Extra interesting historically, as this was the first film for Errol Flynn. Written and directed by australian Charles Chauvel. Captain Bligh is played by Mayne Lynton, who no-one has ever heard of... he started in the silents, but did a bunch more talkies. Lots of O-L-D footage of sailing ships... bad, choppy editing. They DO get extra credit for actually travelling to Tahiti and Pitcairn Island to research and film the story. Looks like Expeditionary Films only filmed one other film in the series ....."Uncivilized" from 1937, also directed by Chauvel. Sadly, Uncivilized does not seem to be available for viewing on Turner Classic. Wake of the Bounty, is interesting to me, historically, if just for the early film footage of Tahiti and Pitcairn, for sure. not really much of a plot, just random scenes of people dancing, and the scenery from 1933. Lots of footage of sailor fights too dark to see, and ships sailing. There was also a silent version of Mutiny from 1916, but probably the most famous one was the later talkie from 1935, with Clark Gable and Charles Laughton. If you haven't seen that one, you should add that to your list! TCM DOES show that one.

*Spoiler/plot- Wake of the Bounty, 1933. A later-day account of the the Bounty's travels and history.*Special Stars- Errol Flynn.*Theme- Men will only be abused for so long and then they will revolt.*Trivia/location/goofs- B&W, 16mm, The earliest on camera film acting role for Errol Flynn as Fletcher Christian. He is related to a member of the Bounty main crew(not Fletcher Christian) on his mother's family side. Location shots in the South Seas where the Bounty was supposed to have traveled.*Emotion- Mr. Flynn is clearly very young, wooden, and shows little on camera charm and camera persona that would make him an icon. Almost silent movie overacting for the camera and cardboard sets in this film. A very rough and hard to enjoy story about the matters connected with The Bounty. This film is not for the average film fan. It is too hard to get through.

In the Wake of the Bounty (1933) * 1/2 (out of 4) Errol Flynn made his debut in this film, which is an early version of Mutiny on the Bounty as well as a travelogue. The old sailor sits at a bar and tells the story of Fletcher Christian (Flynn) and that infamous journey where he helped lead a mutiny. This footage is told via a story but half of the film uses narration to talk about the Pitcairn Island, which is where the travelogue stuff comes from. For some strange reason it was this film, which made Warner sign Flynn, which is rather shocking because he is very wooden in his few scenes here but I guess the studio could have been going on his looks. The film contains quite a bit of female nudity from the locals on the island but these seem more like models due to their looks. This is a really strange film but thankfully it just runs 60-minutes but in the end this is just for those wanting to see a young Flynn before fame.

The fictional part of `IN THE WAKE OF THE BOUNTY' is a brief, piecemeal rendition of the typical Bounty saga; resplendent with over-acting, ludicrously stereotypical costumes and substandard directing. It adds nothing to the arcane mystique and unholiness that later versions would impress upon it (particularly Dino De Laurentis's). The scenes used for Tahiti are taken from un-used stock footage with none of the principle actors appearing in them.What is compelling, however, is the style in which the movie is made: for the film is also a documentary on the current inhabitants of Pitcairn Island, nearly all of whom are descendants of Christian and his fellow mutineers. It is pleasantly filmed and makes for very compelling viewing: the footage painting these in-bred islanders as resourceful, unique, and resilient.Errol Flynn's performance is subpar (thought the script doesn't give anyone much scope) and certainly gives no impression whatsoever to his international talent, although it was a scant eighteen months after 'BOUNTY that he would achieve his superstardom.