The Caine Mutiny (1954)

When a U.S. Naval captain shows signs of mental instability that jeopardizes the ship, the first officer relieves him of command and faces court martial for mutiny.

Director:

Edward Dmytryk

Writers:

Stanley Roberts (screen play), Michael Blankfort (additional dialogue)

Stars:

Humphrey Bogart, José Ferrer, Van Johnson

Nominated for 7 Oscars. Another 6 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Humphrey Bogart	...	Lt. Cmdr. Philip Francis Queeg
José Ferrer	...	Lt. Barney Greenwald (as Jose Ferrer)
Van Johnson	...	Lt. Steve Maryk
Fred MacMurray	...	Lt. Tom Keefer (as Fred Mac Murray)
Robert Francis	...	Ens. Willie Keith
May Wynn	...	May Wynn
Tom Tully	...	Comdr. DeVriess
E.G. Marshall	...	Lt. Comdr. Challee
Arthur Franz	...	Lt. JG H. Paynter Jr.
Lee Marvin	...	Meatball
Warner Anderson	...	Capt. Blakely
Claude Akins	...	Seaman Lugatch aka 'Horrible'
Katherine Warren	...	Mrs. Keith (as Katharine Warren)
Jerry Paris	...	Ens. Barney Harding
Steve Brodie	...	Chief Budge

Storyline

During the World War II, the crew of a small insignificant ship in the U.S. Pacific Fleet experience an event unlike any event ever experienced by the United States Navy. A Ship's Captain is removed from command by his Executive Officer in an apparent outright act of mutiny. As the trial of the mutineers unfold, it is learned that the Captain of the ship was mentally unstable, perhaps even insane. The Navy must decide if the Caine Mutiny was a criminal act, or an act of courage to save a ship from destruction at the hands of her Captain?

---

Plot Keywords:

ship captain | court martial | mutiny | u.s. navy | u.s. military | 

---

Taglines:

Fred MacMurray as Keefer... the brain who plotted "The Caine Mutiny"

---

Genres:

Drama | War

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Preparations for filming took 15 months. The length of time it took to make the film, unusually long at the time, was due in part to the unwillingness of the US Navy to endorse the film. Without the Navy's endorsement it would have been impossible for the filmmakers to use naval equipment and personnel. The Navy was concerned that the film's subject dealt with a mutiny, and that audiences would think that it was a true story. However, the filmmakers and the Navy reached a compromise in which a title card appeared at the film's beginning that stated there has never been a mutiny on a US Navy vessel.

---

Goofs

When the Caine is first seen, it has the very large peacetime numbers on the side of the ship, but it should have the much smaller war-time numbers on the side of the ship, as it does later in the film.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Admiral: And so today you are full-fledged ensigns. Three short months ago you assembled here from all parts of the nation, from all walks of life: field, factory, office and college campus. Each of you knew what the fighting was about, or you wouldn't have volunteered. Each of you knew that the American way of life must be defended by life itself. From here on your education must continue in the more demanding school of actual war. Wearing the gold stripe of ensign in the United States ...

---

Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: "There has never been a mutiny in a ship of The United States Navy. The truths of this film lie not in its incidents but in the way a few men meet the crisis of their lives."

THE TIME - WORLD WAR II . . .

---

Alternate Versions

There was a version made for school, to be used in Social Studies class. It edited out most everything except the pertinent scenes of the Queeg incidents and the trial. The movie ended before the decision was reached so that the class could vote on whether they would convict for mutiny or not.

---

Connections

Referenced in Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Drumhead (1991)

---

Soundtracks

Yellow Stain Blues
Written by Fred Karger and Herman Wouk

User Reviews

Awesome film with superb naval drama , emotion and sensational performance

During Second World War , onboard a small insignificant destroyer ship in the U.S. Pacific Fleet a hard-nosed US Naval captain named Queeg (Humphrey Bogart) shows signs of mentally unbalanced , then takes place an event unlike any that the United States Navy has ever experienced . Tom Keefer (Fred MacMurray) takes a discussion to him and puts in Steve Maryk's mind the idea that Queeg can be mental instability that may or not to be slightly unhinged . As when the Ship's Captain panics during a storm is removed from his command by his two Executive Officers (Van Johnson , Robert Francis) when jeopardizes the ship . In an apparent outright act of mutiny the first officer relieves him of command and faces court martial for mutiny . Later on , it happens the court martial naval destroyer officers well defended by an expert solicitor (Jose Ferrer) against a stubborn prosecutor (E.G. Marshall) .

This over-the-top film contains interesting drama , a maritime intrigue , spectacular taking on among crew officers and being beautifully realized . Impressive scenes when happens a storm with a well made ship to scale model . Good performances by all-star-cast as Van Johnson , Fred MacMurray , Jose Ferrer and of course Humphrey Bogart's tour-de-force performance in the climactic courtroom scene was so powerful that it completely captivated the onlooking film technicians and crewmen . After the scene's completion, the company gave Bogart a round of thunderous applause . Besides , an excellent plethora of secondary actors : E.G. Marshall , Claude Akins , Whit Bissell , Edward Franz , Warner Anderson , James Best and Lee Marvin . Interesting screenplay by Stanley Roberts based on the prestigious novel from Herman Wouk who won Pulitzer Prize . Evocative and appropriate music score by the classic Max Steiner with perdurable leitmotif . Colorful cinematography in marvelous Technicolor by Franz Planer .

The motion picture is stunningly directed by Edward Dmytryck , he was a craftsman whose career was interrupted by the activities of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), a congressional committee that employed ruthless tactics aimed at rooting out and destroying what it saw as Communist influence in Hollywood . A lifelong political leftist who had been a Communist Party member briefly during World War II, Dmytryk was one of the so-called "Hollywood Ten" who refused to cooperate with HUAC and had their careers disrupted or ruined as a result. The committee threw him in prison for refusing to cooperate, and after having spent several months behind bars , Dmytryk decided to cooperate . Dmytrick's biggest film was ¨The Caine Mutiny¨ , but he also realized another mutiny film titled : ¨Mutiny¨ with Angela Lansbury , Mark Stevens and Patrick Knowles . Edward was an expert on warlike genre as ¨Back to Batan¨ , ¨Battle of Anzio¨ , ¨Young lions¨ and Western as ¨Broken lance¨ , ¨Alvarez Kelly¨ , ¨Warlock¨ among others. Rating : a complete must see , it's recommended for courtroom drama enthusiasts and Bogart fans . Followed by a full-length adaptation, THE CAINE MUTINY COURT-MARTIAL (TV,1988) originally staged as a play , of the court-martial segment from the novel "The Caine Mutiny" by Robert Altman with Brad Davis , Eric Bogosian , Peter Gallaher , Kevin J O'Connor , Jeff Daniels and Michael Murphy .

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 June 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

Authority and Rebellion

Filming Locations:

Royce Quad, UCLA, Westwood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$21,750,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$21,750,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1