MovieChat Forums > The Caine Mutiny (1954) Discussion > Did the Captain seem scared?

Did the Captain seem scared?

posted 12 years ago by snelling
10 replies | jump to latest

Yes, he sure did. Why did Stilwell say no one seemed scared while on the stand in court? It makes no sense that he would lie.

"It's like I'm talking to my Aunt Sylvia here!"

[–] the-spy 12 years ago

stillwell's answer that no one was scared wasn't the only time there was incorrect testimony.

i thought it was strange that while testifying, no one remembered that queeg froze during the typhoon, which basically forced maryk to take action - then, queeg came out of his trance and demanded that the ship return to its previous course.

[–] cross-9 12 years ago

Why would an enlisted man risk his own career by saying his Captain was "scared?"

[–] snelling 12 years ago

Stillwell admitted that he, himself, was scared. It's a normal human emotion.

"It's like I'm talking to my Aunt Sylvia here!"

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] 12 years ago

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[–] fnj2002 11 years ago

Come now. Everyone on that bridge was facing death and none of them burst into tears or fell to their knees and curled up in a ball or called out for mommy. This was the US Navy in time of war. No one would have accused another, certainly not a superior, of "being scared". It is however not a weakness to admit you were scared yourself. Your conduct is what counts, and everyone knew that.

[–] sstarl1324 11 years ago

Bogart played it perfect. He looked scared. But maybe the helmsman was too busy being scared himself to notice. I was aboard an Essex Class aircraft carrier during a cat 4 hurricane and even it was getting a little happy. I imagine a little WWII destroyer would be a nightmare. Or maybe the Capt was out of his line of sight.

Remember Rabbit Ears with tin foil?

[–] fnj2002 11 years ago

I imagine your idea of "a little happy" would my "OMG, we're all going to die in the most horrible imaginable way". A carrier is pretty corky with all that mass up high, but nothing goes through a hurricane or typhoon without being tested. Even the 35,000 ton Massachusetts in a typhoon was rolling from 34 degrees port to 34 degrees starboard, taking water continually past turret 2, and water was thrown over a spotting station 150 feet above normal sea level.

[–] sstarl1324 11 years ago

Makes ya feel pretty helpless doesn't it? I had to go outside the skin of the superstructure on the O2 level during a tropical storm. (To reset the AC unit that cooled the wardroom. Any other unit and it would have been ok to wait of course.) That was a pretty good piece off the waterline and there was still plenty of heavy spray. It was an intense action for sure. Standing on a grate pitching and tossing that high over nothing but angry ocean is not my idea of fun. I've never forgotten it though. Can't imagine a DE in the North Atlantic or Eastern Pacific. Wow.

Remember Rabbit Ears with tin foil?

[–] liscarkat (16543) 7 years ago

My dad was on the USS Hobby (DD610) in Typhoon Cobra in December of 1944. He said there were at least sixty-foot seas going over the superstructure, and men were terrified. Fortunately, their captain ordered the flooding of empty fuel tanks with sea water, which improved the stability, and the ship didn't suffer serious damage or loss of life.