That's what you want to say to someone who you like and Billy Budd in this movie is likable and popular for it. What he brings to the crew at sea is something they badly need which is hope and goodness in the midst of hard work and drudgery not to mention some injustice thrown in as well. Budd manages to keep his center even when tested and that is when we find out that he isn't playing at the relationship portrayed in the movie with others but actually is that person something that wins over the men and officers alike in total. Keep in mind that you only have so much room on this little ship for months at a time and how important morale is to being able to maintain a medium standard of life and duty. What a sailor has as far as his belongings are very meager yet that makes up his little world along with chow time and his comrades. That is why Budd makes such a big impact on what is otherwise a dismal repetitive life with no additional rewards except survival and hope for the best. The supporting cast makes for a good mix that compliments the Budd character quite well. We also get to visit with the officers and get insight into their day to day plus their feelings as well. A true test for them comes when they have to administer fairness and justice or support the Kings law and how they debate, negotiate and get penetrated by the subject matter and circumstances is superbly acted out. Here, Peter Ustinov shines brightly showing us what it is like to bear the burden of command. The dialogue is superb so pay close attention as well as the anguish shared by the others as they are forced to see things from different perspectives some of which they never considered. Herman Melville captured life at sea even though I find him hard to read especially with his Moby Dick story. However any effort made to do so is rewarding as his writing is one of a kind. Good snack movie here with popcorn eaten at a steady rate with a break for a tasty sip of drink now and then. I have seen this movie at least five times and will watch it again over the next few days. Every time I do, I am treated to first class entertainment. This is mainly because it has such fine acting, story-line and memorable scenes. Enjoy it all mate

Better known today as a two-time winner of the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award, Peter Ustinov also produced, directed and/or wrote a handful of other films, in which he usually appeared as an actor as well. Bringing this classic Herman Melville seafaring novel about good vs. evil to the big screen was his last production; Ustinov directed it, played one of the main characters, and (along with DeWitt Bodeen) adapted the Louis O. Coxe-Robert H. Chapman play for the screen.Newcomer Terence Stamp (in only his second film, the first to be released in the United States) played the title role, Melville's stammering protagonist who's impressed into wartime duty as a sailor from a merchant ship (Rights of Man) by an officer from the English man-of-war Avenger in 1797. Stamp would earn his only recognition from the Academy with a Supporting Actor Oscar nomination of his own.Captain Edwin Fairfax Vere (Ustinov) and his officers, which include 1st Lieutenant Philip Seymour (Paul Rogers), 2nd Lieutenant Julian Ratcliffe (John Neville), and Gunnery Officer Steven Wyatt (David MacCallum), are wary of these impressed into service crewmen because of rampant rumors and incidents of mutiny aboard other British Navy ships, especially since their own Master-at-arms, John Claggart (Robert Ryan), is a particularly sadistic and cruel individual who seems to enjoy exercising his authority to have men flogged for no apparent reason.This adventure drama not only includes a flogging scene ostensibly to instill obedience and discipline of servitude among the crewman who must watch it, but most of the other requisite military ship at sea movie sequences such as a burial at sea, men shown climbing the ship's masts to unfurl its sails, etc.. What's unique about this one, besides the central conflict between both extremes - the unbelievably virtuous Budd and the overly malevolent Claggart - is its final third:Anyone who has seen 12 Angry Men (1957) knows that, as Juror #8, Henry Fonda convinces a hung jury, one by one, that it's an innocent man that's about to be convicted; much of the last 30 minutes of this drama plays out in exactly the opposite way. After Budd is so enraged by Claggart's false testimony - about the seaman's supposed involvement in a mutiny plot - that (unable to find his tongue) he lashes out and kills the Master d'Arms, Captain Vere convenes a military court (comprised of the aforementioned officers) to try the case.When the understanding officers are ready to acquit Billy, Vere convinces them that the law is more important than justice in this case, that it's their duty to find him guilty of killing of a superior officer, that no matter what the extenuating circumstances (e.g. Claggart's bearing false witness or other justifications) Billy must hang. Like the other drama, it's this deliberation that is the crux of the film.Others who appear in the film include Melvyn Douglas, as a wise old sailmaker dubbed Dansker (because he's Dutch), Ronald Lewis as Jenkins, a maintopman whose death begins the central conflict, and Lee Montague as the aptly named Squeak, Claggart's informer- assistant.

Billy Budd is directed by Peter Ustinov, who also stars, writes and produces. It's adapted from the stage play that in turn was adapted from the Herman Melville story of the same name. Joining Ustinov in the cast are Terence Stamp, Robert Ryan, Melvyn Douglas and Paul Rogers. Shot in Black & White, it's a CinemaScope production, with Robert Krasker on cinematography and Antony Hopkins provides the musical score. Story is set in 1797 aboard the British naval vessel HMS Avenger, after naive youngster Billy Budd (Stamp) joins the ship it sees his indomitable spirit rub off on the hardened and cynical crew. But this brings him to the attention of the cruel and sadistic master-at-arms, John Claggart (Ryan). With the wily Captain Vere looking on, Budd refuses to accept Claggart as a monster. Something will clearly have to give, and when it does, this ship will never be the same again.Very much labelled as a mixed bag by the critics over the years, and very much a box office failure on its release, Ustinov's film today has merits worthy of respect. In essence a good versus evil fable that's flecked with an examination of moral justice versus maritime law, Billy Budd is reliant on its script and actors to see it home. Ustinov was forced to cut out a number of scenes that were deemed as being too violent, the suits at the British Board of Film Censors even complaining that the film was too downbeat! What is left is an easy paced period piece that still has moments of dramatic impact garnered from human interactions. True enough its measured narrative means it's possibly not a film for those looking for a cannon fuelled pre Napoleonic Wars epic, but the acting is rich, notably an on debut Stamp (credit Ustinov's direction of him), and once over, the film does have the power to make the viewer think onwards. And that's something to be applauded, not derided.I'd have liked it to have been in colour, to fully utilise the "Scope" in Krasker's hands, and yes, I would have liked some more savagery to fully flesh out the harshness of naval life. But a good story is a good story, which in Ustinov's hands is steered safely into port. 7/10

Intriguing adaptation of Herman Melville's novel (and Louis O. Coxe's play) about a good-natured seaman aboard a British warship in 1797 who is ultimately pushed to his limit by the cruel Master at Arms. Peter Usintov, who plays the ship's captain, also directed, co-produced and co-wrote this script, and he gets amazing lead performances from Robert Ryan and Terence Stamp. Ryan, as the hateful superior, is morally reprehensible without ever becoming inhuman--a delicious feat for an actor; clear-eyed, big-hearted Stamp is wonderful as innocent Billy Budd. The material is handled nimbly with great thought and care, while the supporting characters are mostly rich and complicated. Fine cinematography by Robert Krasker, and terrific grown-up entertainment all around. *** from ****