This Week (June 24th-30th) in 1954…
On June 27th, Guatemalan President Jacobo Arbenz Guzman steps down as a result of the coup that has been going on in his country. There are claims of United States interference leading the coup, but these are as yet unsubstantiated by the standards of this 1950s era newspaper!
The film The Caine Mutiny hit theatres on Thursday, June 24th. This drama stars none other than Humphrey Bogart as the irascible Lieutenant Commander Queeg. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Hermon Wouk, this Edward Dmytryk film covers the time spent aboard the USS Caine by Willis Keith (Robert Francis) and the court martial proceedings against the Caine’s executive officer, Lieutenant Stephen Maryk (Van Johnson). The movie may be one of the best of the year; Bogart turns in one of his best performances as Queeg.
The following day, the much lighter romantic comedy Susan Slept Here debuted. This stars Dick Powell opposite Debbie Reynolds (as the titular Susan). Based on a play of the same name, this film’s plot is about Mark Christopher (Powell) is a successful screenwriter who is suffering from partial writer’s block who gets a surprise on Christmas Eve: teenager Susan Landis (Reynolds).