The Caine Mutiny (1954)

The Caine Mutiny, set in WWII on the US Destroyer - Minesweeper Caine, is one of the first films critical of the US Navy and as such received little support until Columbia sweetened the script in accordance with their wishes. This was vital in that the ships and facilities necessary for the filming were available nowhere else. The film therefore starts with an opening graphic :

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...

The Caine Mutiny takes place in the Pacific and is the last great role of one of the great actors, Humphrey Bogart. It is a star part because, although Bogart receives top billing, the entire first act of the film elapses before Bogie makes his entrance. The beginning establishes the character of "Willie Keith," the moral center of the film.

Keith is played by Robert Francis, and is an Ensign; described by famous seadog Captain Bligh - (Mutiny on the Bounty) as "the lowest form of life on the planet." We see Francis, a silver spoon baby, graduate from college and escape from his smothering mother to sea with the US Navy. He arrives at Pearl Harbor and boards his new vessel, The Caine, a fine trim destroyer of the latest type, only to be told his ship is the one tied up alongside. The Caine is a dilapidated old rust bucket with little to no discipline, laundry hanging from the rigging, and actually held together mostly by the incessant coats of paint continuously applied by the motley crew.

Francis meets the crew, including fellow officers Fred MacMurray (Double Indemnity), Van Johnson (Battleground), and the captain, Tom Tully. Tully is lackadaisical but is fairly harsh on young Francis. He orders a tour of the ship led by Fred MacMurray. As a practical joke, he has Francis and another ensign climb the mast where they become sick. At the meal following Tully asks Keith if he wants to stay on the Caine or join the admiral's staff. Keith chooses to stay.

Soon thereafter Tully receives orders and leaves the Caine. Captain Queeg (Humphrey Bogart) is his replacement. Queeg is a real book officer and tries to instill discipline using the junior officers to keep the men ship-shape. Haircuts and shirttails tucked in, etc. Bogart has the nervous habit of rolling a pair of steel balls in his hand. While the Caine is engaged in towing a target he unwisely decides to enforce his shirttail rule after ordering the helm "right standard rudder." He dresses down the officer and offending sailor while the ship steams a 360 and cuts the tow line. Bogart panics and blames the mistake on everything but himself, even to filing a false report.

The Caine is assigned to combat duty where Bogart panics and retreats before enemy fire while he is supposed to be covering for Marines attacking a beachhead. The crew begin to sing "The Yellowstain Blues" after a dye marker Queeg threw down to guide the Marines in before he retreated. The more Queeg tries to rationalize his decisions, the more the officers turn against him. They begin to plot, led by Lt. Keifer (Fred MacMurray). During a typhoon, the XO Lt. Maryk (Van Johnson) relieves the panicky Bogart, thereby opening themselves to charges of mutiny.

Lt. Barney Greenwald (Jose Ferrer) agrees to defend Johnson at his trial. Ferrer does a superb job as the ascerbic sea lawyer who successfully defends Johnson by discrediting Bogart on the witness stand. Meanwhile, ringleader Fred MacMurray has skillfully distanced himself from all responsibility for the mutiny. In a party to celebrate their acquital, a drunken Jose Ferrer does one of the memorable performances in film history as he verbally tears Fred MacMurray, the true culprit, to shreds.

Adapted from Herman Wouk's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Caine Mutiny is graced by 24-carat performances from Humphrey Bogart, Fred MacMurray, Van Johnson, and Jose Ferrer. A weak link in the story concerns Robert Francis's character who is used as the focal point, but Francis is really not an interesting enough actor to anchor the story. His episodes with his girl friend and mother do not aid the flow of the story, which would otherwise be perfect, in my view. I view this emphasis as a mistake by director Edward Dmytryk who would have had a much stronger film without scenes mentioned. Lee Marvin and Claude Akins play prominent parts as sailors. Max Steiner contributes a memorable score to top off the viewing experience.

The story itself reveals the twisted views not only of Queeg, but also of the Fred MacMurray character, and the comparison between these two individuals that comes out is not pretty. It is a thought-provoking film that is a fine capstone to the great career of Humphrey Bogart who starred in many memorable films but was never afraid to take a risk.

The Columbia DVD is presented in color in both 1.85:1 theatrical format as well as pan and scan 4x3 format on either side of the single disk. The DVD is pretty thin on extras, giving only language selections, subtitles in foreign languages only, and a trailer. It's a shame as it is such a fine film.

For Humphrey Bogart fans I highly recommend the following film gems:

Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Casablanca

The Maltese Falcon

Sahara

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening