Review of The Caine Mutiny (1954) by Alex C — 16 Jan 2011

Bogart keeps this combination sea and courtroom drama from becoming either a plodding morality tale or a silly, bombastic action/thriller. It's a movie that feels like the people are real--the goofy seamen cracking jokes, the officers trying to maintain order on a beat-up vessel, and the senior crew trying to deal with an obviously unstable captain.

Bogart doesn't play the Captain's mental illness for laughs or pity. He just shows a deeply flawed man who almost got his entire crew killed. And Jose Ferrer brilliantly portrays a defense lawyer who's about as frustrated with his defendant as he is with Bogart.

Excellent film that deals with mental illness surprisingly well for a 1954 release.

Side-note: The theme of paranoia is picked up nicely in 1956's Invasion of the Body Snatchers...