Great drama

Rating: 8/10 (23 April 2014)

Great naval, legal and psychological drama. Solid, believable and gritty plot. Has a bit of padding though - the romantic sub-plot was quite pointless and had no bearing on the main theme (though it does give May Wynn some screen time, and for that we are eternally grateful). Deft direction by Edward Dmytryk.
A unique Humphrey Bogart performance in that he is not the perfect, aloof, cool hero. Here his character is far from perfect and is quite vulnerable. Certainly shows a depth and breadth to Bogart's acting ability that many people didn't know existed. Superb performance by Bogart.
Good supporting performances from Van Johnson and Jose Ferrer. Robert Francis as Ensign Keith is a bit unconvincing and Fred MacMurray lays on the elitist, high-brow pretense a bit thick. As mentioned, May Wynn's role is unnecessary, but we don't mind seeing her...