Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 141: One Final Bogey

As I've gone through the decades so far I've seen a lot of film stars of the classic era - Grant, Gable, Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Fred and Ginger and of course Humphrey Bogart. As far as this Oscar Challenge goes we first saw Bogey back in the 1930s as a gangster in Dead End. From there we've seen him as private detective, treasure hunter and most notably the totured Rick in Casablanca. However we don't get to see his only Oscar win for The African Queen as that didn't recieve a Best Picture nomination instead Bogart's journey ends at the 1955 ceremony with his final Oscar nomination as Commander Queeg in The Caine Mutiny. The film revolves around the Caine a minesweeper-destroyer which is seen as a bit of a battered ship and not the first option for most sailors on board. Joining the crew is Ensign Willie Keith who soon strikes up a bond with would-be novellist Tom Keefer as well as ingretating himself with the other crew members including Captain DeVriess and Lt. Maryk.DeVriess is soon replaced by Queeg who is a very regimental sort and is compared to Mutiny on the Bounty's Captain Bligh by Keefer. Keefer suggests to Maryk and Keith that Queeg is a little bit insane although Maryk refuses to report this until he has more proof so starts keeping a journal of Queeg's poor decisions. This eventual leads to Maryk taking over from Queeg on one mission a decision that is seconded by Keith and after this they are both arrested for mutiny. Lawyer Lt. Barney Greenwald reluctantly takes the case without ever agreeing with the decision made by the men but wins the case after proving Queeg is a man with paranoia however during the case Keefer doesn't stick up for his former colleagues denying the fact that he thought Queeg was insane. In the end Greenwald confronts Keefer saying that he planted  mutinous thoughts in the heads of the other officers and Keith heads off for service on a new boat once again captained by DeVriess.

I very much enjoyed The Caine Mutiny mainly because your perceptions of the characters are changed at every turn. Like Maryk and Keith I went along with Keefer's thoughts about Queeg being insane but forgot about him opening up to his officers after a poor decision. Barney's confrontation of the three men at the end of the film is one of its best scenes and he reminds them that Queeg is a military man through and through and deserves respect he ends the film not as a Bligh-esque monster but more a tragic figure driven mad through years of service. Queeg's humaine side is a testament to the character that Humphrey Bogart gives to him and I think he could've easily have on a second Best Actor Oscar had he not been challenged by Marlon Brando's terrific turn in On the Waterfront. Indeed the film suffered from being up against On The Waterfront particularly when it came to the Supporting Actors in the film as Waterfront took three spots in the supporting category and Caine's only entry into that category was surprisingly Tom Tully as DeVriess who exits the film very early and didn't leave an impression on me. If I had had to put someone forward it would probably have been Van Johnson as Maryk a man who always wanted to do the right thing but took the wrong course of action after being manipulated by Keefer. Jose Ferrer as Barney was also great as the man who wanted to win a case he didn't particularly believe in and even Fred McMurray's Keefer is a good complex character. But it ws Robert Francis' performance as Willie Keith which anchors the film, pardon the pun, in only his second film tragically this would be his last as Francis was being groomed for stardom but perished in an aircraft accident. The Caine Mutiny also has a great love for its naval roots being backed by the U.S. Navy the scenes aboard the ship and in its many cabins are shot perfectly and some of the minor cast, including bizzarely Lee Marvin, were cast due to their naval background.

All in all a great film which in any other year would've won Best Picture but as I said before it had the unlucky fortune of coming up against the juggernaut that was On the Waterfront. And a small battered ship like The Caine never had a chance against a Juggernaut like that.