A cautionary tale of imperfect people, just like us.

Rating: Null/10 (19 July 1999)

Several stunning individual performances constitute the high points of this WWII tragedy. Fred MacMurray as the supercilious but ultimately cowardly LT Keefer forever challenges the shiny image he developed as a Disney regular. Humphrey Bogart's CPT Queeg crumbling on the witness stand rightly deserves its place as a classic film moment.
But it is Jose' Ferrer's LT Greenwald that makes this film more than simply extraordinary. The one outsider who can look at the entire sad episode of the Caine and hold everyone accountable for their actions, Greenwald is a mirror held up to those around him. Few like what they see.
Ferrer takes a film that risks being a simple good-guys vs. bad-guy tale and turns it into one of depth and ambiguity. His mirror cannot help but be held up to the audience as well as the other characters. And the view is very uncomfortable.