Damn the Defiant! (Columbia Pictures) (1962)

(Mat 1A) Alec Guinness, right, upbraids Dirk Bogarde, his first mate, in Columbia Pictures’ dramatic “Damn the Defiant!” also starring Anthony Quayle in CinemaScope and Eastman Color. (Dirk Bogarde) Dirk Bogarde, handsome and romantic international screen star, plays an arrogant, sadistic 18th Century British Naval officer in Columbia Pictures’ dramatic “Damn the Defiant!” also starring Alec Guinness and Anthony Quayle at Wego oascos Theatre in Eastman Color and CinemaScope. His role is far removed from the career Bogarde originally had mapped out for himself, that of an artist. At 16, Bogarde won a schol ship to the Royal College of Arts; a year later, he came to the conclusion that his chief interest was in the field of acting. Bogarde completed his art course and then haunted the London theatres; he was just beginning to break in when the war intervened. As a member of Army Intelligence, Bogarde landed in France on D-Day, served through the European phase of the war and then moved on with his unit to Burma. When he was discharged in 1946, he was a major. Back in London, Bogarde again tackled the stage. His theatre work won him several screen offers and he was given star billing in his first film, “Esther Waters.” His most recent films have been Columbia’s “Song Without End,” “The Angel Wore Red,”’ “The Singer Not the Song” and “Victim.” “Damn the Defiant!” is based on Frank Tilsley’s best-selling novel, “Mutiny.” Nigel Kneale and Edmund H. North penned the screenplay. Lewis Gilbert directed, and John Brabourne produced, the G.W. film for Columbia release. (Pleasantly Cool Heat) Working on location in Spain in Columbia Pictures’ dramatic “Damn the Defiant!’ now at the svageyetenete Theatre in CinemaScope and Eastman Color, British actors found the 95-degree daily temperature hard to take. The two exceptions were Alec Guinness and Anthony Quayle, who came to Spain directly from working in “Lawrence of Arabia” in Jordan, where thermometers hovered all day around the 120 mark. Guinness and Quayle who are starred in “Damn the Defiant!” with Dirk Bogarde, considered Spain a welcome letdown. (When Time Is Money) The 18th Century man-of-war reconstructed for Columbia Pictures’ dramatic “Damn the Defiant!” starring Alec Guinness, Dirk Bogarde and Anthony Quayle in CinemaScope and Eastman ColOw Ey WS cobooooc Theatre, cost an estimated 2% million dollars. To build a similar ship during the Napoleonic Wars, the period of the film, would have cost about $80,000. (Review) Alec Guinness, Academy Award winner for his performance in “The Bridge on the River Kwai,” brings another finely-etched portrait to the screen as the captain of a man-of-war in Columbia Pictures’ dramatic “Damn the Defiant!” in CinemaScope and Eastman Color at the ...... Theatre. Dirk Bogarde and Anthony Quayle also star in the breathless new drama, the former as a sadistic first lieutenant who does what he can to smash the authority of his commanding officer, and the latter as a seaman who leads a mutiny against ruthless brutality. The time is the late 18th Century; the scene, the British Navy. “Damn the Defiant!” is more than a spectacular picture of strong men in conflict within the confined quarters of a frigate. There are scenes of the infamous “press gang in action, recruiting men for H.M.S. Defiant by the simple process of beating them into unconsciousness wherever they can be found in the streets, homes and taverns of a British seaport town. There are naval battles a’plenty, in all their blood and horror, culminating in the desperate efforts of the mutinous crew to save the British fleet from total disaster. Alec Guinness gives one of his most impressive performances as the captain of the strife-torn Defiant, a basically humane officer who feels his obligations to his crew even while he knows his duty is to the indifferent and thoughtless Admirals above him, and the government. Bogarde, who is remembered for his romantic handsomeness in “Song Without End,” makes a triumphant appearance here as the arrogant, ruthless mate. Quayle is equally superb as the seaman, in a performance far removed from his memorable work in “The Guns of Navarone.” “Damn the Defiant!” was brilliantly produced by John Brabourne and directed by Lewis Gilbert, the makers of “Sink the Bismarck!” Based on Frank Tilsley’s novel “Mutiny,” the screenplay for this G. W. production was written by Nigel Kneale and Edmund H. North. (Advance Notice) Alee Guinness, Dirk Bogarde and Anthony Quayle, three of the international