The Last Detail

Synopsis: 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 wit

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Director(s): Hal Ashby

Actors: Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, Randy Quaid, Clifton James

Production: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 6 nominations.


IMDB:: 7.6
Metacritic:: 89
Rotten Tomatoes:: 93%

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: R
Year:: 1973
: 104 min
: 101 Views

Buddusky!
Either of you guys seen Buddusky?
Buddusky!
What?
MAA sent me.
He wants to see you right away.
Tell MAA to go f*ck himself.
Well, he said, "Right away."
Come on, Buddusky.
It's your ass if you don't.
Look, maybe your orders came through.
Come on, Buddusky!
It's your ass.
Bullshit.
My ass!
Mulhall!
Master-at-arms wants
to see you right away.
I ain't going on no shit detail.
Come on! It's my ass if you don't.
I ain't going on no shit detail!
It's your ass too. Come on, Mule.
Maybe your orders came through.
Tell the MAA you couldn't find me.
He knows where you are.
When you're in the Navy
and in transit...
...nobody knows where you are!
Go tell the MAA to f*ck himself.
I ain't going on no shit detail!
Morning.
You are one lucky son of a bitch...
...Bad Ass!
You are one lucky son of a bitch!
Where am I going, Chief?
How come you're so lucky, Buddusky?
You're another lucky son of a bitch.
You dudes pulled
temporary duty as chasers.
Where to?
Portsmouth Naval Prison.
- Who we taking?
- Seaman.
Used to be.
Meadows, Lawrence M.
Drew eight years and a D. D.
Jesus, what the hell did he do?
Kill the old man?
Come on inside.
Sweek!
Get these old boys some coffee.
All right, Chief.
Who'd he kill, Chief?
Didn't kill nobody. Robbery.
How much did he lift?
Forty dollars.
Forty dollars!
Forty dollars.
You're shitting me!
I wouldn't shit you.
You're my favorite turd.
Jesus!
Eight years and a D. D. for $40.
I thought they only pulled that
shit in the Army!
You see, he tried...
...to lift the polio contribution box.
Polio box is the old man's old lady's...
...favorite do-gooder project.
She's responsible for all the polio
contributions on the base, you know?
Every year, they give her a plaque.
Along comes Meadows
and f*cks over charity.
She took it very seriously.
- Jesus!
- Eight years.
That's very seriously.
You know what I mean?
Good duty for you guys.
Get to go to Washington...
...New York...
...Boston.
I'd trade places with you.
Listen...
...we could get this guy
to Portsmouth in two days.
Less.
They're going to give us a week.
You know what I mean?
So what?
We get there in two days, they won't
give us no week to get back.
Bullshit!
Besides...
...they got to give us
all that per diem, regardless.
That's money for you,
for me and for him.
We run this little shitbird's ass
all the way to the brig...
...save his per diem and ours,
split it and spend it on the way home.
You know what I mean?
Well, let's shag ass!
You're goddamn right!
Okay, Buddusky!
You're the honcho.
Carryall and driver are outside
to take you to the bus.
Here's the keys to the cuffs.
Each of you gets one key.
I want you both to sign
these chits for the pieces.
Here's one clip each.
Now, off the record...
...the old man has a
personal interest in this.
If you f*ck up, you know what.
Are you all set, Cochise?
All right, shitbird. On your feet.
They're taking you to Portsmouth.
This is Petty Officer Buddusky.
This is Petty Officer Mulhall.
Yes, sir.
You know why they're chasers?
"Chasers," sir?
Do you know why they are
taking you to the brig?
No, sir.
They're bastards when they want to be,
and they always want to be.
Take my word for it, they aren't
about to take any shit from you.
If they do, they'll get reamed out,
and they know it.
- What?!
- Yes, sir!
All right, he's all yours.
It's colder than witch boob,
ain't it?
Coffee?
Let's make it.
Do you have to go to the head?
No, sir.
Be sure now, Meadows, because
from now on, whenever you go...
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Robert Towne

Robert Towne (born Robert Bertram Schwartz; November 23, 1934) is an American screenwriter, producer, director and actor. He was part of the New Hollywood wave of filmmaking. His most notable work was his Academy Award-winning original screenplay for Roman Polanski's Chinatown (1974), which is widely considered one of the greatest movie screenplays ever written. He also wrote its sequel The Two Jakes in 1990, and wrote the Hal Ashby comedy-dramas The Last Detail (1973), and Shampoo (1975), as well as the first two Mission Impossible films (1996, 2000). more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018