Hoodoo On Bounty

Film

Ship Sunk with Serious Loss Off California

BAD luck is attending the work of filming “The Mutiny on the Bounty.”

The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corporation made preparations last year for an out standing Pacific film, which would tell the story of the 150-years-old tragedy, based on Nordhoff and Hall’s recent book, “Mutiny.” A company was sent down from the United States to Tahiti at the end of last year to construct all that part of the story requiring an Islands setting; and, somehow or other, after the job was complete, a considerable section of the film was damaged, and the work had to be done over again in Tahiti.

On July 27, when the balance of the film was being “shot” off the island of San Miguel, coast of California, on a barge that had been reconstructed to look like the “Bounty,” another accident oc curred. The barge was sunk by heavy seas; Glenn Strong, well-known camera man was drowned; and sound and picture equipment worth £10,000 was lost.

The work will go on of course, and the film will be completed: but there does seem to be a hoodoo on it, somewhere.

Reports of the accident are meagre, and it is not known how many of the seventy-five players engaged in the pic ture were aboard the vessel at the time she was lost. It is assumed that all were saved.

The stars of the production, including Clark Gable, Charles Laughton and Franchot Tone, were not with the pro duction unit at San Miguel Island.

The barge which was sunk was the replica of the famous “Bounty,” especi ally built for the film from plans and specifications discovered in a rare book, "A Narrative of the Mutiny on His Majesty’s ship Bounty,” written by the commander, Lieutenant William Bligh, and published in 1790.

The title of the picture having been decided —it was to be called “The Mutiny on the Bounty”—Irving Thalberg, who was directing, had to select someone to take the role of Bligh, the tyrant com mander of the ill-fated vessel. His choice fell on Charles Laughton, who was about to start with London Film Productions, under the great French director, Rene Clair, in “Sir Tristram Goes West.”

Laughton was recalled to Hollywood to take the part of Bligh—a role for which he was admirably suited.

Co-starred with Laughton were Clark Gable, as Fletcher Christian, the young officer who led the mutiny, and Franchot Tone, as Peter Heywood (the young mid shipman who is given prominence in Nordhoff and Hall’s story).

Glenn Strong was one of the best known men in the game, and had shown exceptional skill and adaptibility in a task of more than ordinary difficulty.

It is believed that the loss of the equip ment and the vessel will not prevent the completion of the picture, although this will naturally be much delayed.

A tremendous amount of work had been done in making an exact replica of the Bounty, which was a vessel of a some what unusual type, and this labour will now have to be duplicated.

A quantity of valuable film was also lost with the ship, but most of the com pleted film was safely ashore.