screen’s finest stars, head the cast of Columbia Pictures’ dramatic “Damn the Defiant!” in CinemaScope and Eastman Color at the ....... Theatre stanbinge esse Based on the Frank Tilsley novel, “Mutiny,” the new film was directed by Lewis Gilbert and produced by John Brabourne, makers of “Sink the Bismark!” Nigel Kneale and Edmund H. North penned the exciting screenplay for “Damn the Defiant!” a G. W. production released by Columbia Pictures. eg O40 0068 (Mat 2A; Still No. 884) Alee Cui mate, that his arrogant H the Defiant!” Anthony Qua Defiant in . so stars in the Columbia drama in CinemaScope and Eastman Color. (Alec Guinness) Alec Guinness, who won an Academy Award for his portrait of the humorless, undeviating martinet colonel in “The Bridge on the River Kwai,” brings a new, and different, approach to his characterization of a late 18thCentury British sea captain in Columbia Pictures’ dramatic “Damn the Defiant!” now at the Theatre. The film, in CinemaScope and Eastman Color, also stars Dirk Bogarde and Anthony Quayle. In “Damn the Defiant!” the versatile star plays a naval officer who is troubled by the plight of his crew in an age of extreme brutality. Bogarde is seen as the sadistic first mate who almost succeeds in his drive to undermine Guinness’ authority; Quayle, who was one of the stars of “The Guns of Navarone,” plays a seaman who leads a rebellion against his officers and the conscienceless government they represent. Guinness, who interrupted a flourishing stage career for Navy service during World War II, has played military personalities in such other films as “The Malta Story,” “Tunes of Glory” and the upcoming “Lawrence of Arabia,” but he first won international fame with a series of remarkable comedies which included “Kind Hearts and Coronets,” “The Lavendar Hill Mob,” “The Man in the White Suit” and “The Captain’s Paradise.” More recently, Guinness has starred in “Our Man in Havana,” “The Horse’s Mouth” and “A Majority of One.” (Anthony Quayle) Whether its Shakespeare or the sea, Anthony Quayle is equally at home. Currently, at the ..... Theatre, it’s the sea. Columbia Pictures’ dramatic “Damn the Defiant!” starring Alec Guinness, Dirk Bogarde and Anthony Quayle in CinemaScope and Eastman Color, is a vivid drama of the British Navy at the time of the Napoleonic Wars. Quayle plays a seaman, leader of a shipboard rebellion against the sadistic cruelty of his officers. Quayle, whose major interest is the sea, currently lives aboard a 40-foot three-masted sailing ketch with his wife and three children. During ocean location shooting of “Damn the Defiant!” Quayle occupied his off-camera time with sailing and canoeing. When he was working in Greece on “The Guns of Navarone,” he busied himself sailing a fishing boat. A major in the Royal Artillery during World War II, Quayle served as a producer-actor at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-on-Avon for nine years, after making a considerable reputation on London and Broadway stages. ess, left, warns Dirk Bogarde, umption of authority will not be scene from “Damn (General Advance) Columbia’s ‘Damn the Defiant!” opening ........ atthe res Theatre, stars Alec Guinness, Dirk Bogarde and Anthony Quayle in CinemaScope and Eastman Color. Casting on the picture reportedly is as spectacular and as dramatic as the film itself. Guinness, who won an Academy Award for his work as the martinet Colonel in “The Bridge on the River Kwai,” here appears as a ship’s captain in the 18th Century British Navy, when brutality and squalor were the ordinary seaman’s lot. Bogarde, the handsome young romantic star of “Song Without End,” plays an arogant, sadistic first mate who does what he can to destroy Guinness’ authority. Quayle, who was the badly wounded major in “The Guns of Navarone,” portrays a mutinous seaman in “Damn the Defiant!” leader of the crew which seizes control of the vessel in determined effort to end the ruthlessness to which they aer subjected. “Damn the Defiant!” reportedly is based upon an actual fleetwide mutiny in the British navy, during the Napoleonic Wars. As dramatic counterpoint to the conflicts aboard the frigate itself, there are a number of sea battles and what reportedly is a blazing action climax, when the Defiant and her desperate crew abandon their escape plans in order to provide the pivotal maneuvers which win a great naval victory in the Mediterranean. Nigel Kneale and Edmund H. North penned the exciting screen play for “Damn the Defiant!” based on the Frank Tilsley novel “Mutiny.” The film, a