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The Caine Mutiny

Rexedgar

Yo-Semite!
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I have seen the movie more than once and never realized that the film covers only the middle of Wouk’s novel. The missus volunteers at the local library and gets first shot at what I get to peruse. I normally do not try to read two books before I have finished one. I’m finishing up Walter Lord’s “Miracle of Dunkirk,” and started TCM last week. I find the writing easy to read and very descriptive. I had to look up Wouk’s wartime service and (Surprise), he served on a Destroyer/Mine Sweeper similar to the fictional Caine. Captain Queen shows up almost a third into the novel. Recommended!
 
I have seen the movie more than once and never realized that the film covers only the middle of Wouk’s novel. The missus volunteers at the local library and gets first shot at what I get to peruse. I normally do not try to read two books before I have finished one. I’m finishing up Walter Lord’s “Miracle of Dunkirk,” and started TCM last week. I find the writing easy to read and very descriptive. I had to look up Wouk’s wartime service and (Surprise), he served on a Destroyer/Mine Sweeper similar to the fictional Caine. Captain Queen shows up almost a third into the novel. Recommended!
*Queeg*


Damned spellcheck!😵‍💫
 
In the same vein, the actor who portrays Ensign Keith in the film was marked for stardom but tragically died in a private plane crash about a year after the film was released.

 
Everybody talks about the scene where the captain testifies--the famous "strawberries" speech--which is a good scene.

However, I think the best speech happens later when the lawyer, who is drunk, comes into the bar, chews out the mutineers and throws a drink into the face of one of them. The speech ends with what I think is one of the greatest lines in movie history (from memory)--"If any of you would like to make something of it, I'll be outside. It should be a fair fight because I'm drunker than you."

I think the moral of the movie is that it's very easy for one person to escalate a small problem and turn it into a huge mess. It's something that I've actually seen happen on a smaller scale, e.g., when a disgruntled employee gripes about something at the water fountain and the next thing you know, it's a company-wide "problem" that really didn't exist in the first place.
 
In all the years since I read the book this is the first time I've seen or heard it discussed as opposed to the movie. Thanks, guys.
 
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