Review of The Caine Mutiny (1954) by Uncle Walty — 13 May 2008

I was browsing the classic films section of my local library the other day and noticed a Humphrey Bogart film called "The Caine Mutiny". I'm a big Bogart fan, so naturally I wanted to see it. Also, one of my favorite bands -- Project 86 -- has an awesome song entitled "The Kane Mutiny," so I definitely wanted to check it out to see if there was any sort of connection between the two. After seeing the film, I don't see a whole lot of similarity between Schwab's song lyrics and the film's story, but I'm very glad I watched it nonetheless.

"The Caine Mutiny" starts off a little slow, but it continually picks up the pace as it goes along. What ensues is a fine WWII story of several of the seamen aboard the Caine wrestling with the decision of whether or not to take control of the ship on grounds of the captain's incompetence and mental instability.

Even in a limited role, Bogart steals the show with his amazing performance as the paranoid Captain Queeg. I had already witnessed his fine performances in classics like "Casablanca," "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," and "The Maltese Falcon," but the character he creates here feels completely fresh as he manages to disappear into the role completely. In fact, it's such an impressive performance that I would rank it up there with all of those classic aforementioned roles. His Captain Queeg is not nearly as glamorous as his Rick Blaine in "Casablanca" or his detective Sam Spade in "The Maltese Falcon," but Bogart's atypical performance here is part of what makes it work so well.