The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

 SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

John Ford’s Western The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) presents the choice for the frontier individual to either rely on the law to deal with those that break society’s rules, or to take matters into one’s own hands and pick up a gun to get justice. In this film, Ransom Stoddard (James Stewart), being a lawyer, wants to go through the legal system to deal with the criminal, Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin). Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) represents the option to handle problems individually when the law offers little satisfaction. The film addresses the value of democracy and the threats to the process, which sustains the movie’s relevance.

The story begins at Tom’s funeral and the older Ransom (Rance)(does the name suggest he paid with part of his integrity to get things done?), now a U. S. Senator, and his wife, Hallie (Vera Miles), are paying their respects in the western town of Shinbone (a name that implies a hard and spare lifestyle).  Link Appleyard (Andy Devine) greets the couple at the train station. He used to be the town’s marshal. While Rance talks to the local newspapermen, Link takes Hallie on a ride to the desert. That area has stayed the same, showing how nature remains constant where cactus roses grow, but the world of people changes. They go to the dilapidated ruins of a building where Tom used to live. The locals don’t even know about Tom, which shows how recorded history leaves out the significant acts of some people.

Tom’s African America friend, Pompey (Woody Strode, who was in Spartacus) is at the funeral director’s place, mourning. Rance is angry that Tom’s body is not wearing his boots, spurs, and gun, like a true cowboy. Rance just wants to keep his grief private, but the intrusive editor of the local newspaper, Maxwell Scott (Charleton Young) insists on an explanation for the Senator’s presence for the funeral of an obscure person. Rance decides that the past should not be forgotten so he tells his story, which is presented as an extended flashback.

The camera focuses on the dusty old stagecoach that brought the young recent law school graduate Rance to Shinbone. The image is a sort of time machine that transports us into the past. Rance says he took Horace Greely’s advice to “Go west” and “seek, fame, fortune and adventure.” Just as he speaks those words gunshots go off as the stagecoach is held up by Liberty Valance’s gang, wearing masks, showing how some adventures are not positive ones. Rance voices his outrage, and the response he receives is a beating from Liberty (an ironic name showing how destructive individualism can be if not held subject to laws that protect society as a whole). Liberty laughs at Rance’s suggestion that he will go to jail. When he grabs one of Rance’s law books, he rips out pages, showing how little respect he has for the power of the legal system. He whips Rance, saying he is inflicting “Western law” which comes down to a type of Social Darwinism, where only those that can inflict the most violence survive.

Tom rescues Rance and brings him to Hallie for help (Wayne uses what becomes his signature word, calling Rance “pilgrim” often, which is a traveler with a religious connotation that suggests that Rance is on a righteous crusade, not a vengeful one). (For me Wayne’s voice and delivery of lines is often over-the-top and takes me out of the story. Sorry fans). Tom’s decency is shown by offering to pay for Rance’s food since the lawyer was robbed of everything. Tom also compliments on how pretty Hattie looks, and there is an indication that he might propose to her someday. Rance says the man used a silver-tipped whip on him. Tom recognizes it as Liberty Valance’s weapon, and says Rance better start carrying a gun, suggesting that is the way to deal with men like Liberty. Tom says, “I know those law books mean a lot to you, but not out here. Out here, a man settles his own problems.” Later, Burt Reynolds’s character in Deliverance says rhetorically in the wilderness, “Where is the law?” Ford’s film takes place at a time when there was little policing of the savagery of humans, and the NRA motto of the only way to stop a bad man with a gun is a good guy with a gun was the way of the West.

Unfortunately, law and order in Shinbone comes in the out-of-shape form of the freeloading Link Appleyard, whose cowardly attitude and soft body may indicate the lax enforcement of the authorities in these parts. Andy Divine’s high-pitched, stuttering voice adds to the lack of the character’s toughness. When he finds out that Liberty is involved in Rance’s robbery and beating, the Marshall just wants to run away. He says, “The jail ‘s only got one cell, and the lock’s broke, and I sleep in it.” It’s a funny line, but it shows the sad state the law-abiding citizens of the town are in. Tom introduces himself to Rance and says Rance doesn’t look like a person who can handle a gun, especially against Liberty, who he says is the toughest fellow around, “next to me.” We have the macho image of John Wayne in full force here.

 Rance is helping out in Hallie’s restaurant kitchen since he is getting food there. He reads his law books and thinks he has a loophole to arrest Liberty under the local jurisdiction. Hallie is embarrassed because she cannot read his book. When he offers to teach her, she counters by saying he’s there wearing an apron and washing dishes, which implies his education hasn’t helped him on the frontier. She has a point, but she realizes that reading would enrich her life as she could read the Bible.

Tom shows up and has a cactus rose for Hallie, so we now know why she wanted one at the opening of the story. Rance has his hands on Hallie’s shoulders when Tom walks in as Hallie was announcing the news that Rance was going to teach her to read and write. Tom shows some jealousy by using slight sarcasm about how Rance is now protecting the ladies at the restaurant. Hallie’s affections seem to become divided between the rugged individualism of Tom and the scholarly morality of Rance. Tom sees Rance’s attorney sign he painted and tellingly says that if he hangs it up, he will have to defend it with a gun, and he’s not the type. Again, there is the idealism of Rance countered by the harsh practicality of Tom.

