Not a bad little actioner here for a movie that doesn't go feature length. It doesn't start out as a pirate adventure but turns into one when Hook (Gene Evans) and Redlegs (Rhys Williams) learn of plans to smuggle ten million dollars worth of gold back to the States during the War of 1812. Captain James Marshall (Mark Stevens) is commissioned to run a British blockade and head off to France to pick up the privately funded stash, and takes along disgraced former seaman Ben Waldridge (Patric Knowles). The film really gets going when Waldridge stows his paramour Leslie (Angela Lansbury) aboard the Concord, setting up a tension that sails on for the rest of the story.

The surprise of the film for me was Lansbury, never realizing she was as pretty as she appears here. That's balanced by how totally despicable her character is, a gold digger who'll use Waldridge and anyone else in her path to live a life of luxury. Her 'ten million or nothing' ultimatum to rogue Waldridge hints at a suitable demise for her character when it's time, and this viewer found himself counting the minutes. But not before she attempts to write a little murder of her own into the script.

The film's finale makes use of an early hand crank wooden submarine that's almost comical in it's concept except for the fact that it works. It provides the dubious opportunity for Captain Waldridge, in a redemptive moment, to go down with the ship.

I picked up this film as part of a ten movie/three DVD compilation simply called "Pirates" from St. Clair Vision. The print of the film I viewed addresses the concerns of two other reviewers for the movie on this site. It appeared to be a pretty good print without the scratchy quality attributed to it, while also appearing in it's original Technicolor format. For a lazy rainy morning, it was just the ticket.

It's the War of 1812. French citizens have come up with a lot of gold for the United States. However, France is at peace with Great Britain for the moment, and the British have a blockade of the US. The government turns to Mark Stevens, and his fast sloop. He recruits Patrick Knowles, a disgraced captain who stole his ship's money to pay for lovelies for Angela Lansbury, who's in France. They get to France, and bring Miss Lansbury out. She's not interested in a life without luxury. Then she discovers the gold, and persuades Knowles to mutiny.

It's the first movie Edward Dmytryk directed in three years, after tangling with and eventually giving into the HUAC. That's undoubtedly how he came to direct this King Brothers production; they knew how to get talent on the cheap. The script is by Philip Yordan -- he fronted a lot of blacklisted screenwriters in this period. Unfortunately, while the miniature work is good, the dialogue stinks. All in all, it's an unprepossessing effort.

Dmytryk's next movie would be the taut and exciting THE SNIPER. He was on his way back and by the 1960s, would helm some major big budget movies.

Mutiny has to be down at the bottom of the list of the films of Edward Dmytryk. It's a story that takes place during the War of 1812 where U.S. Navy Captain Mark Stevens is given a mission to get a big shipment of French bullion to build a fleet. Stevens gets a cashiered former British naval captain Patric Knowles to help, but Knowles and a few of his former crew like Gene Evans and Rhys Williams have their own agenda.

The script here is almost laughable in its ignorance. The film actually starts out with a scene of British impressment of American seamen and we hear word of war being declared. During the course of the film it's mentioned that we got to get that bullion back from Knowles and his confederates who stole it because word has just been received that the Washington, DC was burned to the ground.

Now I granted travel wasn't what it is today. But the burning of Washington took place in 1814 and even with all the detours Stevens and the shipment took, it didn't take two years.

Angela Lansbury considered this the nadir of her film career and it probably was. But she plays Knowles's wife and the reason Knowles got drummed out of the British Navy was for embezzlement of his ship's payroll to pay for her extravagance. She's a piece of work Angela and she overacts the part with relish.

Everybody in the cast has done better work, pass this one by if you can.