Billy Budd is a 1962 British historical drama-adventure film produced, directed, and co-written by Peter Ustinov. Adapted from Louis O. Coxe and Robert H. Chapman's stage play version of Herman Melville's short novel Billy Budd, it stars Terence Stamp as Billy Budd, Robert Ryan as John Claggart, and Ustinov as Captain Vere. In his feature film debut, Stamp was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and received a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Male Newcomer. The film was nominated for four BAFTAs.
Original film poster
Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov was a British actor, filmmaker, and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits for much of his career. Ustinov received numerous accolades including two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, three Emmy Awards, and a Grammy Award.
Portrait by Allan Warren, 1986
Ustinov as Nero in Quo Vadis (1951)
Ustinov (left) as Hercule Poirot with John Gielgud in Appointment with Death (1988)
Ustinov c. 1960