Actor Peter Ustinov directed, produced, starred in, and adapted from a Broadway play this version of Herman Melville's classic allegorical tale of treachery in the eighteenth-century British navy. Under Ustinov's direction there is a decided shift in emphasis from Melville's portrayal of absolute good and evil to a poignant examination of the blindness of justice and the law. Featuring an array of sterling performances, the angelic Billy is played by a blond Terence Stamp in his film debut. Ustinov himself is Man-o-War Captain Vere, forced to try the naïve Billy for the accidental murder of evil master-at-arms Claggart, played with staggering authority by Robert Ryan, who had long coveted the role.