H.M.S. Defiant

Plot synopsis:
In 1797, the humane Captain Crawford (Guinness) is in command of the warship HMS Defiant during the French Revolutionary Wars. He soon finds himself in a battle of wills with his first officer, the sadistic and supercilious first lieutenant, Mr. Scott-Padget (Bogarde). The Lieutenant believes that Crawford is too soft on his crew, and also disagrees with the captain's decision to proceed with orders to sail to Corsica despite word that Napoleon has overrun much of Italy. Scott-Padget has powerful family connections, which he has used in the past to "beach" two previous commanding officers with whom he disagreed. Knowing that Crawford is helpless to intervene, Scott-Padget subjects the former's son, Midshipman Harvey Crawford (David Robinson), to excessive daily punishments so as to gain leverage over the captain.
Meanwhile, some of the crew, led by seaman Vizard (Anthony Quayle), are organising to strike for better conditions, in conjunction with similar efforts throughout the British fleet. They eventually pledge virtually the entire crew.
In the Mediterranean, the Defiant encounters a French frigate escorting a merchant ship. After a sharp engagement, a boarding party from the Defiant captures the French frigate, and the merchantman surrenders. Crawford dispatches his son as part of the prize crew tasked to send the captured merchantman back to a British port, thereby placing him out of Scott-Padget's reach. Crawford tells Scott-Padget that bringing his son with him was a mistake, but now he's "put it right!" He further vows to take actions that will 'astound' his second-in-command. Before long, Scott-Padget is confined to quarters as punishment for insubordination. His humiliation is compounded by the requirement that he appear on deck every two hours in full dress uniform; a punishment usually reserved for young midshipmen.
Soon, Defiant fights and captures a Venetian frigate, taking on many prisoners. Crawford is severely wounded in the action and eventually loses his arm. Discovered among the prisoners is a key aide to Napoleon, from whom the British learn important information about a planned invasion of Britain.
With Crawford temporarily out of the way, Scott-Padget takes command, but his brutality goads the crew into a premature mutiny. Appealing to their patriotism, Crawford convinces Vizard and the other mutineers to sail for the main British fleet blockading Rochefort to warn them of the impending invasion. Crawford promises to intercede for the crew as best he can, on the condition that none of the officers are harmed.
As the Defiant reaches the fleet at Rochefort, they receive word that the main British fleet has already gone on strike, with the naval high command agreeing to most of the sailors' demands. The crew's jubilation at the news is cut short when the hot-headed seaman Evans murders Scott-Padget. Realising that they are now all doomed to punishment as mutineers, an enraged Vizard kills Evans. Their only course now is to try to escape with the ship.
Just then, the French fleet sallies out from port, and a French fireship is sighted heading straight for the British flagship. As the only ship under sail, the Defiant has the unique opportunity to save the flagship. Once again, Crawford appeals to the crew's patriotism, convincing them to intercept the fireship and promising pardons to all who fight. Vizard is killed in the ensuing action, living just long enough to hear a message from the British admiral thanking Defiant for their gallant actions.

Tags: cruelty

Review:
We are taken into the workings of the ship and see more idyllic view of life in the wooden world that we saw in the Gregory Peck, Hornblower.The plot line is good and for people like me who love wooden ships, the scenes of the ships and the naval battles are supurb.
Exceptionally good acting and writing make this a definite must-see.The story itself is based very, very loosely upon various mutinies and strikes that occurred in 1797 aboard British war ships.
In the film, crew members were pushed to do this desperate act due to their sadistic treatment at the hands of some of the officers (in particular, Dirk Bogarde's character).
Still, despite this discrepancy, the film is top entertainment.The film begins with the Captain (Alec Guinness) preparing to return to sea with his very young son on board his first assignment.
While the Captain is no wimp, Bogarde finds ways to assert himself without doing enough to merit his arrest--at least until late in the film.The acting by Guinness and Bogarde is awfully good and makes the film.
Bogarde does a great job of playing an evil bully, though the most kudos should go to Guinness, as his character has a lot of depth--making this one of his better film roles.
One really needs the wide screen to appreciate the vast sweep of this wonderful sea adventure.The Defiant sets sail from the naval harbor at Spithead just before the ships of the Channel Fleet are ready to start an organized mutiny.
That action is the basis for what happens.They've got an unwitting ally in the ship's executive officer, Scott- Padget played by Dirk Bogarde.
The conflict between them plays into the hands of the mutineers.In that other famous story of the sea, Mutiny on the Bounty, Fletcher Christian points out to Captain Bligh that the men drafted into the Royal Navy from the press gangs aren't king and country volunteers.
