Review – The Caine Mutiny

Humphrey Bogart’s portrayal of the villainous, unstable Captain Queeg in this tense courtroom drama is one of the greatest performances in Hollywood history. The drama starts extremely slowly, leading off with an insufferable subplot about a fresh-faced Navy officer and his girlfriend woes. Further, unless you’ve got a real fondness for military marches you may find the soundtrack music more than a little annoying. But those who stick with it despite these drawbacks will find perseverance well rewarded. The saga of men struggling to do their duty under a commander who appears to be coming mentally unglued is fascinating. Then when the officers relieve Queeg of his command and are subsequently tried for mutiny, things really get good. Jose Ferrer does a great job as the mutineers’ lawyer; his character is the kind of defense attorney I always hoped I’d be. In the end this movie is a fascinating (if fictional) portrait of conflict, cowardice and craziness under fire. Worth seeing