The Caine Mutiny (1954)

An exciting and compelling drama featuring memorable performances by Humphrey Bogart, Van Johnson and Fred MacMurray, set during WWII.

In the first part of the film, a naval captain (Bogart) pushes his crew to the limits, forcing the crew - believing him to be mentally unstable - to stand against him and his orders. In the second part of the film, the officers are brought to trial, and in his testimony the captain's true state-of-mind is revealed.

The movie is brilliantly told from the perspective of an Ensign, played by Robert Francis (1930-1955). Mr. Francis died very young at the age of 25 in a plane crash, and only had 4 films to his credit: They Rode West (1954, with Donna Reed), The Long Gray Line (1955, with Tyrone Power), and The Bamboo Prison (1954, with Dianne Foster).

Another promising young star in the film is May Wynn (1928 - ), who plays the Ensign's girlfriend. She retired from films after the 1950s; this was her best-known film. More about May Wynn here at the blog Captain Critic.

Van Johnson, Robert Francis, and Fred MacMurray

Nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor (Bogart), Best Supporting Actor (Tom Tully), Best Screenplay, and Best Score (Max Steiner).

Directed by Edward Dmytryk.  Co-starring Jose Ferrer, Tom Tully, EG Marshall, and James Edwards. A number of other recognizable actors have smaller roles aboard the ship, including Lee Marvin, James Best, Claude Akins, Jerry Paris, and Todd Karns, who played brother Harry Bailey in It's A Wonderful Life.

Based on the acclaimed novel by Herman Wouk (1915 - 2019).

Trivia: Herman Wouk served in the U.S. Navy as Executive Officer on the Destroyer-Minesweepers U.S.S. Zane and U.S.S. Southard. This later became the inspiration for his novel The Caine Mutiny. (IMDb)

Further Reading:
Greenbriar Picture Shows: The Caine Mutiny, Part 1
Greenbriar Picture Shows: Part 2: Exhibitor Memories of The Caine Mutiny

12 Angry Men (1957) and a real-life jury duty experience

Earlier this month, I had my first experience as a trial juror. It was like watching a stage play: the judge, the lawyers, and the witnesses seemed as if they were all actors performing right in front of us. I had seen Witness for the Prosecution live on stage before - it was like that, like live theater.

When you're on a jury, you have the freedom to look around the room at anyone or anything at any time. When the lawyers were speaking, you could look at the judge or the defendant.

The accused was on trial for attempted murder.

During the course of the trial (two full days), seven witnesses testified, including several police officers, a prisoner, and the young man who was shot and full of scars.

The evening following the first day of jury selection, I went home and watched the 1957 version of 12 Angry Men for some inspiration.  I think it's the only movie ever made about a jury. I immediately felt a connection with the character played by John Fieder --- in the beginning of the film he tells Lee J. Cobb how excited he is to be a first time juror. I felt the same; it was all so new to me, too, and exciting. It felt good to be a part of the justice system.

Cobb's character then talks about being on many juries before. In our group, we also had some veteran jurors. Most of us, though, were first-timers.

To break the awkward silence, I tried to find things in common with other people just like one of the jurors does in 12 Angry Men.  It was a cramped space, and uncomfortable. The jury room in the movie was much larger than the one we were put into! Also in the movie, Jack Warden's character was so anxious to get out of the jury room and go home. That was how just about all of us felt! We all wanted to go home. Some people had an hour commute to the courthouse.

Another part of the movie that rang true was when Lee J. Cobb said how some of the lawyers went on and on talking "about nothing". Honestly, that's what it really felt like! Some of the lawyers just talked and talked and it was all seemed meaningless, certainly a waste of time. At one point, one of the witnesses - a police officer -  got so aggravated at the questioning from one of the lawyers. And public defenders kept asking the judge for time-outs, which meant more waiting for us, the jury.

I took lots of notes. The prosecuting attorneys brought forth some very good evidence. Four eyewitnesses all pointed to the defendant as the shooter. This appeared to be an "open-and-shut case",  as  Lee J Cobb referred to his case in the movie.

At times I got the feeling that the public defenders didn't always know how to defend him. This issue was touched upon in the movie, too.

After the lawyers gave their closing statements, it was time to go to the jury room to deliberate. The two alternate jurors were sent home (just like in the beginning of the movie). We chose a presiding juror (Martin Balsam in the movie).  And just like in the movie, we started with a secret ballot to see where everyone stood.

Believe it or not, the initial vote was 11-1 in favor of "guilty" ..just like the movie! No, it wasn't me who was the odd-man out, like Henry Fonda. It was the youngest person on jury. After about 25 minutes of deliberation, we all voted again, and unanimously agreed the defendant was "guilty" of attempted murder.

When the verdict was read in court, there was a loud scream from the visitor's section, which might have been the defendant's mother. There was also some clapping and cheering by some other people. It was eerie to hear that in real life (vs. on TV or in the movies).

When the trial ended, it was past 6 PM. And dark outside.

The jurors were given a police escort out of the courthouse to our cars in the parking lot.

After spending three days with all the other jurors, it was kind of a bittersweet feeling to say goodbye.

One of the men in our group was a recent immigrant from the Philippines; he became a citizen just two years ago, and now he and his wife are raising a family. I recommended he watch 12 Angry Men, and told him how much it was like our jury, with one major difference being that we couldn't smoke in our jury room.

Eventually we all parted ways, never to see each other again, just like the end of the movie.