Anthony Quayle as the mutiny leader on the Defiant and Tom Bell one of the mutineers whose rashness nearly blows it all for the seamen and their cause.Hovering over all of this is the French and to me the highlight of the film is Alec Guinness reminding the men of their duty to prevent a French invasion of their island home.
Alec Guinness is a well meaning but weak leader who is the Captain of Defiant, and has been stuck with Dirk Bogarde as his new second in command, a socially well-connected sadist.
This sea saga is set during the Napoleonic Wars , Captain Crawford (Alec Guinness) takes command of the HMS Defiant and is ordered to rendezvous with the British fleet in island of Corsica .
The continual sadism of Defiant's first officer pits a battle of wits against the captain in this stalwart story set in Napoleonic period .
They eventually pledge virtually the entire crew , then there ensues the mutiny .Dramatic film with impressive battle of wills between humane Captain Crawford in command of the warship HMS Defiant perfectly performed by Alec Guinness against his first officer, the sadistic and supercilious first lieutenant , splendidly interpreted by Dick Bogarde .
The mutineers maintained regular naval routine and discipline aboard their ships , allowed some ships to leave for convoy escort duty or patrols, and promised to suspend the mutiny and go to sea immediately if French ships were spotted heading for English shores.Because of mistrust, especially over pardons for the mutineers, the negotiations broke down, and minor incidents broke out, with several unpopular officers sent to shore and others treated with signs of deliberate disrespect.
"Damn the Defiant." a 1962 film directed by Lewis Gilbert, is based on an actual incident, known as the Spithead Mutiny which took place during the 1797 war with France.The ship is led by Captain Crawford (Alec Guinness), a fair man who is afraid to rattle the cage of his next in command, the sadistic Lieutenant Scott-Padget (Dirk Bogarde), who is well-connected and has ruined the careers of previous captains.
They hate Scott-Padget, and if they take control, he's in big trouble.This is a very good film with suspense as well as excitement, dominated by the acting of Guinness and Bogarde.
Anthony Quayle is excellent as Vizard, who, in leading his men, demands patience.Absorbing and entertaining, even if movies on the high seas aren't your thing..
Perhaps the World War II era (with its emphasis on teamwork, its glorification of the average G.I., and its near-worship of able, but dull, leaders like Omar Bradley) may have influenced it, because the movie strongly emphasizes the worth of the common man, especially as personified by Anthony Quayle's character.It's an offbeat movie: part sea adventure, part character drama, part historical epic.
It is the Napoleonic Wars, and Captain Crawford takes command of the HMS Defiant and sets off with his orders to Corsica.
and this fine Napoleonic historical piece, H.M.S. Defiant.Adapted from Frank Tilsley's novel Mutiny, this is a film built around a true story about what became known as the "Spithead" and "Nore" mutinies in 1797.
Leading the mutiny is the looming presence of Anthony Quayle, who along with Nigel Stock, leaves a favourable mark in the support cast.Comparisons with other notable genre entries are inevitable, the likes of Mutiny On the Bounty, Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. and the more modern offering that is Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.
Top notch, intelligent adventure drama as Captain Crawford {Guiness} clashes with sadistic first mate Scott-Padget {Bogarde} on the HMS Defiant .Based on a historical fact-the fleet wide mutiny planned by British sailors in 1797 to protest the deplorable shipboard living conditions and horrible punishment, this film is entertaining, well produced , directed , acted and shows a great deal of attention to historical accuracy.
The acting is excellent with Guiness fine as the humane and sympathetic -not weak-captain who takes his twelve year old son to sea as a midshipman as was the practice in those days.
He will fight Crawfood tooth and nail to get things done his way.Anthony Quayle also turns in a good performance as the sailor who gets the crew to pledge to the mutiny and saves the captain's son life when he helps him come down from the mast after his punishment that was dished out to him for allegedly carving his initials on a table..
There is an exciting battle with a French warship that features plenty of swordfighting and hand to hand combat until the French surrender{they do that good, don't they?} the horrible living conditions, the floggings and punishments and rotten food is realistically depicted, and the final battle features some first rate model work, especially with the feared and dreaded fire ships.
It is a powerful film that takes you below deck and plants you deep within the world, giving you the details of a mutiny, the engaging warfare that takes place, and the destructive nature of both a good captain and a violent one.
Yet, "H.M.S. Defiant" stands proud, it isn't the most remarkable sea-faring film out there - but it keeps pace well, giving us a equal helping of action and emotion.To this viewer, "H.M.S. Defiant" worked because of Guinness and Bogarde's repertoire towards each other as well as to the other crew.
It was as if Gilbert was determined to have Guinness and Bogarde as our only defined characters, yet still have emotion behind this inevitable mutiny.