Tom sits down with the dining Dutton Peabody (Edmond O’ Brien), the newspaper editor at that time, who is also a drunk. He’s as hungry for a story as he is for steak and potatoes. He wants to know if Tom has popped the question to Hallie. Tom is not about to be rushed. Meanwhile, Pompey planted the cactus rose, and Rance asks if Hallie has seen a real rose. She says no, but she hopes that she will someday. Their remarks show how she has aspirations beyond the boundaries of this town, and Rance may be the man to help her on her way.

Liberty bursts in with two of his gang, and, as expected, Link rushes out. Liberty goes to a table and sees that the steak is “just right” for him, and wants those men seated to vacate the table, pulling the chair out from under one cowboy. He’s like a bullying Goldilocks. Rance volunteered to wait on tables because the place is so busy, and men did not perform that task back then. Liberty plops his whip on the table, so Rance knows for sure that it is Liberty who whipped him. Liberty laughs at Rance as he enters the room with plates of food and calls him the new “waitress.” There are a number of these emasculation scenes. If one tries to use one’s brains instead of fists, and if a man is trying to be helpful and courteous, he is considered weak. The cliche being invoked here is the one of a man being whipped by a woman, which is supposed to illustrate how weak he is.

As Rance walks past Liberty, the man trips him and the food spills to the floor. Rance is ready to rush Liberty, which would be a suicide move. Tom comes to the rescue, because at this moment, in this place, the law and civilized action can’t win. Tom tells Liberty that it was his steak on the floor and Liberty must pick it up. There looks like there is going to be a shootout, with Pompey pointing a rifle from the kitchen. The outraged Rance yells why is everybody so “kill crazy” there. He picks up the meat to diffuse the situation. Liberty takes a drink of whiskey outside, then smashes the restaurant window with it while he and his men start to fire off their weapons as they ride out of town.

Tom rhetorically asks, “Well now, I wonder what scared them off?” Dutton adds to Tom’s sarcasm, saying, “You know what sacred ‘em? The spectacle of law and order – here, risin’ up out of the gravy and mashed potatoes.” More emasculation. Rance admits that it was a gun that was needed to drive Liberty away. However, he points out the stupidity of getting killed over a piece of steak. He tries to assert his individual strength by saying that he fights his own battles. Despite his gruff manner, Tom was trying to prevent Rance from getting killed. Editor Dutton sees Rance as newsworthy and wants to exploit him. He offers to let him hang his attorney-at-law shingle in front of the newspaper office, which can draw Liberty’s fire, literally. Rance rejects Tom’s advice on two counts: he’s neither leaving nor picking up a gun to fight Liberty. The film suggests that at this point putting one’s faith in the law seems like idealism.

The cattle barons are trying to push small homesteaders out of their business. Statehood would protect the less powerful and the barons are fighting against it. Here we have the theme of using democracy to fight those that use their power to destroy the lives of others. Rance reads about what is going on in the newspaper, which stresses the importance of freedom of the press. Rance now is teaching the townspeople, with Hallie helping him out, how to read and write (including Latino children, which points to how immigrants are an important part of the democratic process). They are learning American history, too, and Nora Ericson (Jeanette Nolan), a German immigrant, says the United States is a republic, which means the people are the “bosses,” and if there is a dislike for what the “big shots” in Washington are doing, the people can vote them out. The disdain for elitism is evident here and promotes a type of populism. It’s appropriate that the Black man, Pompey, responds to a question about how Thomas Jefferson wrote that “all men are created equal.” He apologizes for forgetting some of the words, and Rance’s remark that many people forget the equality part allows the film to take a shot at racism.

Rance tells those at the lesson that having a strong representative to fight for their interests is important, so getting out the vote is vital. Tom has been away doing horse trading and he bursts in telling Pompey he needs him working. Tom is the pragmatist who knows that Liberty is working with the cattle barons and hiring guns to ensure the rich men’s interests. Tom acknowledges the nobility of what the newspaper and Rance believe in, but he says that promoting it will bring about bloodshed. Tom says the hired gunmen tried to ambush him, but he killed one of them. Dutton goes off to write the story, and Tom warns that if he prints that information he’ll get himself killed. Here we have the dilemma of the responsibility of the press versus whether news sometimes helps create trouble. While they talk, the camera shot shows the U. S. flag in the background and a portrait of George Washington. The images stress how the history of the nation and democracy are on the line. Tom warns that the gunmen will be there on election day to intimidate the voters. Tom tells Hallie to get out of a school that can turn into “a shooting gallery.” But Hallie strongly asserts her independence by telling him he can’t tell her what to do because he doesn’t “own” her.

Rance dismisses the school and when he erases what he has written on the blackboard, “Education is the basis for law and order,” it’s as if ignorance of what holds civilization together is winning. He is becoming cynical as he tells the protesting Hallie that “when force threatens, talk’s no good anymore.” Rance leaves and Dutton confesses to Hallie that a while back he lent Rance a gun and the lawyer has been going outside town and practicing how to shoot. He is compromising his ideals for Tom’s view of reality.

Hallie asks for Tom’s help, and he catches up with Rance and takes him to his house under construction. Tom says that he plans on marrying Hallie once he has his house fixed up for her. But, because Hallie shows so much worry for Rance, Tom believes that she and Rance have feelings for each other. Tom engages in more humiliation as a way of showing Rance how his being in a shootout is futile. He tells the lawyer to hang up some paint cans to be shot at, but instead Tom fires at them, spilling paint on Rance. He is trying to show how fast a gunslinger can be and that, although he says he doesn’t like “tricks,” Liberty indulges in them. Rance is angry about this further attack on his manhood and punches Tom so hard he knocks him down, saying he doesn’t like tricks, either. The look on Tom’s face reveals some admiration for Rance’s toughness.

