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You're wet behind the ears and quite naive, as you take the opposite of onshore leave, an assignment on the Caine, feelings bottled with disdain, climbing the mast you feel quite sick, and start to heave. Then the Captain is transferred and in sails Queeg, he's the kind of guy who will never concede, leaves the crew with no illusion, there can be just one conclusion, you must do all of the things that he decrees. After some time it seems apparent this guy's ill, as he's unable to enact the role, fulfil, makes decisions that are crazed, lucky the crew remain unscathed, although he does his best to scuttle and to kill.

One of Bogies finest performances.

The Caine Mutiny works well on so many levels. It is a great insight into navy life, a first rate legal drama, and an unforgettable character study. Jose Ferrer and Fred MacMurray are superb, and indeed so is the entire cast, but the film clearly belongs to Humphrey Bogart's Captain Queeg. It's a real treat to see 'Bogie' in a film where he isn't a gangster or a romantic with a gruff exterior. Bogart spectacularly conveys the sheer complexity of his character: the quirks, the devotion to duty, the demand for perfection, the refusal to accept his own fallibility. It is a truly exceptional performance. Strongly recommended, 9/10.

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

Historically there were two great United States Naval mutinies. In 1842 a naval sloop, the U.S.S. Somers, had a court martial for three crew members (one, Midshipman Philip Spencer, was the son of Secretary of War John Canfield Spencer), which ended with their being found guilty and hanged. To this day there is debate if Spencer (a troubled youth) was even serious about seizing the "Somers". The other occurred in 1944 at Port Chicago, California, when, a few weeks after a terrible accident that killed many men loading ammunition on a boat, their replacements refused to work under existing unsafe conditions. This led to a U.S. Supreme Court decision - against the workers, who claimed they were not under military law.

But the best known mutiny in the American navy is that on the U.S.S. Caine, during the hurricane that preceded the battle of Okinawa. That this is a fictional mutiny does not seem to attract any attention. THE CAINE MUTINY was a successful novel, Broadway play ("THE CAINE MUTINY COURT MARTIAL") and a great movie. It remains the American equivalent of the mutiny on the H.M.S. Bounty.

The performances of the leads, Bogart, Johnson, MacMurray (his second of three great heels), Ferrer, Tully, and E.G.Marshall are all first rate, as are the supporting cast (which includes Lee Marvin, Claude Atkins, and Jerry Paris - all of whom had quite substantial careers after this film). Only Robert Francis did not have a substantial career after his fine Ensign Keith - he died in a plane crash in 1955.

There are mental images from the film (mostly connected to Bogart's Queeg) that people remember - even spoof. Every time you see some character showing nervous ticks, if he or she pulls out a pair of small metal balls and roll them in their hand, it is a salute to Bogie's originally doing it in THE CAINE MUTINY. And his magnificent moment of success: "the strawberries", and how he proved the theft with geometric precision, remains a signal that the person speaking has too many fixations.

Interestingly, the film makes Queeg better (if still sick) than the play does. When cross examined by Greenwald at the court martial of Maryk and Keith, Queeg is asked about whether or not he overused his right to free transport of liquor and other items from Hawaii to the mainland from the navy. Queeg at first denies it, but when Greenwald says he can bring in (as witnesses) people connected with the sale of the items and the transport of them, Queeg suddenly remembers that he might have. This is not in the film, but it shows that Queeg was not all that clean an officer.

That aside, the impact of the film is still terrific half a century after it was shot. It illustrates that personality flaws frequently causes the problems that affect all of us, and that we need more understanding of each other's problems to avoid the bigger ones. From a case of over-extended battle fatigue, the crew of a warship are driven to accept an act of mutiny against it's captain in an emergency situation. And it almost gets two officers disgraced or hanged.

