Winterdruck, Heidelberg. German poster for the adaptation of the Herman Melville novella. Peter Ustinov produced, directed and starred in the film, in which he played Captain Vere. Terrence Stamp, in only his second screen role, played the naïve but well-meaning Billy Budd. Robert Ryan, fresh off his role as John the Baptist in Nicholas Ray’s King of Kings, played the villain, Master-at-Arms John Claggart.
Budd’s character, who faces the cruelties of both Claggart and the unyielding discipline of naval law, can be seen as an allegory for Christlike grace and forgiveness in the face of unjust treatment.