Election day comes, as Rance explains to the crowd of men at the bar, to elect two delegates to a state convention to determine whether the territory south of the Picketline River should become a state. (Dutton says humorously that declaring booze off-limits on this day “is carrying democracy too far.”). Only white men can vote at this time, as the film stresses by having the women and Pompey stay outside. Rance emphasizes that statehood means that their ranches will be protected from an open range policy where the rich interests have no legal constraints from taking over the smaller lands of the farmers. Rance nominates Tom, despite their differences. In a way, Rance is trying to draw Tom into the legal framework of democracy. But, Tom refuses, saying he has other plans. We know he means marrying and settling down with Hallie, which shows his focus is on his individual wants, not social ones.

Then Liberty shows up, who, unlike Tom, whose intentions are honorable, is an agent of chaos. He doesn’t live in the area but says wherever he wants to live is his address. He sees a newspaper headline that says he killed two homesteaders, which shows Dutton has showed a great deal of courage to publicly indict Liberty. The men nominate Rance to be a delegate, with Tom seconding the motion, showing he has gained some respect for the man, acknowledging Rance’s legal background and that he can throw a “punch.” Liberty gets a member of his gang to nominate him. One of the townspeople nominates Dutton, who wants no part of it. He says he must stay outside of politics so he can “build” up politicians, and “tear” them down. He says he is the people’s “conscience,” and “the watchdog that howls against the wolves.” Dutton might be overdramatizing his role in society, and he’ll do almost anything for a drink. However, he does state the purpose of the free press, which, if silenced, allows liars and bullies to escape being held in check. Liberty, not wanting to confront Tom, tells Rance that he has to stop hiding behind Tom’s gun, and Liberty will be waiting for him in the street for a gunfight. Tom offers to get Rance out of town, but at this point we’re not sure if Rance will leave.

The drunk Dutton, laughingly blowing on his whiskey jug mistaking it for a candle, is trying to find the courage to continue his work at the bottom of a bottle of booze. He alters Horace Greeley’s quotation, saying to his shadow (of himself?), “Old Man: go west. And grow young with the country.” His version stresses the newness of the frontier, its uncorrupted nature which brought about it being dubbed the New Eden. The West here is a type of Fountain of Youth to rejuvenate the jaded. When Dutton returns to the newspaper office, Liberty and his men are there. They beat Dutton almost to death and destroy the premises. Liberty also shoots Rance’s lawyer sign. The scene symbolizes how lawlessness can destroy the fair rules that rein in destructive behavior so that the average citizen can live a life without fear.

After seeing what happened to Dutton, Rance tells Marshall Appleyard to let Liberty know that he will meet him outside for a showdown. He is giving into the violent practicality of the times. Hallie tells Pompey to get Tom, while Link calls for the doctor to help Dutton. At the saloon, individuals are now starting to voice their anger at the card-playing Liberty. Even the cowardly Link says that if Liberty shoots the inexperienced Rance, it will be murder (Rance’s lack of gun shooting skills is stressed by his still wearing a restaurant apron).

Outside, Liberty toys with Rance, shooting near him, but then wounding him in his right hand, sending the gun to the ground. He picks it up with his left hand, and when Liberty threatens to shoot him “right between the eyes,” Rance gets a shot off. Liberty is hit and dies. Rance looks at his gun and drops it, looking defeated morally despite surviving.

Tom shows up at the kitchen where Hallie is tending to Rance’s wound. He witnesses Hallie comforting Rance, holding him, kissing his forehead, and sobbing over what could have happened to him. Tom says he is sorry he didn’t arrive in time, and after seeing the affection between the other two, leaves slamming the door. When Liberty’s gang members say Rance murdered Liberty, Tom disarms them and knocks them down. Tom yells at Link to do his job and arrest the two outlaws. Lance then wants to take credit for the apprehensions. It is a foreshadowing of who should really be getting credit for an action. As the town celebrates the demise of Liberty, Tom stands up for Pompey at the saloon when the bartender doesn’t want to serve his Black farmhand. Pompey doesn’t drink and says they have work to do back at home. Tom is now drunk, upset by losing the affection of Hallie, and the business he has in mind back at his ranch is anything but constructive. He sets fire to his house, the one he was adding onto in anticipation of living in it with Hallie. Pompey rescues him from the fire.

After recovering from their ordeal sufficiently both Rance and Dutton attend the statehood convention. Major Cassius Starbuckle (John Carradine), who has become a politician, says he had a speech but does not want to indulge in “oratory.” So, he crumples a piece of paper that is supposed to contain his prepared words. But, a delegate unravels it and it is blank. Thus, the Major is a deceptive character, who puts into a nomination another politician to represent them in Washington. After he speaks, a cowboy on a horse rides in supporting the nominee and does rope tricks. The whole scene satirizes the political process which is seen as a theatrical display with little substance.

Dutton calls the Major “the cattleman’s mouthpiece,” so he is representing the big business interests. He extols the average working person and places in nomination a surprised Rance, who he says is a model for the proper legal way to bring law and order to the frontier. The manipulative Major asks what kind of lawyer is he who killed “an honest citizen,” which is a ludicrous statement considering Liberty’s evil nature. But he indicts Rance for taking “the law into his own hands” and that he “has blood on his hands.” He continues by saying that Rance has, “the mark of Cain” on him. It is an ironic accusation, since Rance wanted nothing to do with killing a fellow brother of the human race when he set out to bring Liberty to justice in a civilized manner.

