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?

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

Great As a Book! ...As a Picture The Greatest

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

A large scale model of USS Caine from the climactic typhoon scene (with the vessel's mast and forward funnel damaged) can be seen during the bicycle chase through the Warner Bros. lot in Pee Wee's Big Adventure Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)

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Goofs

When Queeg re-enacts ladling the strawberries from the bucket, he uses sand instead. Each scoop evenly fills the ladle to the top--i.e. there's no mounding. Strawberries wouldn't settle like sand, so a serving would have taken much more volume from the can; 24 servings took three quarts. If even a little bit had mounded up on each serving, the can would have been empty. Since no one, to this point, ever actually confirmed there were any strawberries left, it's strange that no one provided Queeg with such a reasonable explanation as to where the strawberries went.

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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 ...

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Crazy Credits

May Wynn was not the actress's real name. She merely adopted it after playing the character May Wynn in this film.

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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.

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Connections

References Hopalong Cassidy (1952)

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Soundtracks

The 'Caine Mutiny' March
by Der Klang Hollywoods - Max Steiner & seine Erben (2009)

User Reviews

Powerhouse Bogart in powerhouse drama...eventually.

The striking thing about the film to me was that it starts out seemingly as a jovial piece, it's light hearted in structure for the first third but then we are introduced to Humphrey Bogart's Captain Phillip Queeg and things start to change rather dramatically. Capatain Queeg takes command of the USS Caine and promptly tries to whip the shoddy (had it good for too long) crew into shape, but soon the cracks start to appear in the Captain's persona, and during a violent storm the crew decide enough is enough.

Adapted from Herman Wouk's much lauded page turner, The Caine Mutiny triumphs in spite of its flaws because it lulls you in craftily to then unleash quality drama in the form of Bogart's quite brilliant performance as Queeg. It's a class show from Bogart as he plays out the various forms of sanity with terrific results. Backed up by Fred MacMurray, Jose Ferrer and Van Johnson the film isn't found wanting for acting gravitas, sadly the direction from Edward Dmytryk does plod at the times when the film cries out for impetus, and a romantic subplot involving Robert Francis's Ens. Willis Seward Keith has no right to be here, since it really is a waste of time. Yet they are forgivable flaws, for this be a cracking picture that is essential for Bogart purists, and essential viewing for those interested in a quality story telling up there on the screen. 9/10

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