Mutiny on the Bounty, based on Nordhoff and Hall’s factual narrative of the infamous mutiny in 1789, stars Marlon Brando as First Mate Fletcher Christian. Sailing from Portsmouth in 1787, under the tyrannical rule of Captain William Bligh (Trevor Howard), the H.M.S. Bounty begins an ill-timed voyage around Cape Horn in search of the South Pacific plant, the breadfruit. As the months wear on, Bligh's backbreaking discipline, including flogging and keelhauling as punishment for minor offenses, starts to create a powerful sense of ill-will among the crew. Eventually even Christian's aristocratic foppery begins to fade as he sympathizes with the crew's suffering. Despite the brutal winter storms that threaten to tear the ship apart, the Bounty and its battered crew manage to reach Tahiti, where they enjoy the warm sun and friendly native women while waiting for the plants to be harvested. When Bligh orders the ship home, and cuts off the crew's water ration to save the plants, Christian rebels and leads the men in a mutiny, with tragic results.