H.M.S. Defiant is a British film released in 1962 starring Alec Guinness and Dirk Bogarde. It tells the story of a mutiny aboard the fictitious ship of the title at around the time of the Spithead Mutiny. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert, with a screenplay by Nigel Kneale from the novel Mutiny by Frank Tilsley. The movie was released as Damn the Defiant! in the United States. The humane Captain Crawford is in command of the warship HMS Defiant during the Napoleonic Wars. He soon finds himself in a battle of wills with his first officer, the sadistic and supercilious first lieutenant, Mr.... Scott-Padget . The Lieutenant believes that Crawford is too soft on his crew, and also disagrees with the captain's decision to proceed with orders to sail to Corsica despite word that Napoleon has overrun much of Italy. Scott-Padget has powerful family connections, which he has used in the past to "beach" two previous commanding officers with whom he disagreed. Knowing that Crawford is helpless to intervene, Scott-Padget subjects the former's son, Midshipman Harvey Crawford , to excessive daily punishments so as to gain leverage over the captain.
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| Release date: | 1962 |
| Directed by: | Lewis Gilbert |
| Runtime: | 101 Minutes |
| Producer: | John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne |
| Editor: | Peter R. Hunt |
| Music by: | Clifton Parker |
| Cinematography: | Christopher Challis |
| Screenplay by: | Nigel Kneale |
| Genre: | Adventure |