Share
clip 2, 3Clip description
The sailors of the Bounty are mesmerised by the dancing girls of Tahiti. After six months, they are forced to leave sweethearts behind. Two sailors working the anchor winch grumble about having to leave, suggesting that Mr Christian is unhappy for the same reason.
Curator’s notes
This is just a small part of the film’s exotic nudity, for which Charles Chauvel had to fight hard against the Australian Customs authorities. It would have helped the film’s commercial prospects considerably, given that nudity was very rare in Australian films of the time (see The Silence of Dean Maitland). Later films about the Bounty (especially the 1984 version) have included similar scenes for the same effect.
