The Caine Mutiny (film)

The Caine Mutiny film is a 1954 American fictional drama set in World War II. Directed by Edward Dmytryk and produced by Stanley Kramer, it stars Humphrey Bogart, José Ferrer, Van Johnson, and Fred MacMurray, and is based on The Caine Mutiny, the 1951 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel written by Herman Wouk. The film depicts the events on board a fictitious World War II U.S. Navy destroyer minesweeper and the subsequent court-martial of two officers.

The film received Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor (Humphrey Bogart), Best Supporting Actor (Tom Tully), Best Screenplay, Best Sound Recording (John P. Livadary), Best Film Editing, and Best Dramatic Score (Max Steiner). It was the second highest-grossing film in the United States in 1954.

Dmytryk was nominated for a Directors Guild Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures.

Plot

Callow, rich Ensign Willis Seward Keith (Robert Francis), reports for his first assignment aboard the Caine, which is homeported in Pearl Harbor. "Willie", as he is known by his fellow officers, is disappointed to find that the Caine is a small, battle-scarred destroyer-minesweeper. Its gruff captain, Lieutenant Commander William H. DeVriess (Tom Tully), has almost completely given up on discipline, and the crew has become slovenly and superficially undisciplined, although their performance is excellent. Keith has already met the executive officer, Lieutenant Stephen Maryk (Van Johnson), and is introduced to the communications officer, Lieutenant Thomas Keefer (Fred MacMurray), a novelist in civilian life. Keith has an opportunity to transfer from the ship to a more glamorous billet as an Admiral's aide, but decides to stay aboard. However, Keith remains frustrated with the ship's lack of discipline, despite his own shortcomings.