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Billy Budd (film)

January 20, 2023

Billy Budd is a 1962 British historical drama-adventure film produced, directed, and co-written by Peter Ustinov.[2] Adapted from Louis O. Coxe and Robert H. Chapman's stage play version of Herman Melville's short novel Billy Budd, it stars Terence Stamp as Billy Budd, Robert Ryan as John Claggart, and Ustinov as Captain Vere. In his feature film debut, Stamp was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and received a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Male Newcomer. The film was nominated for four BAFTAs.[3]

Billy Budd
Original film poster
Directed byPeter Ustinov
Screenplay by
Based onBilly Budd
by Herman Melville
Billy Budd
by
Produced byPeter Ustinov
Starring
CinematographyRobert Krasker
Edited byJack Harris
Music byAntony Hopkins
Production
companies
  • Anglo Allied
  • Harvest Films
  • Nikhanj Films
Distributed byRank Film Distributors
Release date
  • 21 September 1962 (1962-09-21) (London)[1]
Running time
123 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office$25 million

Plot

In the year 1797, the British naval vessel HMS Avenger presses into service a crewman "according to the Rights of War" from the merchant ship The Rights of Man. The new crewman, Billy Budd, is considered naive by his shipmates, and they attempt to indoctrinate him in their cynicism. But Budd's steadfast optimism remains; when asked to critique the horrible stew the crew must eat, he offers "It's hot. And there's a lot of it. I like everything about it except the flavor." The crew discovers Budd stammers in his speech when anxious.

Though Budd manages to enchant the crew, his attempts at befriending the brutal master-at-arms, John Claggart, are unsuccessful. Claggart is cruel and unrepentant, a man who controls the crew through vicious flogging, savaging them before they can prey on him.

Claggart orders Squeak to find means of putting Budd on report and to implicate him in a planned mutiny. He then brings his charges to the Captain, Edwin Fairfax Vere. Vere summons both Claggart and Budd to his cabin for a private confrontation. When Claggart makes his false charges that Budd is a conspirator, Budd stammers, unable to find the words to respond, and he strikes Claggart - who falls backward against a block and tackle and fatally injures himself.

Captain Vere assembles a court-martial. Though aware of the background to Budd and Claggart's conflict, the captain is also torn between morality and duty to his station. Vere intervenes in the final stages of deliberations - which at that point are in support of Budd - to argues the defendant must be found guilty for even striking Claggart, not to mention killing him. His argument that the letter of the law matters is successful, and Budd is convicted.

Condemned to be hanged from the ship's yardarm at dawn the following morning, Budd takes care to wear his good shoes. At Budd's final words, "God bless Captain Vere!", Vere crumbles, and Budd is subsequently hoisted up and hanged on the ship's rigging. The crew is on the verge of mutiny over the incident, but Vere can only stare off into the distance. Just as the crew is to be fired upon by the ship's marine detachment, a French vessel appears and commences cannon fire on the Avenger. The crew breaks off from the potential mutinty to return fire, and in the course of battle a piece of the ship's rigging falls on Vere, killing him. The ship's figurehead is also shot off while a narrator tells of Budd's heroic sacrifice.

Cast

Production

In addition to serving as director, Ustinov also produces and co-stars in the feature. His dedication to the film appears to emanate from his identification with the characters in the story. He said, "I am an optimist, unrepentant and militant. After all, in order not to be a fool an optimist must know how sad a place the world can be. It is only the pessimist who finds this out anew every day."[4]

On the novel itself, Melville had been writing poetry for 30 years when he returned to fiction with Billy Budd in late 1888. Still unfinished when he died in 1891, Melville's widow worked to help complete it, but it remained unpublished. Melville's biographer accidentally stumbled upon it when going through a trunk of the writer's papers in his granddaughter's New Jersey home in 1919, and it was finally published in 1924. Over the years other versions were published, but it was not until Melville's original notes were found that the definitive version was ultimately published in 1962. Coincidentally, this movie version, made in continental Europe and England, was released the same year.

