Tribute to Terence Stamp, the great British actor, who passed this week.
The very young and charismatic Terence Stamp plays the titular part in Billy Budd, an honest, powerful screen version of Herman Melville’s classic novel, directed, co-produced, and co-written by Peter Ustinov, who also acts in a majr role.
Grade: A- (**** out of *****)
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Original film poster
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In 1797, during the Napoleonic Wars, H.M.S. Avenger is headed into battle against the French fleet and the experience of two mutinies in the English fleet concern Captain Vere (Ustinov).
Captain Vere relies on his cruel, often sadistic Master-at-Arms John Claggert (Robert Ryan in top form) for the rigid order and discipline that he deems necessary aboard the ship.
When a new seaman, Billy Budd (Stamp), is pressed into service from a passing merchantman, his innocent, wide-eyed, happy-go-lucky attitude endears him to his fellow mates as well as the ship’s officer.
His charismatic personality is resented by Claggert, whose perverse depravity makes him resent Billy’s good-natured purity, especially after the teenager is promoted to fore-top captain.
The turning point occurs when the mean-spirited Claggert plots to accuse Billy of conspiring to commit a mutiny, and Vere, torn between his conscience and duty, ultimately feels forced to execute him.
The cast also includes Melvyn Douglas, Paul Rogers, and David McCallum.
Opening to positive critical reviews, Billy Budd was commercially successful, grossing over $25 million at the box-office.
My Oscar Book:
Oscar Nominations: 1
Supporting Actor: Terence Stamp
Oscar Awards: None
Oscar Context:
In 1962, Ed Begley won the Supporting Actor Oscar for the screen adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ “Sweet Bird of Youth.”
Credits:
Produced, directed by Peter Ustinov
Screenplay by Ustinov, Robert Rossen, DeWitt Bodeen, Based on “Billy Budd,”
1924 novella by Herman Melville, “Billy Budd” 1949 play by Louis O. Coxe, Robert H. Chapman
Cinematography Robert Krasker
Edited by Jack Harris
Music by Antony Hopkins
Distributed by Rank Film Distributors[
Release date: Sep 21, 1962 (London); Nov 12, 1962
Running time: 123 minutes
Budget $1.5 million
Box office $25 million
Detailed Synopsis (How the Plot Unfolds Chronologically)
In 1797, the British naval vessel HMS Avenger gets into service a crewman “according to the Rights of War” from the merchant ship The Rights of Man. The new crewman is naïve and stutters when he is anxious. His shipmates indoctrinate him in their lifestyle, based on practucality and cynicism. Budd’s steadfast optimism proves impenetrable to them. Asked about the horrible stew they eat, he says, “It’s hot, and there’s a lot of it. I like everything about it except the flavor.”
Budd charms the crew with his innocence, but his efforts to befriend the brutal master-at-arms, John Claggart, fail. Cruel and unrepentant, Claggart controls the crew through strict discipline, including vicious flogging.
Claggart orders Squeak to find ways to implicate him in a planned mutiny. He then brings his charges to Captain Edwin Fairfax Vere (Ustinov). Although Claggart has no reason to implicate Budd in the conspiracy, Budd becomes a target because he represents everything that Claggart despises: humility, innocence, trust, optimism, and humanity.
Claggart makes his false charges that Budd is a conspirator. Unable to find the right respond, Budd stammers, and then strikes Claggart, who falls backward, an unlawful act that kills him.
Captain Vere assembles a court-martial, though he’s fully aware of Budd’s simplicity and Claggart’s evil. Torn between his sense of morality and professional duies, Vere intervenes in the final stages of deliberations. He argues that the defendant must be found guilty for striking Claggart, an unlawful act. Vere’s soul is torn by his decision, but his arguments pursue the letter of the law, and Budd is convicted.
Condemned to be hanged from the ship’s yardarm at dawn, Budd wears his good shoes. Budd’s final words are memorable, expressing his consistent philosophy of behavior: “I’m sorry but not guilty. I’m not afraid. I did my duty, you did yours. God bless Captain Vere!” Budd is then hoisted up and hanged on the ship’s rigging.
The crew is on the verge of mutiny over the incident, and Vere remains troubled over his part in taking an innocent’s life. A French vessel appears and fires on the Avenger, and in the course of battle, the ship’s rigging falls on and kills Vere.
The film ends with the narrator relating Budd’s heroic sacrifice.
Note on Melville’s Novel
The novel Billy Budd was unfinished when Melville died in 1891, and then it was lost. Melville’s biographer stumbled upon it when researching the writer’s papers in 1919. Melville’s widow helped to complete it, and it was finally published in 1924. It was not until Melville’s original notes were found that the definitive version was published in 1962, the same year that Ustinov’s impressive movie was released.
