IMDb > The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (1988) (TV)

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (1988) (TV) More at IMDbPro »

Overview

User Rating:
6.9/10   220 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
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Director:
Robert Altman
Writers:
Herman Wouk (play)
Herman Wouk (teleplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
8 May 1988 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | War more
Plot:
A full-length adaptation, originally staged as a play, of the court-martial segment from the novel "The Caine Mutiny". | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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Awards:
1 nomination more
User Comments:
An Interesting Variant on the story more (11 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Eric Bogosian ... Lt. Barney Greenwald

Jeff Daniels ... Lt. Steve Maryk
Brad Davis ... Lt. Cmdr. Phillip Francis Queeg

Peter Gallagher ... Lt. Cmdr. John Challee

Michael Murphy ... Capt. Blakely
Kevin J. O'Connor ... Lt. Thomas Keefer
Daniel Jenkins ... Lt. Willis Keith
Danny Darst ... Capt. Randolph Southard
Ken Michels ... Dr. Bird
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Barnett ... Legal Assistant

Brian Haley ... Party Guest
Kenneth V. Jones ... Legal Assistant
Matt Malloy ... Legal Assistant
David Miller ... Stenographer
Matt Smith ... Party Guest
L.W. Wyman ... Party Guest
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
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Runtime:
100 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Iceland:L | USA:PG
Filming Locations:
Fort Worden State Park - 200 Battery Way, Port Townsend, Washington, USA more
Company:
Columbia Pictures Television more

Fun Stuff

Goofs:
Anachronisms: The gymnasium floor where trial is held has modern basketball court markings. more
Movie Connections:
Remake of "Ford Star Jubilee: The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (#1.3)" (1955) more

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful.
An Interesting Variant on the story, 23 October 2005
8/10
Author: theowinthrop from United States

The television movie version of THE CAINE MUTINY COURT-MARTIAL is a nice production by Robert Altman. It lacks the briny spirit of the film - so much of which was shot on ships or at sea (including a typhoon sequence). But it is taught and claustrophobic for most of the story - it being set in the Court-Martial room (a bit of the end of the play is at the post-trial acquittal party). The results is a different telling of the story, and one relying on the audience's own evaluation of the truth or lies of the different witnesses. While it still ends in the revelation of Queeg's (Brad Davis's) behavior on the stand, there is more that comes out.

I've mentioned this when reviewing the movie. Queeg is first taken down a peg by Greenwald (Eric Bogosian) not on issues of fitness of command, but on his honesty. It turns out that Queeg (like other commanders of the naval ships) were allowed a certain level of tax free purchases from Hawaii to the mainland of various luxury items, such as alcohol. Queeg had overused this right - actually exceeded the legal limit, and was chastised for this by the Pearl Harbor command. Queeg denies this happened, but Greenwald explains that he can ask for an hour's delay to get the necessary officers to come and testify if necessary. So Queeg suddenly "remembers" there was some kind of chastisement. It is the first misstep the Captain makes in his testimony.

Greenwald also faces secret hostility (not shown in the film, by the way) as a Jewish officer. There is an undercurrent working against Greenwald and his clients in the anti-Semitism of the Navy brass, especially the prosecutor. At the end of the trial, aware that Greenwald has destroyed what should have been an open-and-shut case of mutiny, the prosecutor actually reveals his anti-Semitic feelings about the "tricks" used by Greenwald.

The other major change is at the conclusion. In the film, a drunken Greenwald (Jose Ferrer) confronts Lt. Tom Keefer (Fred MacMurray) at the celebration party as the real manipulator of the Caine Mutiny, who kept himself clean at the expense of Maryk and Keith), and after tossing a drink into his face and saying if he wants to make anything of it to come outside. Greenwald also tells off the crew officers present that they failed to give Queeg the support he asked for at one point - that Queeg for all his flaws was defending the country while they were nice and safe. The stunned men leave the party one by one, leaving a disgraced Keefer all alone.

In the play, Greenwald does show up, and does tell off Keefer and the crew's officers, but all the officers (except Keefer, who is disgraced), are already drunk, and they don't listen to what Greenwald is saying. Not even Maryk and Keith (Jeff Daniels and Daniel Jenkins) - who are too busy celebrating to care. It is an interesting difference from the movie's conclusion. Nice production, with a different style and angle to the story.

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