Humphrey Bogart received an Oscar nomination for 'The Caine Mutiny' as the eccentric Captain Queeg who finally collapses under pressure. The story leading up to his downfall is an engrossing one--and more complex than any surface description can convey. That's what makes this such a fascinating movie. Nothing is what it seems. No character is painted in black or white strokes--but beneath the surface lies deception, especially in Lt. Keefer (Fred MacMurray). Usually a lightweight actor, MacMurray delivers one of the film's craftiest performances. So does Van Johnson as the decent executive officer who takes over the controls when Queeg snaps. As many have pointed out, the only true weakness of the film is the attention given to a budding romance between Robert Francis and May Wynn which does nothing to advance the plot. The complex drama ends with a stunning courtroom scene in which Jose Ferrer gets a chance to do some heavy emoting. Max Steiner's score includes a jaunty, catchy main theme but is otherwise not one of his most interesting scores. An excellent film that makes you think how things might have been if--if only...but then there would have been no story. All in all, quite an achievement, well worth your time. The book by Herman Wouk was worth reading too.

Director Edward Dmytryk and screenwriter Stanley Roberts, adapting Herman Wouk's novel, certainly didn't set out to make an anti-Navy movie concerning a junkyard Naval ship beset with a paranoid captain, and indeed their "simple" dedication at the end is to the entire United States Navy, yet the plot mechanisms are slanted in that direction even if the handling is not. Beginning the picture with a green "Princeton tiger" and Naval Academy grad attempting to woo a band singer before duty calls was a safe, stolid move, yet Wouk's story manages to cut much wider and deeper than the Hollywood generalities and, once his plot gets cooking, the film is vastly entertaining. Humphrey Bogart is the new by-the-books captain aboard a Naval bottom-feeder, quickly driving his crew and his vessel into the ground with his idiosyncratic behavior. Dymtryk is careful while introducing all the different personalities aboard ship, and he doesn't want us to miss a trick, yet in the film's final stages (after the court martial, when defense attorney José Ferrer has his say), the tone of the picture does an about-face and hopes to show us all sides of the situation. The filmmakers want to have their cake and eat it too, and the resulting epilogue goes down like bad medicine. Still, the performances are first-rate, particularly by Bogart and, in perhaps his finest acting turn, Van Johnson. Seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Bogart as Best Actor, and Tom Tully (playing Commander DeVriess) as Best Supporting Actor. *** from ****

Great novels often disappoint when brought to the screen, but superior acting performances make The Caine Mutiny a classic on its own merits.

The movie takes place on a destroyer-minesweeper in the Pacific during World War II. To the consternation of the Caine's crew, a popular captain (Tom Tully) is replaced by a disturbed despot named Queeg (Humphrey Bogart), who finds himself in over his head. As the stresses of command multiply, Queeg's paranoia and cowardice soon become apparent to Lieutenant Thomas Keefer (Fred MacMurray), a writer in civilian life. Keefer continually tries to convince Executive Officer Steve Maryk (Van Johnson) that Queeg is insane, but Keefer won't help Maryk when the Exec asks Keefer to help convince higher authority that Queeg should be relieved. During a typhoon, Queeg's poor seamanship nearly capsizes the Caine; Maryk relieves him by reason of insanity and saves the ship. Maryk and Willie Keith (Robert Francis), Officer of the Deck when Queeg is relieved, stand trial for mutiny. They are reluctantly defended by Lt Barney Greenwald (Jose Ferrer), who must expose Queeg's mental illness to save the defendants. In so doing Greenwald forces the Caine's officers to examine their own motives regarding their roles in Queeg's relief and their lack of loyalty to him.

Bogart is brilliant, giving the greatest performance of his career, his quirky mannerisms and tortured demeanor contrasting starkly with his usual roles. MacMurray is superb as the glib slippery novelist who must eventually deal with his own cowardice, more damning than Queeg's because of his intelligence and insight. Johnson plays Maryk more timidly than he appears in the book, to the detriment of the movie. Ferrer gives a solid performance. Tully excels as the crusty Capt DeVriess, Queeg's predecessor.

The weakest part of Wouk's book is the largely irrelevant romance between Willie Keith and a nightclub singer of whom his wealthy mother disapproves. Unhappily this vapid subplot finds its way into the movie, serving only to reveal Francis and his love interest May Wynn as lousy actors whose mercifully brief cinematic careers were well deserved. Important character developments in the novel could have been included instead of this unnecessary pap.

Despite its flaws, The Caine Mutiny is a must see for serious movie fans. Bogart and MacMurray give performances which remain fresh and compelling with every viewing of the film. You can't ask more from an actor than that.

