From cliché to classic

Rating: 8/10 (4 September 1999)

From the start, this movie seems like a dated collection of movie clichés executed competently but without much imagination. We have the rich kid joining the navy wanting to make it on his own but needing to learn a few lessons first, all the while carrying on a romance that has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the film. The ships crew is a textbook collection of clichés, from the crusty captain down to a seaman called "animal". And for nearly the first half hour of the movie, our only hope is that Van Johnson and Fred MacMurray can somehow rise above this and make a movie out of it.
Then Humphrey Bogart enters the film, and the minute we see him playing with his balls we know that we're watching something special. This may be his finest performance - convincing, engaging, and making all the other actors look that much better. He never steals a scene, upstages the other actors, or turns this into a Bogart movie, but he is the reason this film is considered a classic. If it weren't for his portrayal of Captain Queeg I wouldn't even consider wasting my time writing comments about this film.
Fred MacMurray also deserves special mention in a role that many stars wouldn't have the confidence to accept - that of a weakling and a coward who slowly unravels before your eyes. Jose Ferrer's character is so over the top that it almost ruins the outstanding denouement scene, but it is MacMurray who holds it together and makes it work.
One more point worth mentioning. Bogart's depiction of a paranoid power-hungry leader who wants to be liked, his speech about his dog, and his eventual self-destruction bear an amazing resemblance to the career of Richard Nixon. Just some food for thought.