"H.M.S. Defiant" or "Damn the Defiant!" starts by going through the usual motions of a portrayal of the Napoleonic era British Navy, a press gang conscripts men from a port town and supplies are loaded onto the H.M.S. Defiant.However, from there, an interesting rivalry between Captain Crawford, played by Alec Guinness and Lieutenant Scott-Padget, played by Dirk Bograde, develops.
The story is supported by a number of battle sequences, which are of high quality.Although this is not the best film portrayal of the British Navy in the Napoleonic era, "H.M.S. Defiant" is solid and worth seeing for the performances of Alec Guinness and Dirk Bograde, as well as its battle sequences..
Loosely based on the Famed Mutiny on the Bounty, Damn the Defiant is a strong Napoleonic era period piece, and also an above average naval drama.
Alec Guinness's Captain Crawford is a humane, fair officer who knows the value of discipline and efficiency but also understands the importance of a crew's morale and well being.
The naval battles are also quite rousing impressive, with good swordplay and effects that have stood up well considering their age.The film's main shortcoming is that it never treats the mutiny with any serious depth.
But perhaps I'm asking too much from what's intended as a fun war movie.All in all, Damn the Defiant may not equal the classic Billy Bud or some of the better adaptations of Horatio Hornblower, but with good acting and good action it's a worthwhile voyage for all ages..
Nigel Kneale Shows What He's Good At At. During the Napoleonic War Captain Crawford is given command of the Royal Navy ship HMS Defiant .
The crew however don't care who is running the ship and are going to mutiny regardless This film might seem a little bit old fashioned and stagy compared to something we might get today but nowadays directors like to wave the camera about trying to show off how much money the studio spent on the production .
What doesn't help is there is mutiny on the Defiant.The movie stars Alec Guinness, Dirk Bogarde & Anthony Quale.
He seemed to be such a good captain, but he runs into trouble when his second in command decides to take his position.The story was average, but the cast and the action made the movie very good.
Captain Crawford (Alec Guinness) is setting off on his ship, the H.M.S. Defiant, with his eager young boy.
Much of the crew have been pressed into service by force and some are plotting a fleet wide mutiny.This is a well made thrilling sailing navy flick.
Captain Crawford (Alec Guinness) of HMS Defiant takes on a new Lieutenant, Scott-Padget (Dirk Bogarde), who becomes hated by the crew and is the eventual cause of their mutiny under the leadership of seaman Vizard (Anthony Quayle).Guinness is, naturally, fantastic as the well-respected Captain.
'H.M.S. Defiant' - sometimes known as 'Damn the Defiant!' - this UK drama follows a British naval captain who wishes to run "an effective ship...
Alec Guinness is solid in the lead role, playing a character so obsessed with the naval life that he does not bat an eyelid at the prospect of having his 12 year old son on board.
Problems arise as the ship's second-in-command, played by Dirk Bogarde, becomes obsessed on usurping power, insisting on regular over-the-top punishments for the captain's son in the hope of infuriating him.
At the same, the pressed men, led by Anthony Quayle, are plotting a mutiny, with their cause only heightened after seeing how cruel Bogarde is to the innocent preteen boy.
The insight into forced enlistment, cruel working conditions and punishments (watch for the bread one character is told to eat) is impressive too, capturing just how unrealistic captains like the Guinness character were back in the 1790s, believing that their ships are great places to work..
The movie stars Alec Guinness as the mild-mannered captain of a British ship during the Napoleonic Wars and Dirk Bogarde as his sadistic first officer.
To me, this film is a much better film about the seamanship and how the crew of a ship turned to mutiny as the only way to solve the inhuman treatment by an cruel captain or the first officer of the ship.
I now realize and understand the dislike shared between Captain Crawford (Alec Guinness) and Lieutenant Scott-Padget played by Dirk Bogarde.
Enjoyed the great acting by Alex Guiness, (Captain Crawford) and Dick Bogarde, (Lt. Scott Padget) who both sailed together on a ship where they practiced shanghiling when they were in port and just plain grabbed all civilian men and brought them aboard their ship and made sailors of them.
HMS DEFIANT (USA: Damn the Defiant!) Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (CinemaScope)Sound format: Mono1797: The captain of a British warship (Alec Guinness) clashes with his second-in-command (Dirk Bogarde), a cruel martinet whose ruthless behavior foments mutiny amongst the crew.Lewis Gilbert's seafaring melodrama stands or falls on the quality of its leading men, and while the tension between Guinness' liberal-minded captain and Bogarde's strict disciplinarian never really amounts to very much (the resolution is particularly weak), they generate enough star wattage to lift proceedings out of the ordinary.
