Editing The Caine Mutiny (1954 film) (section)

===Writing===
Herman Wouk had already adapted his novel as a stage play, ''[[The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (play)|The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial]]'', which premiered on Broadway in January 1954 and ran for more than a year. The play was directed by [[Charles Laughton]] and was a critical as well as a commercial success.<ref name="Hischak">{{cite book|last1=Hischak|first1=Thomas S.|title=American literature on stage and screen 525 works and their adaptations|date=2012|publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson, N.C.|isbn=9780786492794|pages=35–36|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vfie60kGGuAC&pg=PA36|access-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> Wouk was initially selected to write the screenplay, but director Dmytryk was dissatisfied with his draft. He replaced the novelist with [[Stanley Roberts (screenwriter)|Stanley Roberts]], an experienced screenwriter. Roberts later quit the production after being told to cut the screenplay so the film could be kept to two hours. The 50 pages worth of cuts were made by [[Michael Blankfort]], who received an "additional dialog" credit.<ref name="tcmarticle">McGee, Scott [https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/25162/the-caine-mutiny#articles-reviews "The Caine Mutiny" (TCM article)]</ref>

The film differs from the novel, which focused on the Keith character, who became secondary in the film. The film instead focuses on Queeg.<ref name="Hischak" /> Independent producer Stanley Kramer "mollified the Navy" by modifying the Queeg characterization to make him less of a madman, as portrayed by Wouk, and more a victim of battle fatigue.<ref name="Johnson bio">{{cite book |last1=Davis |first1=Ronald L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RG2PFR0tFSAC&pg=PA159 |title=Van Johnson: MGM's Golden Boy |date=2016 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |isbn=9781496803856 |pages=159–161 |access-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> Studios did not want to purchase the film rights to Wouk's novel until cooperation of the U.S. Navy was settled.<ref name="tcmnotes">TCM [https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/25162/the-caine-mutiny#notes Notes]</ref> Kramer purchased the rights himself for an estimated $60,000 – $70,000. The Navy's reluctance to cooperate led to an unusually long pre-production period.