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:

At last on the screen!

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

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

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Columbia Pictures was determined to hire Humphrey Bogart for the lead role of Captain Queeg, and Bogart was enthusiastic about playing it, but the Columbia brass did not want to pay him his top salary. Bogart was rather miffed at this, complaining to wife Lauren Bacall, "This never happens to Gary Cooper, or Cary Grant, or Clark Gable, but always to me." Bogart believed that Harry Cohn and company knew that Bogart wanted to play the part so fervently, that he would agree to take less money, rather than surrender the part to someone else. As it turned out, he was right.

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Goofs

The Caine is constantly referred to as a minesweeper. All exterior shots show three- and five-inch guns on deck. Minesweepers did not have that kind of armament. Destroyers did.

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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

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 . . .

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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

Referenced in Here's Lucy: Guess Who Owes Lucy $23.50 (1968)

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Soundtracks

For He's a Jolly Good Fellow
(uncredited)
Traditional
Sung a cappella by officers of The Caine

User Reviews

"There's the right way, the wrong way, the Navy way, and my way—and if you do things my way, we'll get along!"

Queeg (Humphrey Bogart) was simply a man who had seen too much of war… With the excitable tendency of rolling a pair of steel balls in his hand, he censures the error of incorrectness on everything but himself falling as an easy victim to the intrigues of self-serving officers who felt that their panicked captain is mentally not suitable to command the ship…

A subplot, seeming to lack common sense, between two young lovers (Robert Francis and May Wynn) only served to lessen the concentration and distract our attention from the real story… Also, at the court-martial, a long trial sequence, was clearly anticlimactic, though it included the film's most tense and unforgettable scene, that of Queeg disintegrating as he pronounced his statement…

But we had noticed it all before, after all, aboard the Navy destroyer, the U.S.S. Caine… We had seen Queeg as a strict disciplinarian and a compulsive, unstable commander, earning, in his limited imagination, the total disregard of both officers and crew… So we knew what would occur when he got on the witness stand…

"The Caine Mutiny" is a splendid character study, a tale of bravery and cowardice at odds with one another… The film received seven Academy Award nominations included one to Humphrey Bogart who delivered a terrific performance…