Of the six commercial films helmed by Peter Ustinov, this clear-eyed adaptation of the Melville novella is probably the best. The metaphysics, morphing personalities and sexual subtexts are there for them that’s want’s ‘em, but not pushed on us. Terence Stamp manages to keep Billy more of a ‘regular guy’ than you expect, as indeed is Robert Ryan as his implacable nemesis Claggart. The film looks handsome and believable under Robert Krasker’s lens and Ustinov, though an odd choice for Captain Vere (where were James Mason or Michael Redgrave, you wonder) has a thoughtful, interesting take on the man. As director, he’s no master of pacing, which hurts more than usual in a film script based on a stage play, but the supporting cast is superb and the climax is suitably unnerving. (But anyone who knows the superb Benjamin Britten opera will yearn for those aching final lines from Capt. Vere.)
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