Tom shows up at the convention and follows the exiting Rance, who says he is going back east because he can’t build a reputation on killing a man. Tom then reveals what really happened and we get a flashback which shows that he is the man who shot Liberty Valance. He’s willing to keep that secret so that Rance can be elected and usher in a righteous change in the way the law is practiced in the territory. The movie suggests that the birth of a decent nation entails undergoing some painful events. Tom says that Hallie is now Rance’s girl, and since he taught her how to read and write Rance has the responsibility to give her something to read and write about. He puts the responsibility of creating decency on Rance’s shoulders.

The story returns to the present. Rance went to Washington and went on to become the governor of the new state and its senator. Nobody remembers Tom now, as his ways faded away. He knew it was time for change and he accepted that inevitability since we are told at the beginning of the movie that in recent times he no longer carried a gun. Rance has told the truth about Tom now to the new editor, Scott, who rips up the notes he was taking and throws them into a stove. He says he is not going to print the story Rance related. Scott says, “This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” The implication is that it is detrimental to people to invalidate the myths they needed to believe in.

Back on the train, Hallie admits that she placed the cactus roses on Tom’s coffin. The plant symbolizes the kind of man Tom was – thorny with an appealing side. Now Rance feels his time has come to give up politics after achieving what he wanted, and he wishes to return to Shinbone and maybe open up a law office, which was his original plan. She says he should be “proud,” because he helped in changing the territory from a “wilderness” into a “garden,” a sort of hybrid that combines what is natural with cultivation. Hallie says her “roots” and her “heart” are still in this place in the West, which suggests that a person should stay grounded by keeping connected to one’s origins.

The train conductor lets Rance know that they have made accommodations for him because nothing is too good for the “man who shot Liberty Valance.” Sometimes the legend is mightier than the truth.

The next film is My Darling Clementine.

A Few Good Men

 SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

 

A Few Good Men (1992), directed by Rob Reiner and written by Aaron Sorkin, asks whether orders should always be carried out, or are there situations when they are be questioned. Do desirable ends justify unscrupulous means? It also deals with who takes responsibility within the military for the ramifications of those orders. 

 

The opening shot is of a fence with barbed wire and armed towers defending the United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, an American outpost on an island that is a Communist nation, one that is at odds with the capitalist United States. This image is symbolic of the division not only between America and its enemies but also of conflicting stances within the military concerning its practices.

 

At night, when actions take place that are not condoned in the light of day, two soldiers, Private Louden Downey (James Marshall) and Corporal Harold Dawson (Wolfgang Bodison) invade the room of Private William Santiago (Michael De Lorenzo). They shove a rag into his mouth and tie him up with duct tape. Here we have violence against a fellow soldier. So, a comrade in arms is treated like an enemy. 

 

Next, as the titles run, we have images of the American Flag and a military marching band along with an impressive display of synchronized discipline as Marines present their rifles in various displays that show the soldiers operating as a fluid, interconnected machine. This scene of united precision follows the one of internal, fracturing violence within the ranks. 

 

Lt. Commander JoAnne Galloway (Demi Moore) is on her way to the Judge Advocate General’s Corps in Washington, D. C., to request that she be assigned as counsel for Dawson and Downey. Her rehearsing of what she is about to say shows a lack of confidence, which will improve as the story proceeds. She visits Captain West (John M. Jackson) concerning the court martial trial. She prefers to stand but is basically ordered to sit down. This exchange not only shows the dominance of authority in the military but also implies an extra degree of male control over a woman. We now learn from Galloway that Santiago died shortly after the assault. The assumption is that the action against Santiago was to prevent him from implicating Dawson “in a fence-line shooting incident.” Galloway believes that because Dawson and Downey were exemplary Marines and Santiago was considered a “screwup,” that there is an indication that the attack was a “Code Red.” We at this point do not know what that term refers to, but West obviously does, and sees it as a “messy” situation he would not want exposed. Galloway asks, in the same previous halting manner, that she be assigned to the case and the trial be held in Washington. After making her step out, West discusses her request with the other officers in the room, who point out that Galloway is special counsel for Internal Affairs, is a great investigator, but has little trial experience. West agrees that the proceedings be moved to the United States Capital, but wants a swift plea bargaining deal (in other words, sweep the affair under the rug), and the division will assign a capable lawyer.

 

In contrast to West’s statement, the next scene shows us that desired legal representative, Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise), a wise-cracking attorney who does not look like a serious litigator. He is playing baseball (the bat he swings later becomes a metaphor for how he will beat the opposition), and is superficial when it comes to his cases, only caring about how many of them he has finalized through compromises so that they never reach a courtroom. An irritated prosecutor, Lt. Dave Spradling (Matt Craven), arrives. His uniformed appearance contrasts with the relaxed look sported by Kaffee, indicating the latter’s nonchalant attitude. Spradling complains that Kaffee missed their meeting, implying incompetence on Kaffee’s part. But Kaffee knows the law. He quotes various legal actions that will bury Spradling in paperwork, and points out that his client only bought “a dime bag of oregano,” which means he is not guilty of a law, but is only “a moron.” His remark may be funny, but it is also condescending, and humility is something Kaffee is short on, at least on the surface. His humor is obvious when he asks if the prosecutor is going to charge the man for being in “possession of a condiment.” Kaffee gets his deal.