During Second World War , onboard a small insignificant destroyer ship in the U.S. Pacific Fleet a hard-nosed US Naval captain named Queeg (Humphrey Bogart) shows signs of mentally unbalanced , then takes place an event unlike any that the United States Navy has ever experienced . Tom Keefer (Fred MacMurray) takes a discussion to him and puts in Steve Maryk's mind the idea that Queeg can be mental instability that may or not to be slightly unhinged . As when the Ship's Captain panics during a storm is removed from his command by his two Executive Officers (Van Johnson , Robert Francis) when jeopardizes the ship . In an apparent outright act of mutiny the first officer relieves him of command and faces court martial for mutiny . Later on , it happens the court martial naval destroyer officers well defended by an expert solicitor (Jose Ferrer) against a stubborn prosecutor (E.G. Marshall) .

This over-the-top film contains interesting drama , a maritime intrigue , spectacular taking on among crew officers and being beautifully realized . Impressive scenes when happens a storm with a well made ship to scale model . Good performances by all-star-cast as Van Johnson , Fred MacMurray , Jose Ferrer and of course Humphrey Bogart's tour-de-force performance in the climactic courtroom scene was so powerful that it completely captivated the onlooking film technicians and crewmen . After the scene's completion, the company gave Bogart a round of thunderous applause . Besides , an excellent plethora of secondary actors : E.G. Marshall , Claude Akins , Whit Bissell , Edward Franz , Warner Anderson , James Best and Lee Marvin . Interesting screenplay by Stanley Roberts based on the prestigious novel from Herman Wouk who won Pulitzer Prize . Evocative and appropriate music score by the classic Max Steiner with perdurable leitmotif . Colorful cinematography in marvelous Technicolor by Franz Planer .

The motion picture is stunningly directed by Edward Dmytryck , he was a craftsman whose career was interrupted by the activities of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), a congressional committee that employed ruthless tactics aimed at rooting out and destroying what it saw as Communist influence in Hollywood . A lifelong political leftist who had been a Communist Party member briefly during World War II, Dmytryk was one of the so-called "Hollywood Ten" who refused to cooperate with HUAC and had their careers disrupted or ruined as a result. The committee threw him in prison for refusing to cooperate, and after having spent several months behind bars , Dmytryk decided to cooperate . Dmytrick's biggest film was ¨The Caine Mutiny¨ , but he also realized another mutiny film titled : ¨Mutiny¨ with Angela Lansbury , Mark Stevens and Patrick Knowles . Edward was an expert on warlike genre as ¨Back to Batan¨ , ¨Battle of Anzio¨ , ¨Young lions¨ and Western as ¨Broken lance¨ , ¨Alvarez Kelly¨ , ¨Warlock¨ among others. Rating : a complete must see , it's recommended for courtroom drama enthusiasts and Bogart fans . Followed by a full-length adaptation, THE CAINE MUTINY COURT-MARTIAL (TV,1988) originally staged as a play , of the court-martial segment from the novel "The Caine Mutiny" by Robert Altman with Brad Davis , Eric Bogosian , Peter Gallaher , Kevin J O'Connor , Jeff Daniels and Michael Murphy .

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

Coming from a military family, I was taught to respect authority at a young age, however..... after decades of watching THE CAINE MUTINY I would have loved going a few rounds with the skipper.

The genius of this film is it's high adventure, one classic scene after another, powered by an outstanding roster of fine actors.

Early roles for Lee Marvin and Claude Akins, and old ship captain Tom Tully sittin' around in his undies is a hoot!

Fred MacMurray is interestingly cast, against type, as a first class heel who actually is the one who started the mutiny in the first place. Van Johnson is equally good as the fall guy, not to be outdone by Jose Ferrar as a Joe Friday-type attorney who brings out the real Captain Queeg. Fantastic stuff that offers a now classic courtroom sequence that may well have inspired A FEW GOOD MEN, decades later. One of the final film appearances of handsome Robert Francis, tragically killed in a plane crash in Burbank.

One of Bogey's BEST later roles. Hands down. Bogart's next film was SABRINA.

Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Herman Wouk. Oscar nominations to Bogey for Best Actor, Best Picture, Film Editing, Best Screenplay and Best Music Score. Recommended. Always on dvd and remastered blu ray. Thanks to TCM for showing this non stop. Original running time 125 minutes.

