The fate of the USS Hull, one of three US Navy destroyers lost during Typhoon Cobra in December 1944, served as the basis for the mutiny in the story. According to his first hand account, Boatswain's Mate First Class John Ray Schultz directly confronted Hull's CO, Lt. Cmdr. James A Marks, about his handling of the ship as she was entering the worst of the typhoon. Schultz implored Hull's XO, Lt. Greil Gerstley, an expert ship handler, to assume command but he refused citing fear of a court martial for mutiny. Other surviving witnesses on the bridge described Marks as paralyzed and indecisive, issuing questionable maneuvering orders, and declining to take on leveling ballast to help keep the ship upright after severe rolls, a decision his XO strongly disagreed with. A powerful gust exceeding 100 knots eventually rolled Hull over to her side and she did not recover. The ship flooded rapidly and 202 of her crew were lost. 62 others were subsequently rescued including Captain Marks. A board of inquiry did not find fault with Marks (none of the incidents on the bridge were brought up by anyone) but rather with Adm. Halsey for sending his fleet directly into the massive storm, although no disciplinary action was recommended. Some survivors of the Hull laid the blame for ship's loss exclusively on the Captain. James Marks committed suicide in 1986.
The white cream that the officers put on their faces during combat is anti-flash cream and was designed to protect their faces from skin burns from the fireballs from the ship's guns.
Producer Stanley Kramer gave Fred MacMurray a prominent role in this movie during a difficult period in his life--his wife had just died, and work was a needed distraction for him.
The US Navy was never happy about the depiction of Capt. Queeg as a madman in the novel, with the implication that it would hire or keep in place someone so clearly deranged. The film version skirted around that rather contentious issue by making Queeg a victim of battle fatigue or PTSD.
Humphrey Bogart's tour-de-force performance in the climactic courtroom scene was so powerful, that it completely captivated the onlooking film technicians and crewmen. After the scene's completion, the company gave Bogart a round of thunderous applause.