Reception

Stanley Kauffmann of The New Republic wrote Billy Budd was 'in almost every way a failure, and it is (Peter) Ustinov's fault.'.[5]

In its opening weekend in Leicester Square, London, it grossed a house record $12,000.[1]

Awards and honours

References

  1. ^ a b "$12,000 Weekend Gross Of 'Billy Budd' in London". Variety. 26 September 1962. p. 5.
  2. ^ Tube. (29 August 1962). "Film reviews: Billy Budd". Variety. p. 6.
  3. ^ John C. Tibbetts, and James M. Welsh, eds. The Encyclopedia of Novels Into Film (2nd ed. 2005) pp 33–34.
  4. ^ Ustinov, Peter (2011). "9". Dear Me. London: Random House. ISBN 9780099421726.
  5. ^ Kaufmann, Stanley (1968). A world on Film. Delta Books. p. 117.
  6. ^ "The 35th Academy Awards (1963) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. from the original on 2 February 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  7. ^ "BAFTA Awards: Film in 1963". BAFTA. 1963. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  8. ^ "15th DGA Awards". Directors Guild of America Awards. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Billy Budd – Golden Globes". HFPA. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  10. ^ "1962 Award Winners". National Board of Review. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Awards Winners". Writers Guild of America. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2010.

Further reading

  • Tibbetts, John C., and James M. Welsh, eds. The Encyclopedia of Novels Into Film (2nd ed. 2005) pp 33–34.

External links

 
Wikiquote has quotations related to Billy Budd (film).

