Bogart was way too old to play Queeg. He was 55 when the film was made. The character of Queeg was a 1936 graduate of Annapolis. The mutiny took place in '44 so that would have made Queeg 30 years old.
@Inspadave A younger actor would have seemed crazy, and all our sympathy would have been with the mutineers.....The older Bogart seems burnt out with maybe a little "post traumatic stress" mixed in ( they would have called it nerves or 'shell shocked' back then)....It divides our compassion between characters quite evenly....
@ShareTheMike My intention was to sat that Bogart was way older than how the character was written . . .in the book. It was in no way a comment on his performance which, in my opinion, was outstanding but not quite as good as Jose Ferrer.
@Inspadave I second your comments on Ferrer....I believe he is right up there with Henry Fonda and Robert Duvall as a great american actor.....It's surprising he wasn't a bigger star than he was.....
i can't recall how old Quegg was in the book but Bogart's age I think worked well here--it emphasized that Queeq had been passed up over and over again--for obvious reasons we learn.
Bogart was old for the part -- but in WWII many of the older officers in all the services were held over past what would normally be a career. That is actually what helps the character because you know Queeg has had a long non-distinguish career in the Navy. But he is still doing the job the country needed him to do in WWII
@loufalce Which is a bit ironic since Bligh, by all reputable accounts, was an excellent officer (The Mel Gibson movie was more accurate than the one with Clark Gable).
@loufalce ...Likely he was, but he always had a bad reputation. The Hopkins-Gibson version is probably the most accurate,but my favorite version is the Gable-Laughton version. Was Bligh really this mean? I wouldn`t want to be on the HMS Bounty!
First rate acting by Bogart. The ones that had the most character (Queeg and Maryk) you felt the sorriest for. BTW Jose Ferrar was very good as the defense lawyer Barney Greenwald. He had the most insight of all involved.
@JuanMacready I disagree. Remember, Queeg is a flawed man which might account for his slower rise in rank, and therefore his command of a lowly DMS. However, if you want to read a fantastic book, get "Halsey's Typhoon" by Drury & Clavin. It's a true account of the actual typoon the "Caine" was in. Also, in it you will meet the real Captain Queeg, that is the naval officer on whom the character was based.
@JuanMacready Not really;He was in his 50's when he palyed the part & his 'aged look' in the movie role could be a result of the years at combat. Remember,Tom Tully didn't look all that young either. I do agree with you about Jose Ferrer. As soon as he showed up I could tell something was going to happen
Bogart was way too old to play Queeg. He was 55 when the film was made. The character of Queeg was a 1936 graduate of Annapolis. The mutiny took place in '44 so that would have made Queeg 30 years old.
Inspadave 2 weeks ago
@Inspadave It works better with an older actor........
ShareTheMike 1 week ago
@Inspadave A younger actor would have seemed crazy, and all our sympathy would have been with the mutineers.....The older Bogart seems burnt out with maybe a little "post traumatic stress" mixed in ( they would have called it nerves or 'shell shocked' back then)....It divides our compassion between characters quite evenly....
ShareTheMike 1 week ago
@ShareTheMike My intention was to sat that Bogart was way older than how the character was written . . .in the book. It was in no way a comment on his performance which, in my opinion, was outstanding but not quite as good as Jose Ferrer.
Inspadave 1 week ago
@Inspadave I second your comments on Ferrer....I believe he is right up there with Henry Fonda and Robert Duvall as a great american actor.....It's surprising he wasn't a bigger star than he was.....
ShareTheMike 1 week ago
@Inspadave cool....
ShareTheMike 1 week ago
Fred MacMurray should get some credit here--he was a great slim ball bad guy...
555paint 1 month ago
i can't recall how old Quegg was in the book but Bogart's age I think worked well here--it emphasized that Queeq had been passed up over and over again--for obvious reasons we learn.
555paint 1 month ago
Bogart was a hell of an actor....whether he was playing somebody good, bad or crazy.
almostconcerned 5 months ago
Jose Ferrer is from Puerto Rico, but his US English was perfect though
KBasibba 5 months ago
Bogart was old for the part -- but in WWII many of the older officers in all the services were held over past what would normally be a career. That is actually what helps the character because you know Queeg has had a long non-distinguish career in the Navy. But he is still doing the job the country needed him to do in WWII
skypack 6 months ago
@skypack Actually Queeg had not had a long career in the Navy. He was a 1936 graduate of Annapolis.
Inspadave 1 week ago
Dang... I don't think I've ever seen Bogart in color before. I rented the DVD; gonna watch it tonight.
mrbobbyh 9 months ago
"Well, he`s real navy", "Yeah,so was Captain Bligh"-Fred Mac Murray to the officers after Queeg takes command.
loufalce 1 year ago
@loufalce Which is a bit ironic since Bligh, by all reputable accounts, was an excellent officer (The Mel Gibson movie was more accurate than the one with Clark Gable).
SCE2AUX 3 months ago
@loufalce ...Likely he was, but he always had a bad reputation. The Hopkins-Gibson version is probably the most accurate,but my favorite version is the Gable-Laughton version. Was Bligh really this mean? I wouldn`t want to be on the HMS Bounty!
loufalce 3 months ago
Ahhhh the sthrawberries!
loufalce 1 year ago 7
Charles Johnson
clemtoe 1 year ago
First rate acting by Bogart. The ones that had the most character (Queeg and Maryk) you felt the sorriest for. BTW Jose Ferrar was very good as the defense lawyer Barney Greenwald. He had the most insight of all involved.
pbrucpaul 1 year ago
@pbrucpaul Ferrer was great but Bogart was far too old to play Queeg.
JuanMacready 1 year ago
@JuanMacready I disagree. Remember, Queeg is a flawed man which might account for his slower rise in rank, and therefore his command of a lowly DMS. However, if you want to read a fantastic book, get "Halsey's Typhoon" by Drury & Clavin. It's a true account of the actual typoon the "Caine" was in. Also, in it you will meet the real Captain Queeg, that is the naval officer on whom the character was based.
logancody05 1 year ago 4
@JuanMacready Not really;He was in his 50's when he palyed the part & his 'aged look' in the movie role could be a result of the years at combat. Remember,Tom Tully didn't look all that young either. I do agree with you about Jose Ferrer. As soon as he showed up I could tell something was going to happen
Nickcat5 8 months ago
@Nickcat5 Just ignore him. He has said the same about Audrey Hepburn, Burt Lancaster, Clark Gable, etc. Always uses the phrase "far too old".
MrCombat1965 6 months ago
@MrCombat1965 Thanx for the Heads Up!!!
Nickcat5 6 months ago
@JuanMacready
No, there were a lot of old guys called out of retirement and held over for the war effort.
Rich8951 5 months ago