Photo Credit: Illustration: © Can Stock Photo Inc. / Kevsbrew
Whether it’s an excerpt from a good book or the lines of a renowned play, I am a sucker for great dialogue that teaches a lesson. Sometimes it sneaks up on me. Sometimes I find it in the oddest places. From time to time, I find that I might have heard it once before, but it had no impact and then suddenly in a new moment it rings true with great power.
This was the case recently while suffering from a bout of bronchitis that had me nestled on the recovery couch at home for a few days. I half-consciously found myself surfing through channels of game shows, talk shows, great old movies, and headline news. At one point, the haze of medicine, naps, spiked tea, and sheer boredom found me rather dazed and confused, and I stumbled onto a broadcast of The Caine Mutiny. I had seen the film before and done imitations of Humphrey Bogart as the troubled Captain Queeg, as he shuffles marbles in his hand while giving a rambling testimony that clearly proved he had cracked up on the ship and needed to be relieved. His court-martial appearance made it clear the crew was right to declare mutiny and take over.
Another Take
It was that very part of the movie I had landed in where clearly the case had been won, and the crew, justified in their mutiny, was celebrating their victory in court. But there was another scene following. I thought to myself, “I don’t recall there being more to this movie. He’s guilty, they’re clean, case closed, movie over.” But clearly there was more, and over the years I had forgotten there was another side to the story. A different interpretation might make people think twice about what looked so “open and shut.” Although there was no denying the captain had “cracked up,” the prosecuting attorney (Lt. Barney Greenwald) had a conscience about the verdict and had wandered into the room full of celebrating sailors looking to clear his mind. He was filled with personal regret, and he realized that none of the sailors had stopped to consider what really had happened.