Tyrant of the Sea Tyrant of the Sea Tyrant of the Sea is a 1950 American historical war film directed by Lew Landers and starring Ron Randell, Rhys Williams and Lester Matthews. It is set during the Napoleonic Wars, with Admiral Horatio Nelson appearing as a character. The film began as a project "The Return of Captain Bligh" and was to star Charles Laughton, who had famously played Captain Bligh in "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1935). However Laughton did not want to repeat his performance so the project was rewritten to focus on a fictitious character. Rhys Williams played the part based on Bligh.
Charles Laughton had previously included several Bible readings when he played the title role in the film "Rembrandt". Laughton also narrated the story on the soundtrack album of the film that he directed, "Night of the Hunter", accompanied by the film's score. This album has also been released on CD. Also, and derived from the film they made together, a complete radio show (18 June 1945) of "The Canterville Ghost" was broadcast which featured Laughton and Margaret O'Brien. It has been issued on a Pelican LP. A two-LP Capitol Records album was released in 1962, the year of Laughton's death, entitled "The