The Caine Mutiny (Combat Classics)

Amazon.com Humphrey Bogart is heartbreaking as the tragic Captain Queeg in this 1954 film, based on a novel by Herman Wouk, about a mutiny aboard a navy ship during World War II. Stripped of his authority by two officers under his command (played by Van Johnson and Robert Francis) during a devastating storm, Queeg becomes a crucial witness at a court martial that reveals as much about the invisible injuries of war as anything. Edward Dmytryk (Murder My Sweet, Raintree County) directs the action scenes with a sure hand and nudges his all-male cast toward some of the most well-defined characters of 1950s cinema. The courtroom scenes alone have become the basis for a stage play (and a television movie in 1988), but it is a more satisfying experience to see the entire story in context. –Tom Keogh Product Description Nominated for seven Academy Awards® in 1954, including Best Picture and Best Actor, THE CAINE MUTINY is a classic film about the unstable Captain Queeg (Humphrey Bogart) and his tumultuous command of an old minesweeper and her weary crew. On the high seas during the dramatic battles of World War II, Queeg’s by-the-book approach pushes his crew and his popular second-in-command, Lt. Maryk (Van Johnson), to the breaking point. After a series of questionable orders, Maryk confronts Queeg when he orders the ship directly into the path of a deadly typhoon. Maryk invokes naval code and relieves Queeg of his command, forcing the crew to mutiny. Once safely back in port, Maryk is court-martialed for treason, setting off a tense trial that exposes the true state of Queeg’s mind. Nominated for Best Actor, Humphrey Bogart gives a searing performance as he is systematically broken down in this classic tale of military conduct in a time of war. Set Contains: Special features on The Caine Mutiny (Collector’s Edition) are dominated by a fascinating, two-part documentary, Inside The Caine Mutiny. Guest speakers–including Richard Pena from the Film Society of Lincoln Center and writer-producer Ken Bowser–recall how The Caine Mutiny’s producer, Stanley Kramer, was in the vanguard of a new breed of independent filmmaker working on a contract basis with the aging studio system. Kramer had been losing money for Columbia’s irascible, longtime head, Harry Cohn, but proved very profitable on Caine, making up for other losses. More important, Kramer–whose overall career receives some valuable commentary here–proved prescient in his choice of material. He picked up rights to Herman Wouk’s novel of Caine while reviews of the book were coming in mixed, and long before the story would pick up some major prizes down the line. Still, there were obstacles ahead, especially from the U.S. Navy, which didn’t want to participate in a tale about a fictional mutiny. There’s also a lot of discussion about the film’s strong casting, especially Humphrey Bogart in a bluntly honest yet sympathetic performance, Van Johnson taking a marvelous break from light comedy, Jose Ferrer in a memorable role as a Navy attorney, and Fred MacMurray playing against type as a disaffected intellectual. Some very interesting comments are made about the film’s director, Edward Dmytryk, a once-blacklisted talent who became a friendly witness during the U.S. governments witch hunt for suspected Communists in entertainment, and whose films reflect that change in stance from the 1940s to the 1950s. –Tom Keogh