January 20, 2023
billy, budd, film, billy, budd, 1962, british, historical, drama, adventure, film, produced, directed, written, peter, ustinov, adapted, from, louis, coxe, robert, chapman, stage, play, version, herman, melville, short, novel, billy, budd, stars, terence, stam. Billy Budd is a 1962 British historical drama adventure film produced directed and co written by Peter Ustinov 2 Adapted from Louis O Coxe and Robert H Chapman s stage play version of Herman Melville s short novel Billy Budd it stars Terence Stamp as Billy Budd Robert Ryan as John Claggart and Ustinov as Captain Vere In his feature film debut Stamp was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and received a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Male Newcomer The film was nominated for four BAFTAs 3 Billy BuddOriginal film posterDirected byPeter UstinovScreenplay byPeter UstinovRobert RossenDeWitt BodeenBased onBilly Buddby Herman MelvilleBilly Buddby Louis O CoxeRobert H ChapmanProduced byPeter UstinovStarringTerence StampRobert RyanPeter UstinovMelvyn DouglasCinematographyRobert KraskerEdited byJack HarrisMusic byAntony HopkinsProductioncompaniesAnglo AlliedHarvest FilmsNikhanj FilmsDistributed byRank Film DistributorsRelease date21 September 1962 1962 09 21 London 1 Running time123 minutesCountryUnited KingdomLanguageEnglishBox office 25 million Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Reception 5 Awards and honours 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External linksPlot EditIn the year 1797 the British naval vessel HMS Avenger presses into service a crewman according to the Rights of War from the merchant ship The Rights of Man The new crewman Billy Budd is considered naive by his shipmates and they attempt to indoctrinate him in their cynicism But Budd s steadfast optimism remains when asked to critique the horrible stew the crew must eat he offers It s hot And there s a lot of it I like everything about it except the flavor The crew discovers Budd stammers in his speech when anxious Though Budd manages to enchant the crew his attempts at befriending the brutal master at arms John Claggart are unsuccessful Claggart is cruel and unrepentant a man who controls the crew through vicious flogging savaging them before they can prey on him Claggart orders Squeak to find means of putting Budd on report and to implicate him in a planned mutiny He then brings his charges to the Captain Edwin Fairfax Vere Vere summons both Claggart and Budd to his cabin for a private confrontation When Claggart makes his false charges that Budd is a conspirator Budd stammers unable to find the words to respond and he strikes Claggart who falls backward against a block and tackle and fatally injures himself Captain Vere assembles a court martial Though aware of the background to Budd and Claggart s conflict the captain is also torn between morality and duty to his station Vere intervenes in the final stages of deliberations which at that point are in support of Budd to argues the defendant must be found guilty for even striking Claggart not to mention killing him His argument that the letter of the law matters is successful and Budd is convicted Condemned to be hanged from the ship s yardarm at dawn the following morning Budd takes care to wear his good shoes At Budd s final words God bless Captain Vere Vere crumbles and Budd is subsequently hoisted up and hanged on the ship s rigging The crew is on the verge of mutiny over the incident but Vere can only stare off into the distance Just as the crew is to be fired upon by the ship s marine detachment a French vessel appears and commences cannon fire on the Avenger The crew breaks off from the potential mutinty to return fire and in the course of battle a piece of the ship s rigging falls on Vere killing him The ship s figurehead is also shot off while a narrator tells of Budd s heroic sacrifice Cast EditRobert Ryan as John Claggart Master d Arms Peter Ustinov as Edwin Fairfax Vere Post Captain Terence Stamp as Billy Budd Melvyn Douglas as The Dansker sailmaker Paul Rogers as Philip Seymour 1st Lieutenant John Neville as Julian Radcliffe 2nd Lieutenant David McCallum as Steven Wyatt Gunnery Officer Ronald Lewis as Enoch Jenkins maintopman Lee Montague as Squeak Mr Claggart s assistant Thomas Heathcote as Alan Payne maintopman Ray McAnally as William O Daniel maintopman Robert Brown as Talbot John Meillon as Neil Kincaid maintopman Cyril Luckham as Hallam Captain of Marines Niall MacGinnis as Captain Nathaniel GravelingProduction EditIn addition to serving as director Ustinov also produces and co stars in the feature His dedication to the film appears to emanate from his identification with the characters in the story He said I am an optimist unrepentant and militant After all in order not to be a fool an optimist must know how sad a place the world can be It is only the pessimist who finds this out anew every day 4 On the novel itself Melville had been writing poetry for 30 years when he returned to fiction with Billy Budd in late 1888 Still unfinished when he died in 1891 Melville s widow worked to help complete it but it remained unpublished Melville s biographer accidentally stumbled upon it when going through a trunk of the writer s papers in his granddaughter s New Jersey home in 1919 and it was finally published in 1924 Over the years other versions were published but it was not until Melville s original notes were found that the definitive version was ultimately published in 1962 Coincidentally this movie version made in continental Europe and England was released the same year Reception EditStanley Kauffmann of The New Republic wrote Billy Budd was in almost every way a failure and it is Peter Ustinov s fault 5 In its opening weekend in Leicester Square London it grossed a house record 12 000 1 Awards and honours EditAward Category Nominee s Result Ref Academy Awards Best Supporting Actor Terence Stamp Nominated 6 British Academy Film Awards Best Film from any Source Nominated 7 Best British Film NominatedBest Foreign Actor Robert Ryan NominatedBest British Screenplay Peter Ustinov and DeWitt Bodeen NominatedMost Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles Terence Stamp NominatedDirectors Guild of America Awards Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures Peter Ustinov Nominated 8 Golden Globe Awards Most Promising Newcomer Male Terence Stamp Won 9 National Board of Review Awards Top Ten Films 2nd Place 10 Writers Guild of America Awards Best Written American Drama Peter Ustinov and DeWitt Bodeen Nominated 11 References Edit a b 12 000 Weekend Gross Of Billy Budd in London Variety 26 September 1962 p 5 Tube 29 August 1962 Film reviews Billy Budd Variety p 6 John C Tibbetts and James M Welsh eds The Encyclopedia of Novels Into Film 2nd ed 2005 pp 33 34 Ustinov Peter 2011 9 Dear Me London Random House ISBN 9780099421726 Kaufmann Stanley 1968 A world on Film Delta Books p 117 The 35th Academy Awards 1963 Nominees and Winners oscars org Archived from the original on 2 February 2018 Retrieved 23 August 2011 BAFTA Awards Film in 1963 BAFTA 1963 Retrieved 16 September 2016 15th DGA Awards Directors Guild of America Awards Retrieved 5 July 2021 Billy Budd Golden Globes HFPA Retrieved 5 July 2021 1962 Award Winners National Board of Review Retrieved 5 July 2021 Awards Winners Writers Guild of America Archived from the original on 5 December 2012 Retrieved 6 June 2010 Further reading EditTibbetts John C and James M Welsh eds The Encyclopedia of Novels Into Film 2nd ed 2005 pp 33 34 External links Edit Wikiquote has quotations related to Billy Budd film Billy Budd at IMDb Billy Budd at Rotten Tomatoes Billy Budd at the TCM Movie Database Billy Budd at AllMovie Billy Budd at the American Film Institute Catalog Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Billy Budd film amp oldid 1122770966, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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