One thing it's really good to see is Humphrey Bogart showing his range and giving a truly vulnerable performance. Cynicism is usually the protective armour of a Bogie character, but in Queeg we have the opposite of a cynic - a man so obsessed with doing even trivial things by the book that his underlings decide he is no longer fit for his job. To understand and embrace routine is obviously necessary in military life, but this rigid adherence ultimately becomes a distraction from performing his necessary duties. It's a perfect showcase for how the pressure-cooker atmosphere of always living with the threat of war can make otherwise tough men crumble.

It's a subtle show from Bogart, his demonstration of illness encompassing a number of tics which get worse as he starts to unravel from being judged up there on the stand. It's a cleverly escalating portrait, and the film never feels rushed, but for me the story started to get less interesting once everybody entered the courtroom. I generally don't like legal dramas, because out of necessity the focus becomes more on the mechanics of the plot than getting to examine human personalities. This is just a personal preference, however, and if you're a person who combines an admiration for Humphrey Bogart with a passion for the technicalities of the law, then I don't see how you could go far wrong in selecting "The Caine Mutiny".

My memories of this film are formed from a long time ago. I was about 10 or eleven when I first saw this film and my impressions of it have never changed from that day to this. In my opinion it is probably one of the best films ever made. From the opening sequence to the last frame , it is a gripping tale of how humans react when under intense pressure and when lives are a stake. I feel that Humphrey Bogart's performance underlines the ongoing brilliance of this incredible actor, he plays this part to perfection. It is worth noting that compared to modern movies of the same genre, it is hard to find a performance that stands up to Bogart's skill in this role. I actually preferred this role to his generally acknowledged high in Casablanca! I cannot leave this short review without mentioning Jose Ferrer's supporting role as the Naval Defense lawyer. Quite simply it was and remains masterful - a consummate performance! I highly recommend this movie and would expect that it is in the top 100 movies ever made.

For anyone who thinks all Humphrey Bogart did was play Humphrey Bogart in every film, you have to see THE CAINE MUTINY. This is miles away from any other performance Bogart ever gave. Instead of a tough "stick my neck out for no one" personality Bogart is famous for, his Captain Queeg is a neurotic, paranoid fool. Bogart pulls it off flawlessly. The rest of the cast is also stellar, particularly the underrated Fred MacMurray. This is a wonderful film.

Greetings again from the darkness. This film was nominated for seven Academy Awards (no wins), including Best Picture. Watching it today, it seems clear that the courtroom scene with Humphrey Bogart in the chair as Lt. Cmdr. Queeg drove this film to the heights it reached. That few minutes is as powerful as anything Bogart ever did on screen. Unfortunately, he would pass away (esophagal cancer) less than three years later.

The first part of the film is solid enough as we meet newly graduated Ensign Willie Keith (Robert Francis). His first Navy assignment is aboard a minesweeper (junkyard Navy) and the veteran officers quickly note his disappointment at not being assigned to a more prestigious carrier. Those veteran officers are played by quite a list of actors: Van Johnson plays no-nonsense Lt. Steve Maryk, Fred MacMurray plays the cynical wannabe novelist Lt. Tom Keefer, and Tom Tully plays Cmdr DeVriess, who irritates young Willie with his laid back approach to command. We also see Lee Marvin and Claude Akins as part of the ship's rag-tag crew.

A shift occurs once Queeg replaces DeVriess. Queeg brings a tough old school Navy approach to the ship and is easily thrown by the sight of an untucked shirt. Over a short amount of time, the officers begin taking note of the odd behavior of Queeg. MacMurray's character acts as an armchair psychologist, and more importantly, an instigator for the other officers. He is sure Queeg is unstable and unfit for duty. The climax occurs during a typhoon and Lt Maryk (Johnson) takes the abrupt step of relieving Queeg of his duties ... an action that's never actually occurred aboard a Naval ship.

Soon Maryk and Willie are brought up on charges of mutiny. At about the 90 minute mark, their attorney makes his first appearance. Jose Ferrer plays Lt. Greenwald, the only naval attorney who would take the case against the highly decorated Commander. Watching Queeg (Bogart) on the stand is just about as good as acting gets. Ferrer is exceptional as well.

