The Caine Review

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? ~ Juvenal

A question that has been around for centuries, and truly there is no right answer. When a person is place in a position of authority, and in a position of supreme authority in a remote location (such as a war ship), who is to watch the watcher? And thus is the spring board for the plot of The Caine Mutiny (1954).

The setting: The Caine, a mine sweeping vessel in the south pacific. Let me rephrase that, a mine sweeping vessel that has never had to sweep for mines.

The Watchman: Captain Queeg, played by the king of old Hollywood, Humphrey Bogart. Queeg is a by the book kind of guy, quite unlike the rogue that Bogey plays in movies like Casablanca (1942) or The African Queen (1951), but the Caine is a ship of guys that are not going to be in a Tom Clancy novel any time soon.

The plot unfolds through the eyes of Lt. Willie Keith (Robert Francis). Graduating in the top 5% of his midshipmen class, he gets assigned to the Caine, a let down for him, due to WWII going on Keith thought he deserved a battle ship or carrier post. After Keith's first few days on the Caine reveal a laid back atmosphere, and a group of misfits, Queeg comes to the Caine, and brings hell with him.

In a routine training exercise, Queeg makes his first faulty call, and as a result the target the Caine is towing is left a drift, a minor transgression, but Queeg begins a descent down a slippery slope, climaxing in the titular mutiny after Queeg leads the Caine into a vicious storm. The acting of the side characters, though, is over shadowed by Bogey, who truly shines.

Queeg is played brilliantly by Bogart, with all the quirk and eccentricity of Charlie Allnut (his drunk rogue from The African Queen.) As a Bogart fan I like seeing him not only as Rick Blaine, Philip Marlowe, or Sam Spade, but I do appreciate him in "anti-hero"/villain roles. I truly believe that Bogart is one of the finest actors America has produced, but because of the type casting of many of his roles. The way he plays a hardened s.o.b. is brilliant and at the 27th Academy Awards the Oscar didn't go to Bogey, only because it went to Brando for On the Waterfront.

But, for every yin there must be a yang, and for every Queeg there must be a Lt. Maryk, played here by Van Johnson. A lesser actor would have been content in Bogey's shadow, but I was impressed with Johnson, who held his own against Bogey's strong acting and makes for a memorable turn as the like able executive officer.

 If you are looking for one heck of a good naval movie, look no further. This picture has a solid script matched with great acting. I highly recommend this movie, not only as a Bogart fan, but as an amateur critic.

Dr. Brooklyn says: LIKE this movie (9.5/10)