







What happens when a US warship in combat is skippered by a dangerous psychotic, if the crew has no practical means of challenging his authority? It's a fascinating premise, at least until the Production Code intervenes in the final scene. Ironically, it also proves awkward for Hollywood to challenge the sanctity of military hierarchy.
This adaptation of Herman Wouk's bestseller doesn't broaden its scope to take on social hierarchies generally; this was the era of the blacklist and director Edward Dmytryk had already been to jail once! It is an analysis of the improvised, unchecked power of command under the impact of war.
The seagoing psychodrama is lifted by Humphrey Bogart's landmark portrayal as the erratic Captain Queeg. His performance is hugely overstated, but the final courtroom scene wouldn't work otherwise. Van Johnson, Fred MacMurray and Robert Francis are the officers who mutiny and are put on trial.
We get Technicolor and a rousing score from Max Steiner. The action at sea is exciting and realistic and builds to a powerhouse climax during the court-martial. The social dynamics are scrutinised in some depth. This is more about the interpersonal warfare than WWII; like an update of Mutiny on the Bounty (1935).