 

At a meeting with Lt. Sam Weinberg (Kevin Pollack) in attendance, Kaffee is late and doesn’t even know what a “fence line” is in Cuba, which again shows his lack of dedicated involvement in his job. He is given the case involving Dawson illegally shooting into enemy territory and Santiago’s subsequent death. The examining physician said the rag contained some type of poison, which the defendants claim was not so. Kaffee has to go to Cuba and the family man Weinberg, who has a baby at home and does not want to travel with Kaffee, is nevertheless assigned as backup. As Weinberg rightly assumes, he has “no responsibilities whatsoever.” So, the implication is his job is supposed to just make things look efficient, not thorough.

 Kaffee (eating an apple, looking like a youngster more at home on the schoolyard than a legal office, and forgetting the name of the person he is to see) and Weinberg (who repeats that he has no responsibilities whatsoever) go to see Galloway. Obviously, Galloway is not impressed by the selection of counsel. Galloway doesn’t think she was taken seriously about her interest in the case given that Kaffee is out of law school for only a little over a year. Weinberg tries to assure Galloway of Kaffee’s competence, saying he has “successfully plea-bargained 44 cases in nine months,” to which the cavalier Kaffee adds, “one more, I get a set of steak knives.” When asked if he’s been in a courtroom, he continues his humorous attitude by saying he was in one involving his driver’s license. She tells Kaffee that he will be seeing the barracks Commanding Officer, Col. Nathan Jessup, who Kaffee naturally does not know. Weinberg fills him in that the man has been in the newspapers and will be the next “director of operations of the National Security Council,” which means he will be in the White House. Galloway gives Kaffee the numerous letters Santiago wrote requesting a transfer. He offered to expose Dawson’s wrongful gunshot to get out of Guantanamo, thus giving Dawson a motive. Kaffee can’t even remember the victim’s name but because he assumes the letters paint a bad picture of Marine life on base, he can get the prosecution to “drop the conspiracy and conduct unbecoming” charges and reduce the sentence to twelve years. She is alarmed that he hasn’t studied the records or interviewed anybody, and already concluded the case to his satisfaction. She tells him he will have to “go deeper,” whereas Kaffee is happy to remain on the emotional surface. She says her job is to make sure he does his job properly, and as he gets up to leave, she tells him he is “dismissed.” Her command stresses how even though she is a woman, she outranks him. It shows her being in a powerful position now, as opposed to her subservient first meeting about the case. Galloway warns against Kaffee using his smart mouth at Guantanamo because the Marines there are fanatical about “being Marines.” (The title of the film refers to an old advertising slogan for the U. S. Marine Corps which said that they were looking for “few good men.” The implication was that there were not that many men who were good enough to qualify for that branch of the service. As this story points out, that sense of elitism can draw some scary individuals).

 

What follows is a dramatization as Santiago’s voice is heard reading one of his letters. He notes that he was feeling dizzy and nauseated during practice maneuvers. He was literally pushed by his sergeant at one point and he fell down a steep hill and blacked out. He was diagnosed with heat exhaustion, and decided he wanted a transfer. At the mess hall Santiago eats alone, not welcomed by his fellow soldiers, most likely because they felt superior to him and thought he did not dedicate himself to performing like a true Marine. 

 Col. Jessup (Jack Nicholson) finishes Santiago’s letter in his own voice and is upset that the soldier has broken the chain of command by sending out letters all over the place asking for a transfer and using a fellow Marine as a bargaining chip. Lt. Col. Matthew Markinson (J. T. Walsh) says they should transfer Santiago to avoid bad publicity. Jessup frames his sarcasm in an exaggerated polite manner and says Markinson must be right, so maybe they should transfer everyone off of the base. He calls in his assistant, Tom (Josh Malina) to tell the President that they are surrendering their position in Cuba. Because there is no questioning of orders in the Marines, Tom is ready to carry out the ridiculous command, and Jessup has to stop him from doing so. Jessup continues with his sarcastic attitude by suggesting that maybe they should be training Santiago instead to protect the country, because he knows he “read that somewhere.” He drops the snide attitude and says that Santiago isn’t going anywhere, and he tells platoon leader Lt. Jonathan Kendrick (Keifer Sutherland) that he should make sure that Santiago does well on his next evaluation or else Jessup will blame Kendrick and then “kill” him. Fear and intimidation seem to be the tools Jessup uses to get his way. 

 

Markinson states that he believes what Jessup is doing is not the right way to proceed. In private, Jessup says he thinks Kendrick is a “weasel,” but that he is a good soldier, and he is in sync with what Jessup believes good soldiering entails. He says that they are in the business of saving lives, and for Jessup, there is no leeway in trying to reach that goal. He notes that he and Markinson went to the academy together, were commissioned together, and did their tours in Vietnam together. But Jessup has been promoted quicker, and if that upsets Markinson, Jessup says he doesn’t “give a shit.” He comes down hard by saying, “Don’t ever question my orders in front of another officer.” Jessup uses the iron rule that comes with his dictatorial position. In this case, that authority empowers a narcissist like Jessup, who sees everything being about himself. So, he can’t even consider that Markinson’s opinion has to do with the well-being of the soldier and not about envy. 

 

Back in Washington there is a shot of the statue that shows Marines raising the American flag on Iwo Jima. It is a symbol of brotherhood and victory which appeals to patriotic zeal. The film does not lose sight of this type of accomplishment, but it also presents how the methods to achieve military successes can be abused. The shot is followed by Dawson and Downey arriving handcuffed, being both physically and psychologically restrained. Downey is confused as he views the seat of the government that he thought he was serving but now instead is punishing him. 

