Based on the Pulitzer prize winning novel by my father, Herman Wouk.

From Imdb:

10/10
Ironically, our Navy's best remembered "mutiny"

Historically there were two great United States Naval mutinies. In 1842 a naval sloop, the U.S.S. Somers, had a court martial for three crew members (one, Midshipman Philip Spencer, was the son of Secretary of War John Canfield Spencer), which ended with their being found guilty and hanged. To this day there is debate if Spencer (a troubled youth) was even serious about seizing the "Somers". The other occurred in 1944 at Port Chicago, California, when, a few weeks after a terrible accident that killed many men loading ammunition on a boat, their replacements refused to work under existing unsafe conditions. This led to a U.S. Supreme Court decision - against the workers, who claimed they were not under military law.

But the best known mutiny in the American navy is that on the U.S.S. Caine, during the hurricane that preceded the battle of Okinawa. That this is a fictional mutiny does not seem to attract any attention. THE CAINE MUTINY was a successful novel, Broadway play ("THE CAINE MUTINY COURT MARTIAL" ) and a great movie. It remains the American equivalent of the mutiny on the H.M.S. Bounty.

The performances of the leads, Bogart, Johnson, MacMurray (his second of three great heels), Ferrer, Tully, and E.G.Marshall are all first rate, as are the supporting cast (which includes Lee Marvin, Claude Atkins, and Jerry Paris - all of whom had quite substantial careers after this film). Only Robert Francis did not have a substantial career after his fine Ensign Keith - he died in a plane crash in 1955.

There are mental images from the film (mostly connected to Bogart's Queeg) that people remember - even spoof. Every time you see some character showing nervous ticks, if he or she pulls out a pair of small metal balls and roll them in their hand, it is a salute to Bogie's originally doing it in THE CAINE MUTINY. And his magnificent moment of success: "the strawberries", and how he proved the theft with geometric precision, remains a signal that the person speaking has too many fixations.

Interestingly, the film makes Queeg better (if still sick) than the play does. When cross examined by Greenwald at the court martial of Maryk and Keith, Queeg is asked about whether or not he overused his right to free transport of liquor and other items from Hawaii to the mainland from the navy. Queeg at first denies it, but when Greenwald says he can bring in (as witnesses) people connected with the sale of the items and the transport of them, Queeg suddenly remembers that he might have. This is not in the film, but it shows that Queeg was not all that clean an officer.

That aside, the impact of the film is still terrific half a century after it was shot. It illustrates that personality flaws frequently causes the problems that affect all of us, and that we need more understanding of each other's problems to avoid the bigger ones. From a case of over-extended battle fatigue, the crew of a warship are driven to accept an act of mutiny against it's captain in an emergency situation. And it almost gets two officers disgraced or hanged.

10/10
An Absolute Must-See!

Warning: Spoilers
A huge critical and commercial success in its day, "The Caine Mutiny" is even more involving and entertaining in 2017. Not only is Bogart's brilliant performance undimmed, but Time (and repeated viewings) have allowed us to appreciate the subtlety of MacMurray's viperish portrait, while Francis' early death (I think he made only two more movies before being killed in a light plane crash) has given a poignancy and intensity to his scenes.

May Wynn's career never really took off despite her impressive debut here. Beautifully photographed and costumed, she lends added glamour to both the Yosemite location episode and the nightclub bit where she sings "I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me".

And it's also good to see Lee Marvin in a characteristic early role. Another actor deserving commendation and also not usually mentioned in reviews (even though receiving a Hollywood award nomination), is Tom Tully.

From the very opening credits, rousingly scored by Max Steiner, we know we are in for a treat. And we're not disappointed either. Superb acting from a marvelous cast, a solidly suspenseful script with sharp dialogue and fascinating yet involving characters, highly competent direction, superbly attractive Technicolor photography, crisp film editing and masterful craftsmanship all around, in a big- budget movie which for once does its original novel full justice. In fact, Hollywood professionalism at its best.

Even the details and incidental touches are painstakingly accurate. Take Francis' first glimpse of the anything but ship-shape Caine and its slovenly captain (notice how delightfully dapper he is though, when he re-appears at the end).

Bogart gets my vote for his finest performance ever in this riveting story that captures the attention from start to finish, thanks to its excellent script and capably realistic direction. Bogart's portrayal stands up to the closest scrutiny. Francis is also most convincingly sincere, whilst May Wynn (a young actress who has taken the name of the character she plays here as her screen nom-de-plume) makes an attractive heroine and sings most pleasantly. (Whatever happened to her?)

An Actor's Recollection: I loved playing the part. I don't know if I'd jump at the chance to play a villain again — unless of course the movie was done as well. — Fred MacMurray.

Complete credited cast:
Humphrey Bogart Humphrey Bogart ... Lt. Cmdr. Philip Francis Queeg
José Ferrer José Ferrer ... Lt. Barney Greenwald (as Jose Ferrer)
Van Johnson Van Johnson ... Lt. Steve Maryk
Fred MacMurray Fred MacMurray ... Lt. Tom Keefer (as Fred Mac Murray)
Robert Francis Robert Francis ... Ens. Willie Keith
May Wynn May Wynn ... May Wynn
Tom Tully Tom Tully ... Comdr. DeVriess
E.G. Marshall E.G. Marshall ... Lt. Comdr. Challee
Arthur Franz Arthur Franz ... Lt. JG H. Paynter Jr.
Lee Marvin Lee Marvin ... Meatball
Warner Anderson Warner Anderson ... Capt. Blakely
Claude Akins Claude Akins ... Seaman Lugatch aka 'Horrible'
Katherine Warren Katherine Warren ... Mrs. Keith (as Katharine Warren)
Jerry Paris Jerry Paris ... Ens. Barney Harding
Steve Brodie Steve Brodie ... Chief Budge