Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), based on the popular namesake novel by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall, and starring Charles Laughton and Clark Gable as Bligh and Christian, respectively. The film's story was presented, says Dening, as "the classic conflict between tyranny and a just cause"; Laughton's portrayal became in the public mind the definitive Bligh, "a byword for sadistic tyranny". The two subsequent major films, "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1962) with Trevor Howard and Marlon Brando, and "The Bounty" (1984) with Anthony Hopkins and Mel Gibson, largely perpetuated this image of Bligh and that of Christian as tragic hero. The latter film
Roy Christian Roy Christian Fletcher Roy Christian MBE is a New Zealand retired international rugby league footballer of the 1960s and 1970s. A centre three-quarter back, he captained New Zealand in the sport. Christian also captained the New Zealand Māori rugby league team. Born in Auckland to Norfolk Island parents, Roy Christian is a direct descendant of Fletcher Christian, a figure in the 1789 Mutiny on the Bounty. Christian played his first Test match in 1965 against Australia. While playing for Otahuhu in 1966, Christian was awarded the Lipscombe Cup for Premier One sportsman of the year. However, injury caused him to