The Last Detail

Slice-of-life drama about post-Vietnam military guys on the eastern home front

Two Petty Officers in Norfolk, Virginia (Jack Nicholson and Otis Young), are assigned a shore patrol detail to escort a naïve 18-year-old Seaman (Randy Quaid) to Portsmouth Naval Prison just across the coastal border of Maine. They decide to give the kid a good time in several misadventures along the way.

The Last Detail (1973) is a road movie in the Northeast during the transition from late Fall to early Winter (shot in November-January). While a realistic drama, its also a dark comedy with interesting and amusing commentaries on life, the American military, corruption, injustice, friendship, recreation, folly, sexual relations and so on. To be expe...

"Meadows" (Randy Quaid) got caught trying to steal $40 from a charity box and so was kicked out of the US Navy and sent down for eight years! Charged with getting him to the jail are two veteran chancers "Buddusky" (Jack Nicholson) and "Mule" (Otis Young). These two think this is all just a bit of a lark that will get them away from the grind, but they haven't bargained on their prisoner. He comes across as little more than a timid child. Nervous and vulnerable. Why not make sure his last day of freedom is a bit more enjoyable? A few drinks won't hurt. Then, maybe, an hooker to pop his cherry (and make him even more aware of what he's going miss for the next eight years!). As you'd expect, as the young man starts to come out of his shell a ...