heroic man fighting the older, powerful authority figure, for the rights of those being mistreated; a David versus Goliath story. .
The audience hates the Captain instantly. His cruelty is instantly displayed when he flogged the man who was already dead. He ruled with fear. To him, the crew had to fear him so that they could respect him. They are nothing to him except for a means of making a profit. During one time, the captain gives his men only half of their rations in order to save money. With the work conditions they are forced to work in this is absolutely inhumane. At a time when there was total compliance to authority, the Captain's atrocities were accepted, until the climactic moment of the film with the death of Dr. Bacchus. Fletcher loses his respect for the Captain but is willing to live with him, until this shattering moment. .
The crew arrives at Tahiti to fulfill their duties to their country, to transport breadfruit from Tahiti to the West Indies. In the typical exotic story, romance flourishes against the Captain's intentions. Both Byam and Fletcher find love in the steamy, striking atmosphere. Many men wed and form strong attachments to Tahiti and are reluctant, to say the least to leave after the fulfillment of their mission. The love encounters on the island make the viewer even more compassionate towards the shipmates and angrier towards the unsympathetic captain. .
The moment of truth occurs when the captain decides to flog the five men who tried to return to Tahiti and the lives they left behind. The elderly and sick Dr. Bacchus witnesses this and dies trying to make it onto deck.