 Galloway visits Kaffee at his favorite spot, the baseball field, where he is practicing hitting but has neglected practicing law, since he hasn’t consulted Dawson and Downey. Galloway has researched Kaffee’s background and found his father was Lionel Kaffee, who was an esteemed man, having been a Navy Judge Advocate and an attorney general of the United States. It doesn’t seem coincidental that the supposedly aloof Kaffee joined the Navy. Perhaps he wants to be close to his father’s legacy. But maybe he is intimidated by the man’s accomplishments, and puts on a show of not even trying to achieve courtroom success so as not to be compared to his dad. Galloway, however, is upset that he will handle the present case in a “fast-food, slick-ass, Persian bazaar manner,” and the defendants will suffer for it. She doesn’t believe that the two Marines are guilty of murder. After being harangued, Kaffee cuts the act and shows he has researched the case. He knows that Santiago died of asphyxiation brought on by lactic acidosis, and the medical report “strongly suggests poison.” She argues that the doctor took a while to announce the cause of death. The implication here is that the physician may have been persuaded to make a determination that would put the blame on Dawson and Downey. Since Kaffee thinks the Marines are guilty, she wants him removed. But he points out that since he was assigned by Division, he will remain on the case. She asks if he knows what a Code Red is, and the look on Kaffee’s face reveals he doesn’t, which means despite acting like he understands what’s happening, he doesn’t.

 Kaffee and Weinberg meet with Dawson and Downey, and their different military perspectives are apparent. The Marines are trained to repeat “sir” often, and act by-the-book, whereas Kaffee promotes an informal approach, and the two styles grate on each other. Dawson informs Kaffee that a Code Red is a disciplinary action carried out by soldiers in a unit to get a comrade back “on track.” An example is if a soldier doesn’t bathe regularly, he gets a “G.I shower” involving Brillo pads and steel wool. Ouch! Dawson insists that they were ordered to perform a Code Red on Santiago, which only entailed shaving his head. Downey, who doesn’t understand why he is on trial for following orders, says there was no poisonous substance on the rag they put in Santiago’s mouth, and when they saw blood dripping down the man’s face they called an ambulance. Dawson admits to firing into Cuban territory because an enemy soldier was ready to shoot at him. So, he is saying his action was in self-defense. But that’s not how the official report reads. Dawson says the Code Red was issued because Santiago went outside the chain of command and he didn’t put “his unit before himself.” That suggests that a Marine shouldn’t think about his own personal safety before those of his fellow soldiers, which makes Santiago seem selfish by military standards. Dawson says a Marine must respect “the code,” which is in order of importance, “Unit, Corps, God, Country.” The level of loyalty to the branch of service is so demanding that it supersedes allegiance to the Almighty and the nation, and Kaffee sees that fact as a difficult stance to defend.

 The prosecuting attorney is Captain Jack Ross (Kevin Bacon) who says he will be asking for twenty years and Dawson and Downey will only serve half. Kaffee sticks to his prior plea for twelve years, and then asks about Code Reds. Off the record, Ross says he’ll grant the twelve-year sentences, but Kaffee should know that Kendrick told the unit that Santiago was not to be disciplined. Kaffee will not close the deal until he returns from Cuba. These two are friends, and even joke with each other, but they have to be opponents even though they respect each other. Galloway wants to cooperate with Kaffee, probably because she has no choice, and secured authorization from Downey’s only living relative, Aunt Ginny (Maud Winchester), so Galloway will be going to Cuba, too. Kaffee envisions the aunt as a rural hick and an old lady but who turns out to be an intelligent young woman, showing Kaffee’s preconceived notions can be wrong.

 

Kaffee confers with Weinberg because it was too easy getting the sentence he wanted. Kaffee also wonders why Ross brought up the story about Kendrick, since Kaffee doesn’t even know about the officer. He most likely is considering there is a cover-up going on. Weinberg believes the story told by the Marines, but still thinks that they “ought to go to jail for the rest of their lives.” He implies that blindly following orders to assault another soldier which causes his death is a punishable offense. So, he sees a twelve-year sentence as a “gift.” 

 

Cpl. Jeffrey Barnes (Noah Wyle) picks up Kaffee, Weinberg, and Galloway at the landing site at Guantanamo, and tells them they must wear camouflage jackets because their white uniforms will indicate they are officers worthy of enemy fire. This fact stresses the danger that the country’s soldiers are faced with every day. It is funny that they have to take a boat and Kaffee doesn’t like riding in one, despite being in the Navy. They go to Marine Barracks Windward to meet Jessup, who is accompanied by Markinson and Kendrick. Markinson once saw Kaffee’s father in person, and Jessup realizes that Lionel Kaffee argued for school integration in the South, which suggests that a defiance of unjust practices runs in the family. 

 Kendrick takes the lawyers on an orientation tour where he says that despite having an “informer” among them, he told his soldiers Santiago must not be harmed. The word “informer” has more than a negative connotation concerning the individual doing the informing because it can also mean that there is something being hidden that should be exposed. They go to Santiago’s room that still has blood stains on the bedding and floor. Kaffee sees that the Marine’s closet was filled with his uniforms (which becomes an important fact later). Kendrick’s Marine superiority is evident as he will not permit Kaffee to call him by his first name, and says when Marines have to fight, Navy “fellas” give them a “ride,” which suggests that is all the sailors are good for. When Galloway asks Kendrick if he believes that Santiago was murdered, Kendrick’s self-righteous response is “I believe in God, and His son Jesus Christ” which justifies him saying that Santiago died because “he had no code” and therefore “no honor, and God was watching.” Kendrick thinks that those who dare to question or defy what the Marine Corps dictates will suffer divine wrath. There is no room here for independent thinking.

