Highlighted By Superb Performances

Rating: 7/10 (8 March 2011)

It's not "Mutiny On The Bounty." When a movie has "mutiny" in the title there's probably an automatic tendency to think of it in terms of that 1935 classic. And Humphrey Bogart as Captain Queeg is not Charles Laughton as Captain Bligh. True enough. But once you set aside the expectation that any mutiny movie will be somewhat like "Mutiny On The Bounty" and that any captain who drives his crew to mutiny will be a little bit like Captain Bligh you can start to enjoy this movie on its own merits - and it is a very good movie highlighted by some superb performances.
Bogart was the real highlight. He did a marvellous job of portraying Queeg on the edge. Queeg wasn't a sadistic monster. He was paranoid and unsure of himself but not sadistic, and the mutiny didn't come about because he abused the crew (he merely insisted on discipline) but because the crew felt endangered by what they perceived as his incompetence. Queeg was an interesting character - the one who inspired the mutiny but one also that you feel some sympathy for. Bogart's performance reaches its climax - as does the movie as a whole - in its portrayal of the court martial, where Queeg comes unglued. This was a brilliant performance, maybe not Bogie's best, but one that shouldn't be missed. The rest of the cast also rose to the occasion and did a wonderful job. I give special mention to Fred MacMurray. I've never been a particular fan of MacMurray. Generally speaking in anything I've seen him in he comes across as lacking both passion and energy - a technically competent actor but one who just doesn't grab me. He was, however, very good here as Lt. Keefer - the first crew member to question Queeg's mental competence, who then lacks the courage to acknowledge that fact at the court martial and leaves Lt. Maryk (Van Johnson) holding the bag.
The story itself is interesting, although not especially exciting. There are some decent portrayals of shipboard life, especially the danger facing the Caine when the typhoon hits - which is the incident that causes the mutiny. There's far too much attention paid to Lt. Keith's personal life. Robert Francis handled that role well, but the relationships Keith had with his sweetheart and his mother were sidebars that didn't add anything of real significance to the story. There was a worthwhile (if brief) reflection on the issue of social class, the point being that one of Queeg's problems was that he was looked down upon by his own officers. He came from a humble background and was in the navy making lousy money for years, while with the outbreak of World War II he found himself surrounded by subordinates who had been busy making money while he was serving his country. So there's a lot of good material here, although I don't think there's quite enough to qualify this as a classic.