On paper, “The Caine Mutiny” instantly reminds of “K-19: The Widowmaker” or “Mutiny on the Bounty,” which this movie even slyly alludes to as Humphrey Bogart makes his excellent and provocative introduction as Lt. Cmdr. Queeg. And yet far from a film about revolution, rebellion or loyalties, “The Caine Mutiny” is dedicated to the Navy and those who have suffered great trauma due to the effects of war. It’s a film about paranoia and mental illness, not morals or valor.
And yet working against “The Caine Mutiny” right out of the gate is that we’ve now developed a deeper, more complex understanding of human psychology than this movie has to offer. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a well-known term today, and although films like “The Best Days of Our Lives” were peddling it for melodrama earlier than this film, Director Edward Dymtryk tries to make the ruthless perfectionist Captain Queeg into a uniquely tragic figure.
Brought to manage the minesweeper Caine during World War II, Queeg’s new crew quickly suspects that his affinity for seamen with their shirts tucked in or the location of a key have rendered him mentally incapable of helming their ship. Bogart convincingly barks orders and demonstrates fear, and he received an Oscar nomination for the role, but the film neglects informing us what personal war demons he may carry. He’s a flat, silly character, and our only emotional attachment comes in the form of him manipulating steel ball bearings nervously and in Bogart’s magnetic face during one of the film’s few arresting close-ups during its climax.
Some of the performances, including Jose Ferrer’s sarcastic Lt. Greenwald, Fred MacMurray’s lying scumbag of an officer and Van Johnson’s calm, careful first mate help raise the caliber of “The Caine Mutiny,” but too much is wasted on the debut performances of Robert Francis and May Wynn. Their romance is a dud, and his attachment to his mother is a plot line left hanging. It would be less distracting if the on-board events were more compelling, but Queeg’s hunt for a quart of strawberries is the absolute pits if it’s made to be taken seriously, and the resulting courtroom drama leaves little to the imagination on a narrative or visual level.
“The Caine Mutiny” was nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor Humphrey Bogart and Best Screenplay, but lost out to “On the Waterfront.” That film depicted what you could call a paranoid character, and it did so with bounds more gravitas than this film unfortunately.