G.W. production for Columbia Pictures release, was directed by Lewis Gilbert and produced by John Brabourne, makers of “Sink the Bismarck!” (Brutality At Sea) One of the biggest fears of an able-bodied man living in Britain in the late 18th Century was that he might suddenly be snatched by a press gang and put aboard a British warship, never to see his home again, for years, if not for ever. The actions of a typical lumbia’s “Damn the Defiant!” epic of the 18th Century British Navy, the 18th Century British Navy, starring Alec Guinness, Dirk Bogarde and Anthony Quayle in CinemaScope and Eastman Color at ther erence Theatre. Former convicts, ruffians of every stripe and sailors with a penchant for sadism, the press gang picked up any males who seemed to look reasonably rugged, and clubbed them into submission when there was a protest. Every warship had its own press gang. Not infrequently men of other nationalities—A mericans, Frenchmen, Dutch, and others — were spirited out to sea before their friends or their consuls could be informed. In the 1790s, more than half the total complement of British crews were made up of pressed sailors. The Government closed its eyes to the gangs and made no attempt to eliminate brutalities or to provide any safeguards for the men captured in the quasi-legal raids. Discipline aboard ship at that time generally reflected the indifference of the government; the dreaded “cat” was used on the slightest provocation, leaving men crippled for weeks or months, and often resulting in death. H.M.S. Defiant, the ship of the new film’s title, is just such a vessel. Alec Guinness commands it, as a disciplinarian captain who is concerned about the brutality of his time; Bogarde plays his sadistic first mate and Quayle a seaman who leads the crew in a revolt against the ruthlessness with which they are treated. “Damn the Defiant!” is based on the Frank Tilsley novel, “Mutiny.” THE CAST Captain Crawford Lieut. Scott-Padget Mr. Goss (Ship's Surgeon) Senior Midshipman Kilpatrick Lieut. Ponsonby Lieut. D'Arblay Harvey Crawford Pardoe Hayes Johnson Vizard Evans Wagstaffe Dawlish Sgt. Kneebone Wheatley Grimshaw Silly Billy Morrison Admiral Jackson Mrs. Crawford Tavern Leader Flag Captain Flag Lieutenant Colonel Giraud SHIP'S OFFICERS: ALEC GUINNESS DIRK BOGARDE MAURICE DENHAM NIGEL STOCK RICHARD CARPENTER PETER GILL DAVID ROBINSON ROBIN STEWART RAY BROOKS PETER GREENSPAN SHIP'S CREW: ANTHONY QUAYLE TOM BELL MURRAY MELVIN VICTOR MADDERN BRYAN PRINGLE JOHNNY BRIGGS BRIAN PHELAN TOKE TOWNLEY DECLAN MULHOLLAND OTHER CHARACTERS: WALTER FITZGERALD . JOY SHELTON ANTHONY OLIVER RUSSELL NAPIER MICHAEL COLES ANDRE MARANNE THE CREDITS Screenplay by Nigel Kneale and Edmund H. North; based upon the novel "Mutiny" by Frank Tilsley; Directed by Lewis Gilbert; Assistant Director, Jack Causey; Director of Photography, Christopher Challis, B.S.C.; Art Director, Arthur Lawson; Special Effect Supervisor, Howard Lydecker; Editor, Peter Hunt; Production Manager, Richard Goodwin; Camera Operator, Austin Dempster; Location Manager, Robert Porter; Fight Arranger, William Hobbs; Music Composed by Clifton Parker; Conducted by Muir Mathieson; Sound Recordists, H. L. Bird, Red Law; Dubbing Editor, Win Ryder; Continuity, Shirley Barnes; Make-Up, Fred Williamson; Hairdresser, Gordon Bond; CinemaScope; Eastman Color by Pathe; a G.W. film; Produced by John Brabourne. A Columbia Pictures release. THE STORY (Not for Publication) When H.M.S. Defiant sails against Napoleon's fleet, her humane disciplinarian Captain Crawford finds himself fighting to maintain his authority against his sadistic, Court-protected first mate, Scott-Padget; below decks, seamen Vizard and Evans are fomenting rebellion against the brutality common to ships of that time. Crawford is badly injured in a battle with a French treasure ship; the crew mutiny when Scott-Padget takes his place. Crawford persuades Vizard, now commanding the Defiant, to join the British fleet so the captured French can be questioned about a planned invasion of England. The mutineers are confident of a pardon until Evans is provoked into murdering Scott-Padget. Vizard sets sails for the open sea; the Defiant is the only ship able to maneuver when the French send a fireship against the anchored Brtish fleet. Risking their chance to escape, the Defiant's crew heroically divert the fireship from its dangerous course, enabling the British to engage the French in a triumphant battle. Dying in action, Vizard tells Crawford: "No more mutineers on this ship now, sir.’ PRINTED IN U.S. A.