This film is about the character of men and their reactions to situations in which they are trained to act otherwise. It's based on the WWII novel by Herman Wouk, and the screenplay is by Stanley Roberts. The film is directed by Edward Dmytryk, who you may know as one of the "Hollywood Ten". Dmytryk spent time in prison for his lack of cooperation with HUAC, and his previous involvement with the communist party. The score is outstanding and was composed by the famous Max Steiner, who was also responsible for a couple of other films you may have seen: Casablanca and Gone with the Wind. It should also be noted that this was the second of five total films made by Robert Francis (Ens Willie Keith). The 25 year old up and coming actor was killed in a plane crash the year after this film was made.

I had always hopes for this movie since it's considered by many among the best war movies from the 1950s. But as I referred in the summary above, this is more a trial movie (and a bit the predecessor of 1992's A FEW GOOD MEN).

For the first half is about seaman Willis Seward Keith's (Robert Francis) enrollment in the Caine minesweeper. At first Keith is always criticized by Captain DeVriess, and after he is transferred he is replaced by Philip Francis Queeg (Humphrey Bogart). While Keith is happy after seeing Queeg scolding a sailor because of his uniform in disorder, Lieutenants Steve Maryk and Thomas Keefer (Van Johnson and Fred MacMurray) are a bit perplessed. And trouble is in the air: after a wrong naval maneuver because Queeg had to scold another sailor, all the crew hates Queeg and Maryk and Keefer think that it's because Queeg suffers of mental disorders. After some other troubles aboard they go to court and since all the eight judges retired, Lieutenant Barney Greenwald (Josè Ferrer) offers to help Maryk and Keefer in prooving their innocence. I won't tell anything more as there are lots of twists and turns in this part and I would only spoil the suspense.

This movie's greatest asset is the acting, exceptional by the leads: Humphrey Bogart gives one of his best performances ever as the apparently sane commander. Josè Ferrer (who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor) is very effective as the prosecutor who, during a drunken stupor, reveals that Lt. Keefer was a coward and has to be blamed. Robert Francis (in one of his few movies before his death) is very wholesome.

However, one of the best war movies of its time and one of the best trial movies of all time (second only to TWELVE ANGRY MEN). Highly recommended.

This is a film of two halves. The first half is dreary and below average. The second half is superb.

That excellent second half of the movie concerns the actual mutiny that took place aboard the USS Caine. The principled, anguished officers (played by Van Johnson and Robert Francis) are egged on by their two-faced shyster colleague (Fred MacMurray) to take command of the ship from the increasingly paranoid captain (Humphrey Bogart). Whether they were right to do so is then played out in a superb courtroom drama, where military lawyers (E.G. Marshall and Jose Ferrer) take opposing sides in questioning all involved.

This part of the film - the mutiny and its aftermath - is gripping, brilliantly acted and full of aching moral dilemmas. Bogart, in one of his final screen roles, is absolutely magnificent as the flawed anti-hero, and MacMurray, Marshall and Ferrer also give great performances. Indeed, if the film consisted of just this part of the story it would be one of the best of its kind.

Unfortunately, someone in the production team decided that this drama needed a long introduction, so we have to sit through a meandering first hour before we get to the meat of the movie. Some of this over-long first hour is given to character development, but too much of it concerns unnecessary side-shows like the completely superfluous love affair between Francis's character and his sweetheart back home. The result is that many viewers will have switched off from the movie (either emotionally or literally) before the good stuff begins.

And that's a real shame because this really does mar what could have been a great film. I'm almost tempted to recommend that you should switch on after the first hour and just watch it from there - but that would be to disrespect the film. It is what it is and films should be judged on their entirety, not in segments (however tempting it is to do so).

So, on that basis, The Caine Mutiny deserves a 6, when without the first hour it could have garnered a 9. In production terms, for a film made in 1954, it looks terrific (though the widescreen shots of the ship being tossed on the waves during the typhoon scene lack the reality of more modern effects) and it is the acting of the leads that stays in your mind long after the film is over.

Given what I've said, I suppose the question that matters is: is the latter part of the film good enough to make it worth your while sitting through the slow beginning? And the answer is yes. After all, there are some great actors on display here, and in top form too. At the end of the day, that has to be worth waiting for.

