Tuesday's Forgotten Film: The Last Detail

This week's Tuesday's Forgotten Film is the 1974 Jack Nicholson vehicle The Last Detail.

Nicholson plays Billy "Bad Ass" Buddusky, a sailor who, along with fellow sailor "Mule" Mulhall (Otis Young), is ordered to escort a young recruit named Meadows (Randy Quaid) from Norfolk, Virginia to a Naval prision in Portsmouth, New Hampshire for stealing forty dollars from an officer's wife's charity fund. Knowing that he will be treated poorly at the prison by the sadistic Marines there, Bad Ass and Mule decide to show Meadows the time of his life on the way to the prison by way of drink, sex, and even ice skating at Rockafeller Center.

Nicholson is doing his usual Nicholson impression here, but at least it perfectly fits the character, and although there are certainly plenty of laughs to be had, there is a strong undercurrent of sadness throughout the film that moves to the forefront by the end. It's a highly engaging film that deserves another look, even if you're sour on Nicholson.

Here is the film's trailer. The editors must have had a hard time creating this, as the film itself is peppered with profanity from beginning to end. Thanks!