 The meeting with Jessup reveals his contemptuousness for the Navy lawyers who dare to investigate his handling of the Santiago matter. Jessup reveals that before Santiago died, he was scheduled to take the first flight off the base the next morning at six o’clock for his own safety, once it became known that Santiago was offering information to trade for a release. Kaffee is in a rush to leave, but Galloway wants to know, despite orders prohibiting Code Red’s, if any took place under Jessup’s command. Jessup tries to shut her down by making a sexist statement, saying because Galloway is of higher rank than Kaffee, it makes for a more sexually provocative interaction, as if a woman’s qualifications aren’t what’s important in promoting her. He is crude, too, in order to intimidate Galloway, by saying if someone hasn’t gotten “a blow job from a superior officer, well, you’re just letting the best in life pass you by.” She does not let him deter her and she says he must answer, at which point he warns her about her “tone,” which is not deferential toward him. He admits that officially he discourages Code Reds, but unofficially he says they are an “invaluable part of close-infantry training,” and if they occur without his knowledge, that’s fine with him, adding basically that he is the sole person who decides how to run his base. The contradiction here is obvious: Jessup is a Marine, who believes in taking orders, unless he is ordered to do something that he doesn’t like. He tries to justify his stance because he puts his life on the line every day, so outsiders don’t have the right to question his methods. 

 

On the way out Kaffee says he needs a copy of Santiago’s transfer order. Jessup now aims his superiority at Kaffee, trying to undermine his masculinity by saying he wears a “faggoty white uniform,” and demands Kaffee has to ask him “nicely” for any help. This scene shows that Jessup requires others to beg for anything from such an exalted personage as himself. Since he is dismissive of Kaffee’s Harvard degree, Jessup shows how that doesn’t make Kaffee exempt from giving Jessup some “fucking courtesy.”

 

Back at his place in Washington, Kaffee has the baseball game on, but he uncharacteristically isn’t paying attention, probably on edge about how Jessup acted. He holds his baseball bat and grips it as if he is ready to take some swings at an opponent. Galloway shows up and says Markinson disappeared just after they left Cuba, which suggests that there is something off about the case. Galloway says she thinks Kendrick ordered a Code Red, and her statement gives Kaffee enough of a push to go and ask Dawson if that was the case. The Marine confirms the order. Kaffee is angry that he didn’t say so earlier, and Dawson says he wasn’t asked. The suggestion is that the military way of not volunteering anything, unless prompted to do so, is detrimental if the information involves the well-being of the individual. Galloway intervenes and gets Dawson to state that although Kendrick gave orders to leave Santiago alone, right after that meeting he told Dawson and Downey to discipline Santiago. With this specific information, Kaffee tells Ross that the defendants were ordered to attack Santiago. Ross, who doesn't know anything about Kendrick issuing a Code Red, says that there is no evidence of Dawson's story, and Markinson was in counterintelligence for seventeen years, so they will never find him, saying, “There is no Markinson.” Ross admits, in order to not have anything interfere with Jessup’s future, he is authorized to offer sentences of two years for involuntary manslaughter, and Dawson and Downey will actually get discharged in six months. The movie implies condemnation of those in power who want a megalomaniac like Jessup in power. Galloway doesn’t want to accept the deal, but Ross tells her what the silent Kaffee is thinking, which is that in court Ross will charge the men with conspiracy, murder, etc., and Kaffee, not a trial lawyer, will lose and likely have his clients go away for life.

 

There is the image of a floodlit Washington Monument, another symbol of “liberty and justice for all,” but the question here is will the handling of this case live up to that standard. Kaffee tells Dawson and Downey about the deal, which he makes sound like he pulled a legal rabbit out of his lawyer’s hat. But these men aren’t about compromises, as they have been drilled in doing their “job” as ordered, which they see as honorable, no matter what the “consequences.” Dawson says he will not plead guilty because the two men have a moral center that they found in the Marine Corps code, and not sticking to what they believe is right means they will agree to a dishonorable discharge. Dawson is saying that he will not voluntarily forfeit his honor, but will accept a court’s determination on the merits of the case. Kaffee meets with Dawson alone, trying to get the Marine to take responsibility for what he is subjecting Downey to. Dawson asks Kaffee if he thinks he and Downey were “right.” Kaffee says he thinks they will lose. We have here an idealistic man colliding with a practical one, who may have become cynical about what is right and what is wrong. Dawson calls Kaffee a “coward,” most likely because he believes Kaffee doesn’t stand for anything, and says he can’t believe he wears a uniform with that lack of a code of conduct. Dawson refuses to salute Kaffee on his way out, showing his contempt for the man.

 

Kaffee wants new counsel assigned since he sees his connection to Dawson as broken. Weinberg has no sympathy for the defendants, likening them to the Nazis at the Nuremberg trials and the Vietnam My Lai incident, implying that the “I was just taking orders” defense doesn’t work. Kaffee disagrees with Weinberg, saying Dawson and Downey aren’t like the Nazis because the Marines were “executing an order they never believed would result in harm.” After being with Kaffee, Galloway now thinks he is a winner and Dawson and Downey need him. Kaffee insists that they need a new lawyer. Angry, Galloway says he is intimidated by his father’s greatness and calls Kaffee “an ambulance chaser with a rank.” She sees him devoid of passion and purpose, and that is why, as a human being, she says he “is nothing.” 

