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Jason Poff

A.P U.S History


Period 6
6/1/13

The Caine Mutiny. Dir. Edward Dmytryk. Perf. Humphrey Bogart, Fred MacMurray, Van
Johnson. Columbia Pictures, 1954. VHS.

The name of the movie was The Caine Mutiny, the director was Edward Dmytryk,
and the producer was Stanley Kramer. Humphrey Bogart starred as Lieutenant
Commander Philip Francis Queeg, Fred MacMurray as Lieutenant Tom Keefer, and Van
Johnson as Lieutenant Steve Maryk. I watched this with my parents at home in late
March and again on May 26
th
by myself. We watched the normal released version, which
was based off the book The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk.
The movie revolves around Ensign Willis Keith as he graduates and is put upon
the Caine, he is momentarily disappointed as the old commander is undisciplined (but
loved and effective), but is soon replaced with a new stricter Lieutenant Commander
Philip Queeg. He attempts to reinstall discipline to the crew but soon loses respect with
his odd behaviors, like clicking bearing balls and odd obsessions with meaningless
investigations. Queeg accidently cuts a line in practice and pushes the blame on others,
and in a battle he turns the ship well before he was suppose to, leaving the smaller
landing crew exposed to enemy fire. Lieutenant Keefer (communications officer), tries
and eventually convinces Lieutenant Maryk (executive officer) and Keith to try to relieve
Queeg under Article 184 of Navy Regulations, citing mental illness, but at the last second
they decide to back out of talking to the admiral. The ship is caught in a storm, and in
order to save the ship from Queeg (as he wants to keep on course and not take ballast
even though if they do they will probably capsize, and then freezes in indecision) Maryk
seizes control of the ship and saves them. Upon going back to port Maryk and Keith are
court-martialed for mutiny, and initially proceedings dont go well because Keefer denies
any involvement or evidence in these proceedings. With Lieutenant Barney Greenwald
on their side, a lawyer, the court turns in their favor as Queeg is called to testify and
cracks, and Maryk and Keith are then acquitted. As they celebrate, Greenwald comes
back and scolds the officers for not respecting the years and experience of Captain
Queeg, as well as not supporting him when he needed it most, almost blaming them for
Queegs condition.
There was no characters exactly based on real people, but the book was based off
the authors (Herman Wouk) experience as an officer in World War II. He served on two
destroyer-minesweepers and many of the events and plot details are autobiographical.
The battle they lead the ships into is represented in the book to be the battle of Kwajalein,
1944, an actual battle in World War II. The battle was an amphibious operation like
shown in the movie, and in the right time period. However the ship and the actions taken
in the movie were completely fictitious. This movie is a pretty accurate representation of
Navy procedures and ships, as they got the ships and uniforms from the Navy. This can
give us a greater understanding of how the U.S Navy works, especially during World
War II.
The movie was set in multiple locations being- Royce Hall (University of
California), Los Angeles; Naval Station Treasure Island, San Francisco; Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii; Yosemite National Park, California. It was in production from June 3
rd
to August
24
th
1953. The sets for the most part were pretty realistic, especially for that time period,
however some seemed kind of fake, mainly the park and mountain scene. It was a pretty
short time span, set near the end of World War II in 1944. All the clothes and furnishing
and other details were shown with accuracy because the movie wasnt made long after
the time where it was set, plus they got uniforms from the Navy so everything was real.
The ships and the uniforms were very well presented, as well as the courtroom and the
general style of the era.
Overall, the movie was very well done. Most the actors were good, but the best
was Humphrey Bogart. He was exceptionally good in portraying the disturbed captain
and even got an Oscar nomination for best actor. The plot was good but the first time
watching it, it can seem very confusing with the many names and Navy terms. The story
was a little slow to build to the climax, but the resolution made you ponder what was
truly right, which was very interesting and a nice change from the usual endings of
movies. In a few spots my attention did drag, but throughout it did a pretty good job of
holding my attention. If redone today I imagined the effects of the storm and other
settings would be vastly improved, but nothing else would be changed. This film honestly
didnt tell much about history, but it gave viewers a look at the Navy and one battle. To
improve the movie, the build should be faster to the climax and they could have added
more historical information. I would recommend this to another student to watch, as it is
very interesting, but it is not exactly too informative about history.
Bibliography
Dirks, Tim. "The Caine Mutiny (1954)." The Caine Mutiny (1954). AMC, n.d. Web. 01
June 2014.

"The War Movie Buff." CRACKER? The Caine Mutiny (1954). N.p., 27 June 2013. Web.
01 June 2014.

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