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The Last Detail (1973) 7.6
Two Navy men are ordered to bring a young offender to prison but decide to show him one last good time along the way. Director:Hal Ashby |
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Title: The Last Detail (1973)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Jack Nicholson | ... | ||
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Otis Young | ... |
Mulhall
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| Randy Quaid | ... |
Meadows
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| Clifton James | ... |
M.A.A.
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| Carol Kane | ... |
Young Whore
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| Michael Moriarty | ... |
Marine O.D.
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| Luana Anders | ... |
Donna
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Kathleen Miller | ... |
Annette
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| Nancy Allen | ... |
Nancy
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Gerry Salsberg | ... |
Henry
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Don McGovern | ... |
Bartender
(as Don McGovern)
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Pat Hamilton | ... |
Madame
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Michael Chapman | ... |
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Jim Henshaw | ... |
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
Two bawdy, tough looking navy lifers - "Bad-Ass" Buddusky, and "Mule" Mulhall - are commissioned to escort a young pilferer named Meadows to the brig in Portsmouth. Meadows is not much of a thief. Indeed, in his late teens, he is not much of a man at all. His great crime was to try to steal forty dollars from the admiral's wife's pet charity. For this, he's been sentenced to eight years behind bars. At first, Buddusky and Mulhall view the journey as a paid vacation, but their holiday spirits are quickly depressed by the prisoner, who looks prepared to break into tears at any moment. And he has the lowest self-image imaginable. Buddusky gets it into his head to give Meadows a good time and teach him a bit about getting on in the world. Lesson one: Don't take every card life deals you. Next, he teaches Meadows to drink, and, as a coup de grace, finds a nice young whore to instruct him in lovemaking. Mule, who worries aloud about his own position with military authority, seems pleased ... Written by alfiehitchie
Taglines:
What's "The Last Detail"? 300 beers and a barrel of laughs! (re-release) See more »Parents Guide:
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
15 February 1974 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Das letzte Kommando See more »Company Credits
Production Co:
Columbia Pictures Corporation, Bright-Persky Associates, Acrobat Productions See more »
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company contact information
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Color (Metrocolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?
Trivia
John Travolta was strongly in the running to play Meadows, only losing to Randy Quaid at the last minute. See more »Goofs
An exterior shot of the their train traveling eastbound from New York to Boston in actuality is passing a water tower in Secaucus, New Jersey which is west of New York and not en route. See more »Quotes
Mulhall: When you're in the Navy, shitbird, and you're in transit, nobody knows where the fuck ya are. Now go tell that MAA to fuck himself; I ain't goin' on no shit detail!See more »
My absolutely favorite Jack Nicholson film has always and forever will be The Last Detail. I don't think he was ever better on the screen as William Baddusky of the United States Navy. I enjoyed his performance and the film itself on so many levels. Probably not surprising since the script was done by Robert Towne who would soon be teaming with Nicholson again for the critical and popular success Chinatown.
It's a simple story, not really any plot to the film. Two sailors, Jack Nicholson and Otis Young, both of them lifers in the Navy are stationed in Norfolk and get themselves an assignment to escort a prisoner to the Naval Stockade at Portsmouth. Of course with the per diem allowance for the two men and the prisoner and five days to travel in, Nicholson and Young are thinking of a mini-spree at government expense.
It comes to that and a lot more. the prisoner is newcomer Randy Quaid whose big crime is that he attempted to steal $40.00 from a charity collection box. For that he's getting eight years in military prison and a dishonorable discharge. A dishonorable discharge even today is not a good thing for one's resume.
As Nicholson and Young both remark, someone really stuck it to him. Let's face it what Quaid did in civilian life would probably be considered petty larceny and his jail time might be measured in days. Turned out it was the base commander's wife's favorite charity so it got stuck to him good. Sad because the indications we get is that Quaid was a troubled kid in civilian life and probably military service offered him a chance to straighten up and fly right.
It's done that for many others including Nicholson and Young who make it very clear even on this disagreeable detail they do like the Navy and like serving in it.
They've got five days to deliver Quaid to Portsmouth so the journey becomes quite the odyssey for the three of them up the Atlantic coast. The three men have a great chemistry between them, you get involved with their lives and really feel for young Quaid and his plight. Quaid gets shown a good time and maybe that's not such a good thing considering what he is facing.
The Last Detail is a nice realistic look at the military both its flaws and good points. A lot of similarity here in the issues raised to From Here to Eternity and if I mention The Last Detail in the same sentence favorably as From Here to Eternity, you know how good it must be.