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
Gail Laughton Laugton performs as Cary Grant's hands and arms during the harp-playing scene in The Bishop's Wife. Gail Laughton Gail Laughton, born Denzil Gail Laughton (1921–1985), was an American jazz harpist. He worked in Hollywood, playing on many film and cartoon soundtracks. Laughton was born in Oklahoma. His parents were both involved with the harp: his mother as a teacher and his father, Charles T. Laughton, as a harp builder. As a young child, he played with his family's orchestra, touring Cuba and Panama. He joined the Oklahoma City Symphony in 1937, hired through the WPA at the minimum age of