Main Cast: Brad Davis, Eric Bogosian, Jeff Daniels
Release Year: 1988
Country: US
Run Time: 100 minutes
Plot
Based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Herman Wouk, this thought-provoking made-for-television drama chronicles the court martial of the lieutenant who commandeered the U.S.S. Caine during a potentially deadly storm. The only way his attorney can save him is to prove that Captain Queeg was mentally incompetent to safely run the ship. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Review
Before becoming one of the most respected film directors of all time, Robert Altman started his career directing television in the '60s. The 1988 made-for-TV movie The Caine Mutiny Court Marshall continues to prove he is a masterful director regardless of the medium he is using. Although Altman may have lost touch with a mass audience during this period of his career, his skill at casting never left him. Already having put Cher in Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, and Philip Baker Hall in Secret Honor, Altman assembled a superb cast for Caine Mutiny Court Martial. Headed by Eric Bogosian, playing mostly against type, and featuring excellent turns from Jeff Daniels, Peter Gallagher, Altman regular Michael Murphy, and especially Brad Davis as the deteriorating Queeg, the cast makes this material their own by managing to overcome any resistance viewers might have because of the portrayals by Humphrey Bogart, José Ferrer, and E.G. Marshall in the 1954 film. Altman consistently uses close-ups to draw the viewer deeper into the psychological gamesmanship going on between all of the characters. By the time Bogosian's Greenwald directly confronts the crew of the Caine, his words cut through the characters and the audience making for a riveting climax. For both artistic and budgetary reasons, Robert Altman adapted numerous stage plays during the 1980s. The Caine Mutiny Court Martial is one of his finest films from that period. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
Peter Gallagher - Lt. Cdr. John Challee; Brian Haley - Party Guest; Daniel Jenkins - Lt. Willis Keith; Matt Malloy - Legal Assistant; Kevin J. O'Connor - Lt. Thomas Keefer; Danny Darst - Capt. Randolph Southard; Michael Murphy - Capt. Blakely; David Miller - Stenographer; Matt Smith - Party Guest
Credit
Robert Altman - Director, Dorian Harris - Editor, Stephen Altman - Production Designer, Jacek Laskus - Cinematographer, Robert Altman - Producer, John P. Flaxman - Producer, Tony Maccario - Set Designer, Herman Wouk - Screenwriter, Herman Wouk - Book Author
