The Last Detail (1973)

Plot: Comedy-drama about 2  Navy Shore-Patrolmen escorting an 18 y/o Sailor Convicted of theft to the Portsmouth Naval Prison.
Stars: Jack Nicholson, Randy Quaid,  Otis Young.

The Last Detail is a relentlessly gloomy 70's movie made bearable by a good cast . Once again we get implausible characters along with Hollywood's dumb idea of how Navy Sailors behave.*  The story is a simple one, with 3 characters. Nicholson is the  profane 35 y/o "lifer", who loves whores, drink, and fighting the Marines (cliche city). Otis Young is the solid, dull, citizen, and Quaid is the pathetic loser, who's stolen $40, and is on his way to Prison.  We're supposed to laugh a little and cry a little,  as the men "learn about life and each other" on their "road trip" to prison.

But the Characters are all Fakes -Especially Quid
He's a harmless schlub, so impossibly weak and stupid he can't send back a badly cooked cheeseburger. So, why did he steal $40 from the Polio fund? Oh, he's a kleptomaniac. See, its not his fault. How  he got into the Navy & through Basic training without stealing and being caught is never explained. Nor were his mental problems brought up at his trial. And why did he get 8 years for petty theft? Oh, the "Old man's wife was angry". Absurd.

Nicholson's Performance
Which brings me to Jack's Oscar nominated performance.  Its a good one, but ultimately there's something "off" about it. These's too much  macho bluster and  Jack playing *Jack*. Some actors - like Aldo Ray - could play a Sargent or workingman without any falseness. because they WERE working class. They didn't have to ACT it.   But Jack  does.  He needs the F-bombs, cigar props, and tattoos**. And it comes off as wrong and exaggerated. Uneducated does NOT mean unintelligent!

Story Could have been a 1930's Movie
That's the weird thing. You can imagine this same type story back in the 1930's with Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy as the sailors and Robert Montgomery as the thief. Only it would've been fun and interesting, and played for mostly for laughs - with Montgomery freed at the end. But because its the 1970's everything is ugly and it ends badly. The early 70's were the age of "Everything stinks" as Pauline Kael put it.

Summary: Another one of those depressing 1970's dramas with fake military guys, nice acting and some nostalgic location shots. If you're a 14 y/o boy, or a Jack Nicholson fan, you might like it.  2 of 4

Notes  
*As expected, nobody in the film was in the US Navy . Director Ashby was a  hippy, Screenwriter Robert Townes was a writer - not a fighter. And Jack Nicholson? He did a couple years in the "California Air National Guard" as a part-time fire-fighter.

**Supposedly, Townes was upset when the Producers cut his 250 F-bombs to 50 in the script. "That's how the powerless talk" said the millionaire screenwriter. Of course, plenty of Sailors swear  - but not everyone is a foul-mouthed lunkhead,  Some of the toughest military men don't drink, smoke, or swear.