Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)

Trevor Howard: Captain William Bligh

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Quotes 

• Fletcher Christian : I was just thinking, sir, that our little errand for groceries might wind up in a page of naval history if we succeed in negotiating The Horn in the dead of winter.

  Captain Bligh : Why shouldn't we succeed? Admiral Anderson did.

  Fletcher Christian : Yes, but of course he didn't choose to attempt it in a ninety-one-foot chamber pot. In any event, his was the only ship to do it and I believe he lost fifty percent of his crew.

  Captain Bligh : You might point that out to the crew. It should improve their performance. Remember: fear is our best weapon. Goodnight, sir.

• Captain Bligh : I wonder why an alleged gentleman should give his first loyalty to ordinary seamen.

  Fletcher Christian : Instead of to other alleged gentlemen?

  Captain Bligh : Impertinence noted.It shall be logged. Do you care to enlarge the entry?

  Fletcher Christian : Yes, only with this observation, which I will report to the Admiralty in any case: in my years of service I have never met an officer who inflicted punishment upon men with such incredible relish. Sickening.

  Captain Bligh : Then go and be sick in your cabin, Mr Christian. I have never met a naval officer who was so proud of a weak stomach.

• Captain Bligh : [On the main deck, next to the water cask]  Mr. Christian...

  Fletcher Christian : Yes, sir?

  Captain Bligh : I'll have a sentry posted at the water cask, if you please.

  Fletcher Christian : Aye, aye, sir.

  Captain Bligh : [Holding a long-handled water ladle]  I want this slung from the main t'gallant yardarm. Any man desiring water will climb and fetch it. He may have just as much water as this ladle holds, and no more. Then he will replace the ladle at the yardarm.

  Fletcher Christian : Are we short of water, sir?

  Captain Bligh : [Gruffly]  Do you wish me to repeat the order?

  Fletcher Christian : No, sir, it's perfectly clear... A bit bewildering, but clear.

  Captain Bligh : Then do it! Don't think about it... thinking seems to confuse you!

• Fletcher Christian : [wanting to flog Bligh before putting him in the boat, but he slowly puts the flog on Bligh's shoulder]  Take your flag with you.

  Captain Bligh : [chuckling while rolling the flog, then throws it on the deck]  I don't need a flag, Mr. Christian. Unlike you, I still have a country. What a big price to pay for a little show of temper. I pity you.

• Captain Bligh : Now don't mistake me. I'm not advising cruelty or brutality with no purpose. My point is that cruelty with purpose is not cruelty - it's efficiency. Then a man will never disobey once he's watched his mate's backbone laid bare. He'll see the flesh jump, hear the whistle of the whip for the rest of his life.

• Fletcher Christian : There'll be no more killing aboard this ship, not even Captain Bligh.

  Captain Bligh : If that's an attempt to earn clemency,I spit on it.

• Captain Bligh : I'm not leaving you Mr Christian, not ever. Go to the dirtiest little corner of the world I'll be there, right behind you, with a rope in my hand.

• Captain Bligh : Midshipmen - be a dull navy without them. Now get that slut off my ship.

• Fletcher Christian : [regarding Norman]  Since we are not at war, sir, I would hope to give him a decent burial. Yes, sir.

  Captain Bligh : I am at war. Against ill winds, contrary currents and incompetent officers. You'd best join my war, Mr. Christian, for if I don't start winning soon, the casualty list will be real enough.

• Fletcher Christian : [after striking Captain Bligh]  You bloody bastard! You'll not put your foot on me again!

  Captain Bligh : [laughing]  Thank you! Thank you! I've been puzzling for a means to take the strut out of you, you posturing snob. Now, you've solved that for me, haven't you? You have witnessed Mr. Christian's act of violence toward a superior officer. He will be placed in confinement until a court martial can be convened. In Jamaica, I expect. And will your fashionable friends be there to witness your execution, I wonder? Let's hope so. Pity if your last function were to be a social failure. Mr. Fryer, take him below.

• Captain Bligh : Brown, you must know that's unnecessary. Drink all the water you need, Brown. Don't try to climb the shrouds. You don't know how.

  William Brown : If I may be allowed a protest, sir. It's a matter of self-respect.

  Captain Bligh : Damn your self-respect! I'll not lose my gardener.

  William Brown : Damn my self-respect, sir? Then, indeed, would I be damned.

  Captain Bligh : [to Brown, after a sailor falls from the mast]  I hope you're satisfied. The masthead is no place for novices.

• Fletcher Christian : [before putting Bligh in the longboat]  As you know, Tafoa is due west, 40 leagues. You have your compass. This book is sufficient for its purpose. The sextant is my own, so you know it to be a good one. Now, Mr. William Bligh...

  Captain Bligh : [smiling]  Quite polite and formal, are we? Playing the gentleman again, you bloody traitor.

• Captain Bligh : [three deserters are brought before Bligh]  Quite an interesting gathering. What are those deserters doing here? Why aren't these men in irons?

  Fletcher Christian : The men are being bandaged, sir. As to whether they are deserters, I'm a naval officer, I'm not a judge.

  Captain Bligh : To my mind, you are neither.

• Captain Bligh : While our mission remains unfulfilled I'm not in any port, Mr Fryer, I'm command where you may find one day it's always lonely. You see, command allows no intimacies. You can hardly expect unquestioning obedience from last night's partner in a debauch.

• Captain Bligh : In a civilised soceity, certain lewd intentions towards the female members of one's family would be regarded as a, well, as an insult. Do you follow me?

  Fletcher Christian : I think so, sir.

  Captain Bligh : But in Tahiti, the insult lies in the omission of those lewd intentions. Manners that would offend a dock-side harlot seem to be the only acceptable behaviour to King Hitihiti.

• Captain Bligh : [speaking to his officers during supper]  You will all of you, no doubt, command your own ships someday. Let us suppose that your vessel is running in heavy seas. The shrouds are covered with ice. A gale is blowing. It becomes necessary, in your opinion, to order a seaman aloft. He realizes, of course, that if his fingers slip from the icy shrouds in a split second, he'll perish immediately. Now, this is a typical seaman, a half-witted, wife-beating, habitual drunkard. His whole life is spent evading and defying authority. Tell me, sir. What is it that makes this man go aloft?

  Fletcher Christian : I think, depending on the man, sir, any number of reasons.

  Captain Bligh : You can put it in one word. Fear. Fear of what you'll do to him. Fear of punishment so vivid in his mind that he fears it even more than sudden death.

• Captain Bligh : It is a matter of supernatural indifference to me whether you contaminate the natives or the natives contaminate you. I have but one concern - our mission. Let one of you provoke an incident which endangers it and I shall cause that man to curse his mother for giving him birth.

• Captain Bligh : The king's navy will not rest until every mutineer is captured and executed. Wherever you go, wherever you hide a thousand ships will search you out.

• Captain Bligh : Remember, fear is our best weapon.