Handsome production values, expansive widescreen cinematography, and an able supporting cast (including Anthony Quayle, Tom Bell, Maurice Denham, Nigel Stock and Murray Melvin) make for an entertaining brew, and there's a handful of large-scale battles between British and Napoleonic vessels, rendered confusing in places by quickfire editing which makes the interior of Guinness' craft indistinguishable from its French counterparts!
Damn the Defiant is built around a true incident, the "Spithead Mutiny" of the British Channel Fleet during the war with France in 1797.
The movie, based on the novel "Mutiny" by Frank Tilsley, tells the story of the frigate Defiant, on a solitary mission deep into the French held Mediterrean Sea. The crew, already involved in the planning for the fleet-wide mutiny, suffer under the lash of the ship's sadistic First Lieutenant (Dirk Bogarde), while the Captain (Alec Guinness) is incapacitated, first by the torture of his son and then by the loss of his arm in a battle with a French frigate.
It is really three tales in one: of naval warfare during the Napoleonic Wars (three wonderfully created battles), of mutiny, and of the conflict between a captain and his first lieutenant.
The folding of these three stories is really superbly done - and the characterization is superb - we feel very strongly that we know these very interesting people - and the acting by the three stars: Alec Guinness, Dirk Bogarde and Anthony Quayle is excellent.
Alec Guiness is the kindly, but unimaginative, captain of a Royal Navy frigate (HMS Defiant)during the Napoleonic wars engaged in a battle of wills for command of the ship with his brilliant, but sadistic, 1st Lieutenant, wonderfully played by Dirk Bogarde.
Efficiently told story of HMS Defiant in 1797 during the Napoleanic Wars, under the command of stern but fair Captain Crawford (Alec Guiness) and his competent, cruel, and well-connected First Mate (Dirk Bogarde).
Out from under the yoke of Bogarde, Guiness takes back command of the ship.All this time, a collective mutiny is underway among all the ships of the British fleet -- what with press gangs, maggoty cheese, and whimsical floggings, things aren't going well in the forecastle.
Dirk Bogarde is a villain in this movie just like in "Libel" and The Singer not the Song" and he is good at it as the cruel executive officer of the Defiant blithely dispensing floggings at the yardarm at the slightest or even imagined infractions.
Alec Guiness does well as the kindly captain who nevertheless must deal with the impressed (meaning forcibly recruited) sailors according to the rules and customs of the day.Both actors were already well known to us in the Philippines so the one who really caught our attention was Anthony Quayle as the leader of the mutineers out to petition the Crown for more humane treatment of His Majesty's rank-and-file sailing men.I remember these scenes very well: A sailor harassed to the limit by Padget (Bogarde) gestures as if to strike him or tried to strike him but missed.
That made the Captain realize that the recruits had been drilled and that they were up to something.The crew did take over the ship but gave up the mutiny and conformed to their officers' orders when they sighted French enemy ships.
Sea battle ensues between the two forces and in a dramatic moment, the Captain (Guiness) whispers in the ear of the dying Vizard (Quayle), the commendations of the admiralty to the Defiant and its crew "for swift and effective action."If there are any errors in my recollection of these scenes, it is because I saw it precisely on its initial release when I was in Grade 6..
The film centers on the conflict between the relatively benign (or 'soft' to his detractors) captain (Alec Guinness) and his harsh (or 'brutal' to his detractors) and supercilious second in command, played by Dirk Bogarde, who is too well connected in the Admiralty to fear punishment for insubordination.
Like the Bounty's infamous Captain Bligh, Bogarde's character is a cruel martinet but a highly competent and brave R.N. officer.
Tension builds on the ship as the Captain has to deal with potentially out-of-date orders, his first officer's insubordination, the brutalisation of his young mid-shipman son, and the press-ganged crew's growing resentment of their living conditions and the brutal punishments being meted out.
Stars the always wonderful Alec Guinness as Crawford, the ship's Captain, who tries to convince the tyrannical Lieutenant Scott-Paget, (played by Dirk Bogarde), that being unnecessarily harsh on the ships crew is counter-productive.
The battle scenes are really well done, as are the shots of the sailing ships, and they add great realism to the film.There are several wonderful character actors in this film, namely Maurice Denham, Nigel Stock, Tom Bell, Bryan Pringle, and Anthony Quayle.
HMS "Defiant"(called "Regenerate" in Frank Tilsley's novel)is a frigate with a crew of mostly pressed men.Nominally in charge is relatively humane Captain Crawford(Mr A.Guinness),but de facto sadisitic Lt Scott - Padgett (Mr D.Bogarde)has power of life and death over the crew.
There's not much of the first,none at all of the second and precious little of the third on display in "HMS Defiant",but nonetheless it's a well - made entertaining film about a ghoulishly fascinating era in British naval history and I can thoroughly recommend it.