The film received generally poor reviews, but received wide viewership for Dorothy Dandridge's role. Filming took place in southern California aboard the Chios, Greece-registered SS Igor (originally the Philip C. Shera), a World War IILiberty Ship owned by the Los and Pezas shipowning families.
Plot
When the captain of the merchant vessel S.S. Berwind dies, Ed Rummill (James Mason) is offered the job. He accepts, even as he is warned of recent problems aboard the ship, now moored at New Zealand. Those problems involve two of the ship's crew members, Henry Scott (Broderick Crawford) and Leroy Martin (Stuart Whitman). The two have hatched an elaborate plot that includes a million-dollar payoff. They intend to anger the crew into mutiny, killing the officers (and eventually the rest of the crew) to make it appear they abandoned a sinking ship, thus leaving Scott in possession of a vessel which, according to maritime law, can be sold off for salvage value.
While still in port, the company's cook, along with two other seamen, have had enough of the Berwind and decide to jump ship. In order to replace them, Captain Rummill authorizes the hiring of a Maori cook (Joel Fluellen) and his young wife (Dorothy Dandridge) to work in the ship's galley as replacements. This turns out to be the new skipper's first mistake. The cook's wife is, to cite Rummill himself, "exotically beautiful." Scott decides to use the woman as a catalyst to stir up more animosity among the crew.
After the ship has sailed, however, the crew refuse to join Scott and Leroy's mutiny. Disappointed, the two retrieve a rifle and handgun they have smuggled aboard. They proceed to shoot 4 of their co-workers and secure the engine room for themselves. In a short time, Rummill and the officers realize no one in the engine room can be contacted. It also becomes apparent that the engine is slowing, due to the ship taking on water as part of Scott's plan to make it appear the crew abandoned a sinking ship. The captain orders that the crew not be informed of this. That way, they won't go for the lifeboats and risk being sniped at by the two muntineers. Meanwhile, a frustrated Scott uses his rifle to pick off additional crew members, starting with the ship's bridge and working his way down. Thus, will Ed Rummill's first command turn out to be his last? Or can he organize the officers and men, largely unarmed, to regain control of the vessel?
