The Caine Mutiny

The Caine Mutiny is an extremely well done drama featuring a terrific performance from Humphrey Bogart.

The plot sees the first officer of a Navy minesweeper facing a court-martial after relieving his possibly mentally ill captain, played by Bogart, of command during a typhoon.

Bogart really shows his range as an actor, playing against type as the compulsive, paranoid, Captain Queeg. From the speech patters, to the darting eyes, and nervous habits, Bogart creates the foundation that scores of actors would build on in years to come. It’s an absolutely convincing performance that never feels forced or showy, and goes a long way toward making The Caine Mutiny such a good film.

Backing up Bogart is a stellar supporting cast highlighted by Fred MacMurray and José Ferrer. MacMurray, despite relatively little screen time, turns in a particularly nuanced performance that plays in perfect counterpoint to Bogart’s, while Ferrer resists the urge to overact in what could be a showy role and instead effectively punches home the movie’s very sober message.

The only real problem with The Caine Mutiny is the length. At just over two hours, it’s either too long or too short. There’s an entire sub-plot featuring Robert Francis and May Wynn that doesn’t really pay off, but shows promise.

Interestingly, according to the IMDB, there initially were two scripts for the film, one with the romance and one without. Both scripts ran over three hours and fleshed out many more of the characters, but Colombia pictures head Harry Cohn insisted the film run two hours and thus much of the material was cut, but, surprisingly, the romance stayed. While the length isn’t a deal-breaker, it does keep this very good movie from being great.