Plot: The spoiled newly graduated Ensign Willie Keith is assigned to the sloppy minesweeper USS Caine commanded by Comdr. DeVriess and befriends Lt. Steve Maryk and Lt. Tom Keefer. Comdr. DeVriess is popular with the officers and crew but Keith does not like him. Keith likes when DeVriess is replaced by the veteran Lt. Cmdr. Philip Francis Queeg, who demands discipline on board. But soon Kefer notes that Queeg is paranoid and coward and induces Maryk and Keith to meet Admiral Halsey and to disclose Queeg's behavior and paranoia. However, Keefer backs down when they are ready to meet Halsey afraid of being misunderstood and punished. Later a typhoon hits the USS Caine, Queeg freezes in the wheelhouse and Maryk relieves Queeg of command, supported by Keith. They have to face a court-martial for mutiny and only the lawyer Lt. Barney Greenwald accepts to defend them in court.
Alternative Plot: During World War II, a dilapidated vessel, the Caine, gets a new ensign, Willis Keith (Robert Francis), and a new captain, Commander Queeg (Humphrey Bogart). The crew sees Queeg's unconventional behavior as irrational, and communications officer Thomas Keefer (Fred MacMurray) spreads suspicion about his suitability as captain. When a dire situation during a storm forces the executive officer (Van Johnson) to relieve Queeg of his duties, he and Ensign Keith are tried for mutiny.
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