Damn the Defiant!

Directed by Lewis Gilbert

Approved

1962 1h 41mWar, History,

7.1100%63%6.5

Add to Watchlist

On the H.M.S. Defiant, during the French Revolutionary War, fair Captain Crawford is locked in a battle of wills against his cruel second-in-command Lieutenant Scott-Padget, whose heavy-handed command style pushes the crew to mutiny.

Where to Watch Damn the Defiant!

Cast of Damn the Defiant!

Alec GuinnessCaptain Crawford
Dirk BogardeLieut. Scott-Padget
Anthony QuayleVizard
Maurice DenhamMr. Goss (Ship's Surgeon)
Nigel StockSenior Midshipman Kilpatrick
Tom BellEvans
Richard CarpenterLieut. Posonby
Peter GillLieut. D'Arblay
Ray BrooksHayes
Robin StewartPardoe
Murray MelvinWagstaffe
Victor MaddernDawlish
David RobinsonHarvey Crawford
Bryan PringleSgt Kneebone
Johnny BriggsWheatley
Toke TownleySilly Billy
Declan MulhollandMorrison
Peter GreenspanJohnson
Brian PhelanGrimshaw
Walter FitzgeraldAdmiral Jackson
See all

Damn the Defiant! Ratings & Reviews

grantssMay 24, 2025
Rollicking, tension-filled age-of-sail naval drama. 1797. Frigate HMS Defiant sets out for the Mediterranean from England, commanded by Captain Crawford. Little does Captain Crawford know it, but he is sitting on a powder-keg: an insubordinate First Lieutenant that overzealously punishes crew members and is generally bad for morale but is untouchable due to having friends in high places and a crew that is on the brink of mutiny. A good old-fashioned age-of-sale naval drama. There’s the usual ship vs ship, English vs French, battles and these are very well done in this case: quite gritty and action-packed. Adding to this is the internal drama: the Captain vs his First Lieutenant, the brewing mutiny and the sub-plots and collateral damage stemming from these two threads. Great work by Alec Guinness as Captain Crawford, Dirk Bogarde as Lieutenant Scott-Padget and Anthony Quayle as Vizard, the leader of the mutineers. Solid supporting cast It all adds up to a tense, entertaining movie. Not perfect: the plot is a bit contrived and/or cheesy at times but overall a great film.

Watch Damn the Defiant! Videos

Damn The Defiant
Damn The DefiantTrailer

Damn the Defiant! Trivia

Damn the Defiant! was released on April 15, 1962.

Damn the Defiant! was directed by Lewis Gilbert.

Damn the Defiant! has a runtime of 1h 41m.

Damn the Defiant! was produced by John Brabourne.

The key characters in Damn the Defiant! are Captain Crawford (Alec Guinness), Lieut. Scott-Padget (Dirk Bogarde), Vizard (Anthony Quayle).

Damn the Defiant! is rated Approved.

Damn the Defiant! is a War, History, Drama film.

Damn the Defiant! has an audience rating of 6.3 out of 10.

Take Plex everywhere

Watch free anytime, anywhere, on almost any device.

See the full list of supported devices

Watch Damn the Defiant! (1962) Full Movie Free Online - Plex