The Caine Mutiny (1954)

Directed by: Edward Dmytryk | 124 minutes | drama, romance, war | Actors: Humphrey Bogart, José Ferrer, Van Johnson, Fred MacMurray, Robert Francis, May Wynn, Tom Tully, EG Marshall, Arthur Franz, Lee Marvin, Warner Anderson, Claude Akins, Katherine Warren, Jerry Paris, Steve Brodie

Warning! This movie didn’t really happen. The opening message reminds us (a little too emphatically) that there has never been a mutiny in the US Navy. And certainly not during World War II. However, we must take the character study of men under stress seriously. And not just because the film is based on Herman Wouk’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book (which has also been adapted for the stage). If the message in advance makes anything clear to us, it is that although this is a fictitious setting, it is mainly about real men. As they still existed in 1954, the year the film was released.

To immediately fall in love with a real man: Humphrey Bogart plays Major Queeg, a Marine with a stressful past who will sometimes see the apparent mess on minesweeper Caine in line. It is already clear that the crew of the Caine has their own way of working. Major Challee (a delightful role by EG Marshall), who is replaced by Queeg, doesn’t care about naval protocol and his crew benefits. Apart from the fact that the sailors and officers together are not really keen on Queeg’s strict enforcement, the major also appears to display some peculiar personality traits.

Lieutenant Keefer (Fred MacMurray), who has studied the human psyche as a writer, is the first to suspect Queeg of paranoia. It takes him some effort to convince the rest of the staff, but as Queeg’s behavior becomes more curious, the rest can no longer ignore it. When Queeg seems to panic during a severe storm and gives the wrong orders at random, Lieutenant Steve Meryk (Van Johnson) steps in and takes command. This puts him on suspicion of mutiny and he must appear before a court martial. Thus, ‘The Caine Mutiny’ culminates in a court drama à la ‘A Few Good Men’ (1992).

The film has already made an impression with the beautiful characterizations, the mutual scheming and the beautiful ship shots. But actually, he really picks up steam in court. And it is especially José Ferrer who steals the show there as Lieutenant Barney Greenwald, Maryk’s lawyer. Beautifully subtle playing and unparalleled self-confidence. That Queeg is going to break (just like Jack Nicholson’s Colonel Jessup irrevocably exposes himself) is certain. But the way in which Greenwald lures him out of the tent is carefully dressed. The sea has long been missed – it is the turbulent waves in Queeg’s head that now capture the imagination.

It’s a shame that part of the film is told from the point of view of naval trooper Willie Keith, played by rising star Robert Francis. His untimely death (Francis died in a plane crash, with only three films to his name) cannot hide the fact that he actually had relatively little to offer. The romantic subplot with May Wynn (also her real name) distracts more than it adds. But apart from that, ‘The Caine Mutiny’ remains an outright classic with a mouth-watering cast. Rightly nominated for seven Oscars, without winning one, unfortunately.