The Caine Mutiny (1954)

The Caine Mutiny (1954)

starring Humphrey Bogart, Jose Ferrer, Van Johnson, Fred MacMurray

directed by Edward Dmytryk

125 minutes

In 1943, Ensign Willis Keith is disappointed when he discovers himself assigned to the USS Caine, a minesweeper with a captain who has very lax attitude. The captain of the ship is eventually reassigned and replaced by Lt Commander Queeg (Humphrey Bogart) who previously served in the North Atlantic.

Queeg’s approach is very different from that of his predecessor. He is very strict but he also makes serious mistakes which he covers up. Lieutenant Maryk (Van Johnson), the Caine’s executive officer, tries to stand by the captain even when all the other officers onboard are sick of him.

Lieutenant Keefer (Fred MacMurray), the ship’s communications officer, urges Maryk to join him in reporting Queeg’s incompetence to Admiral Halsey. Maryk agrees to join him but when Keefer changes his mind at the last minute Maryk doesn’t have the determination to follow through by himself.

Maryk finally is pushed to his limit during a typhoon when the Caine is in serious danger. Queeg is unable to make the right call. Maryk relieves Queeg of command over Queeg’s objections. The ship and its crew survive the storm and return to port. Maryk is court martialed for what he did during the typhoon.

Lieutenant Barney Greenwald (José Ferrer) defends Maryk at the court martial. It looks as though Maryk will be found guilty until Queeg takes the stand and reveals his incompetence when questioned by Greenwald.

Thoughts

There are a few more wrinkles in the story but I think my summary captured most of what happened in the movie. The Caine Mutiny was originally a novel written by Herman Wouk. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize. Part of the book was adapted as a play titled The Caine Mutiny Court Martial. 

Keith is the central character in the early going but becomes more of a supporting character in the second half of the movie. I found his character to be fairly bland. 

The movie seems to try and have it both ways. Queeg is made to look incompetent and adamant that he knows what’s best but then the movie ends with a speech that makes it look like the court martial could have been avoided if Maryk and the other officers had just rallied around Queeg and been more supportive.

I thought that maybe the speech was something that was not in the original novel but my research indicates that it was. I disagree with the assertion that things could have gone better if Maryk and the others had been more supportive. Queeg, at least as portrayed in this movie, shows no signs of being a team player or in possession of the ability to accept advice from others. 

Lee Marvin and Claude Akins have small roles as enlisted men aboard the Caine.

Humphrey Bogart was nominated for the third time for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in this movie. The award for Best Actor that year went to Marlon Brando for his performance in On the Waterfront (1954). Bogart had won previously for his performance in The African Queen (1951). He was also nominated for his performance in Casablanca (1943). 

The Caine Mutiny was nominated for a total of seven Academy Awards but did not win any of them.

I enjoyed The Caine Mutiny. It was a little slow early on but it picked up as the story developed and moved away from focusing on Ensign Keith. It’s solidly good but not great. I thought I had seen it before but I think that all I had seen before was the end of the movie.