I give it 9 strawberries and 2 silver balls

Rating: 9/10 (18 March 2009)

Not a perfect film, and not the greatest acting, but clever and interesting nonetheless. Humphrey Bogart is Lt. Commander Queeg, a career officer who assumes command of an aging WWII warship, the USS Caine. Caine is a rusty, combat fatigued, holdover from the previous war. Built as a destroyer and converted to wartime use as a minesweeper. Queeq replaces his predecessors competent yet relaxed style of cammand with a by-the-book, structured, attempt to re-affirm military deportment, efficiency, and morale. It gradually becomes evident that Queeg is not wrapped too tight. His rigid, officious nature reveals quirks in his personality readily identified by another officer, an amiable, aspiring author, and by extension self-dubbed "judge of human nature", as characteristics of mental illness. A hasty retreat during a combat operation, a ship-wide search for the fictitious perpetrator behind a quart of missing strawberries, and the Caine's severing of a tow line during target practice deepen the crew's doubts about the new captain's competency and mental solvency. It all comes to a head during a Pacific typhoon after Queeg is paralyzed with fear and indecision, ignoring his XO's pleas to make maneuvers to prevent the ship from capsizing. He is relieved of his command by his XO who, backed up by the young OOD Ensign Keith, once a staunch fan of Queeg, immediately issues the necessary orders to save the Caine. Upon return to the states a court martial is ordered, charging the XO and Keith with conspiracy to commit mutiny.
The screenplay obviously struggled to translate the story to film. It is replete with staggered logic and unclear motivations. Why does no one mention during the court martial that Queeq froze like a Popsicle in the storm? This was the cassus belli of the mutiny. Casting was hit or miss. Bogart speaks of his days as a "lowly ensign" a mere 7 years earlier, yet by the time of filming the man is clearly old enough to play an admiral. Queeq is supposed to be around 30 years old. Although Bogart had some memorable moments, his casting choice remains bewildering. However his breakdown on the witness stand remains one of my favorite moments in any film. Fred MacMurray was a great choice as the duplicitous Lt. Keifer, the author and antagonist behind Queeqs dismissal, and who like Peter to Jesus, denies later he had anything to do with it. His intentions are crystal clear, to punish the Navy whom he hated. Van Johnson's portrayal of Lt. Maryck, the XO, was excellent although he tends to vacillate from loyal, competent, naval officer to intellectual twit a little too much. Robert Francis played a respectable green Ensign Keith. His character makes a nice arc, albeit wooden, from a freshly frocked officer eager to please Queeq to secondary mutineer. Francis died too young. He might have developed himself into a more nuanced actor with a bit more range and depth. The romantic subplot involving him and May Wynn was useless, unnecessary, and boring as hell. The best actor in this film is Jose Ferrer, the naval lawyer who defends Maryck and does so magnificently. His blend of starch and humanism was the most real of any of the characters. His performance in the post trial scene as he drunkenly confronts the "man who should have been on trial" was absolutely spectacular.
Overall the film is very viewable and entertaining. It does have a nice flow and pace to it. The fact that it was largely filmed on actual U.S. navy warships makes it even more watchable. Although it does not do justice to the original tale in terms of character development or dialog. Caine Mutiny does pay off in the end as all roads lead to Keifer. Highly recommend to bright boys everywhere. Kay?