Yeah, in the book, when DeVriess is talking about the Caine with the newly arrived Queeg, he expresses displeasure at the state of the ship but alludes that with the machinery on board so antiquated, the crew already overworked and the ship having been in the forward area (i.e. in the combat zone) since early 1942 they just can't keep up spit and polish as much as he would like to. DeVriess, in the book (and possibly the movie, it's never said one way or another) is very familiar with the situation on the Caine. He'd been aboard her for well over five years -i.e. before he became Captain- and had previously been the Executive Officer before he was given command. When he leaves and acts like he can't accept the going away gift the crew has gotten for him because of regulations, Meatball says he doesn't always go by the book. DeVriess sighs and says that's his problem. He's been in the Hooligan Navy for too long. (He then, of course, "finds" the watch on deck and decides to "steal" a souvenir.) DeVriess implied that he'd allowed himself to go lax on observing the minor regulations because he'd been aboard a vessel where there were simply more important things to worry about. (Namely, keeping the run down vessel operating and carrying out combat assignments, such as what they were doing down in the Soloman Islands.)
One of the problems with the movie was that they had a modern (for the time) destroyer as the Caine. In the book, it was described as an old 1200-ton, four-piper destroyer from World War I that had been converted to a minesweeper. It's in poor condition simply from years and years of service at sea. DeVriess says that there isn't any clean metal to sand down -describing the scraping of the rust- for repainting. The decks are too pitted and rusted after decades of exposure to salt water. He says, as well, that its one of the few classes of ship where the "black gang" (the firemen and other boiler/engine room personnel) still work in pressurized firerooms. They know all too well that an accident could kill all them. He implies that's the sort of ship it is and why he just can't dwell too much on the non-essential things, as much as he prefers a clean ship.
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dannieboy20906
9 years ago
From the title and the plot "The Caine Mutiny," may sound like a slam against the navy. I think Herman Wouk who wrote the novel and the stage play "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial," practically worshiped the navy and the sailors who served it. He wanted a strong, dramatic story that showed the pressures of command, the kind of story that Beirne Lay and Sy Bartlett did for the army air forces in "Twelve O'Clock High." He based it on his own experience and succeeded tremendously.
The viewer of the movie must depend on experience outside the movie to recognize Captain Greenwald's decorations and his uniform overall to deduce his background. The book explains it in more detail. Lieutenant Keefer, the character with the career closest to Herman Wouk's is not the hero, but the villain. It is interesting to see an author deprecate himself this way. He wanted us to focus on the real heroes, the regular navy sailors and officers.
The movie did very well by Herman Wouk's script. It fills me with great admiration for the navy. Now, if they would just shut up and accept second place behind the air force we would get along great! ;)
The best diplomat I know is a fully charged phaser bank.
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