With the breakdown of the studio system in the Fifties, players no longer tied by contract to studios could command there own salaries. And the studios facing the competition of television paid them. It would have been almost impossible to make The Caine Mutiny a decade earlier. Three of the principal players Humphrey Bogart(Warner Brothers},Van Johnson,(MGM), and Fred MacMurray(Paramount)were all tied to other studios. But come the Fifties and Harry Cohn puts together a great cast for a great ensemble production at Columbia.

Humphrey Bogart got his third Academy Award nomination, but lost to Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront. Brando had been nominated and lost for three straight previous years, he was not to be denied again. In fact Bogey when he won for The African Queen in 1951 upset a heavily favored Brando. Some kind of poetic justice there.

There's a scene when Bogart takes command of the USS Caine from Tom Tully who's run a pretty slack ship up to that point. He gives Bogart a peace of advice about taking an easy strain, that the Caine was a tired ship. He didn't realize that he was talking to a tired captain.

Maybe someone in the Navy should have realized that and given Bogart a much needed rest. But they didn't and thereby hangs a tale.

The crew and the officers of the Caine, used to the easy ways of Tully, get real resentful of Bogart. But they also notice some disturbing behavior patterns in Bogart. It's a fine line that Bogart in his performance has to walk. Other reviewers compare his performance in The Caine Mutiny to his work in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Both characters disintegrate mentally, but whereas Fred C. Dobbs has nothing to hold him back, Philip Francis Queeg is in a command situation with the lives of his crew and of his ship at stake. And Queeg is not an evil man.

Fred MacMurray by now had shown he could do a lot more than the light comedy leads Paramount usually put him in. As Ensign Keefer who plants the seeds of mutiny on the Caine, he's shown to be a really shallow character.

Just as shallow is young Ensign Willie Keith played by newcomer Robert Francis. He's the hotshot from Princeton who's newly assigned to the Caine. Up to the point of the mutiny, it's his eyes in which we see the action on the Caine unfold, first with Tully in command and then with Bogart. After that it's Jose Ferrer's viewpoint as the Defense Counsel at the Court Martial.

Most reviewers single out Bogart and MacMurray for the most praise in the cast. I think Van Johnson is sadly overlooked. He's got a very complex part. He's the decent executive officer who sees Bogart's disintegration, doesn't know what to do about it, and gets manipulated by MacMurray. The key scene for him in the film is to convince Navy lawyer Jose Ferrer he's worthy of defending. Johnson does very well in that scene, maybe his best performance on film.

Jose Ferrer doesn't get into the film until it's two thirds done and then he dominates. He's a bit of a manipulator himself at the court martial. He also provides the real final verdict of the affair of The Caine Mutiny.

Tom Tully for playing Captain DeVries also got an Oscar nomination in the Supporting Actor category, but he lost to Edmond O'Brien for The Barefoot Contessa. Tully's character is critical here, he provides the contrast between himself and Bogart as men and as commanders. He's also not mentioned enough in critiques of the Caine Mutiny.

Most of the time I like for films to be resolved. But the very strength of The Caine Mutiny as drama is that the issues are unresolved. Could certain actions by the members of the crew, by the Navy itself prevented the whole thing? Just how culpable were the men and officers of the Caine in a mutiny?

You may scratch your head at the conclusion, but you'll also be breathless by the depth of the performances in this fine ensemble film.

I found this one a bit difficult to get through. The court-martial doesn't really come until the end. And even the mutiny itself is all too brief and comes towards the end. So what we end up with is a very talky film for a great portion of its run-time. With a lot of overacting from Bogie and endless talk about procedurals and who stole the strawberries and other such nonsense. And Bogie in particular is being so stubborn and psychotic at times that it's really hard to take him seriously. C'mon, really??! A captain would endanger himself and his crew time and time again just because he's trying to prove a point and will not under any circumstances listen to any sound logic? That's just dumb. And what the heck was up with that subplot about the young sailor and the girl he loves?? Why did that need to be in the film?

But the ending with Jose Ferrer and Fred MacMurray is just mind-blowingly dumb and makes zero sense to a person with even a semblance of sound logic. You'll just have to see it yourself to find out what I'm referring to.