Damn the Defiant 1962 with Alec Guiness Dick Bogarde Anthony Quayle directed by Lewis Gilbert

In 1797, the humane Captain Crawford is in command of the frigate HMS Defiant during the French Revolutionary Wars. He soon finds himself in a battle of wills with his first officer, the sadistic and supercilious first lieutenant, Mr. ScottPadget. The lieutenant believes that Crawford is too soft on his crew, and also disagrees with the captain s decision to follow his orders to sail to Corsica despite word that Napoleon s army has overrun much of Italy. ScottPadget has powerful family connections, which he has used in the past to beach two previous commanding officers with whom he disagreed. Knowing that Crawford is helpless to intervene, ScottPadget subjects the Captain s son, Midshipman Harvey Crawford, to excessive daily punishments so as to gain leverage over the captain