 Kaffee takes time for contemplation, and at the arraignment stays on to represent Dawson and Downey, and pleads “not guilty.” He now puts his ego aside and objectively observes that he was chosen because he makes deals so that the case would never get to trial, He tells the other two to get ready to prepare for the trial, and then amusingly observes, “So this is what a courtroom looks like.” At Kaffee’s apartment, Weinberg looks like he wants off the case as he still argues Dawson and Downey carried out an illegal order, and are therefore guilty. Kaffee is entering the mindset of the Marines and says they follow orders no matter what, so the implication is that it is the person issuing the illegal order that is the true guilty person. Also, when there is an immediate life and death situation, as can be the case in the military, the suggestion here is that the training teaches soldiers that there is no time to contemplate the morality of an order they are carrying out.

 

The film then depicts a collage of scenes to show witness preparation and research, including trying to find out what could cause lactic acidosis other than poison. Kaffee says they are going to go after Kendrick as the one who told the defendants to carry out the Code Red. Kaffee puts on a confident face but after Weinberg and Galloway leave the night before the trial he admits misgivings about the case, and probably about himself, when he says, “We’re gonna to get creamed.” 

 The judge at the court martial trial is Colonel Julius Alexander Randolph (J. A. Preston). In his opening statement, Ross says that Dawson and Downey entered Santiago’s room, bound him, shoved a rag down his throat which caused the man’s lungs to bleed and he drowned in his own blood. He adds, “These are the facts of the case, and they are undisputed.” He is right to that extent, but Ross says that the rag had poison on it, and there was a motive to kill Santiago. Kaffee immediately says that there was no poison and no intent to murder the victim. And “any attempt to prove otherwise is futile ‘cause it just ain’t true.” Kaffee’s delivery is strong by being so definite. He appeals to the military jury members mindset by saying Dawson and Downey were ordered to assault Santiago, and when you are a soldier in a possible combat zone, orders must be followed. Kaffee repeats what Dawson told him, which was that they were doing their “job.” This use of Dawson’s words shows how Kaffee has come to understand what makes his defendants tick. 

 

A witness investigating Dawson says that although a round was discharged from Dawson’s rifle, he was not charged with an illegal firing of his weapon because Santiago was the only witness, and being deceased, he could not be questioned to back up his claim. The testimony suggests that the death of Santiago prevented him from corroborating Santiago’s accusation, thus letting Dawson off the hook, and establishing a possible motive for killing Santiago. Cpl. Carl Hammaker (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) states that Kendrick told them Santiago was an informer who went outside the chain of command to implicate a fellow soldier, which angered Hammaker. He goes on to say that Kendrick gave an order that Santiago should not be harmed. Ross is ready to call all the other witnesses to confirm what Hammaker said. But Kaffee halts this piling on for effect by saying he will concede that all of the witnesses heard the same command as long as Ross agrees that none of the witnesses was in Dawson and Downey’s room following the meeting. Kaffee wants to make sure there is nobody who can contradict Dawson’s statement about when the Code Red was assigned.

 Although they suspect coercion on the part of Jessup concerning the doctor’s findings, they have no evidence to back up that allegation. Dr. Stone (Christopher Guest) explains lactic acidosis is the result of the body burning sugar instead of oxygen, causing the lungs to bleed. Stone is adamant that despite there being no evidence of a poison, there are many toxic substances that are undetectable. Kaffee then argues that there can be a coronary condition that can cause lactic acidosis. Symptoms of the heart condition would be chest pain, fatigue, and shortness of breath. Kaffee produces a medical evaluation signed by Stone that has those exact symptoms which justified placing Santiago on temporary restricted duty. Nevertheless, Stone is adamant that Santiago was poisoned. Galloway makes the mistake of continuing to object to Stone’s professional opinion, and angers the judge. Weinberg lets Galloway know that her confrontational manner weakened their case, but underneath that anger Galloway knows that Weinberg is frustrated by being involved in something he doesn’t believe in. She asks why he hates Dawson and Downey, and he says that they “beat up on a weakling,” and all the rest of the case is “crap.” He says they “tortured and killed” Santiago because “they didn’t like him” for the simple reason “he couldn’t run very fast.” Kaffee calms them down, but before leaving, Weinberg wants to know why Galloway is on the side of Dawson and Downey. She says because they are on that defensive line and they pledge to make sure nothing will harm their fellow citizens on their “watch.” We again have the two sides presented concerning what it takes to maintain military protection versus the need to have safeguards based on individual conscience against tyranny.

 

Galloway awkwardly asks Kaffee if she could take him out to dinner, on a kind of date, where she talks about her legal background. He asks why she is always giving him her “resume.” She wants him to think she is a good lawyer, but shows her insecurity again by saying he doesn’t. She says that watching him in action convinced her that he is an exceptional attorney, and believes that he will win the case. He gives her enthusiasm a reality check, saying that they have no evidence of the Code Red, only the testimony of the defendants. She is optimistic that they will find Markinson, despite that seeming impossible.

 Cpl. Barnes testifies to the fact that Code Reds do exist at Guantanamo because he received one, which was to punish him for dropping his rifle in the heat. He says the disciplinary action worked because he never let go of his weapon again. Barnes says he was punched and glue poured on him, which seems cruel, but it also shows the effectiveness of the disciplinary act. Kaffee gets Barnes to say that despite Santiago’s numerous inadequacies as a soldier he didn’t receive a Code Red because Dawson protected Santiago. Kaffee is suggesting that it is inconsistent that Dawson would want to hurt a man he had a history of shielding from harm. Ross presents manuals to show that there’s nothing in them about Code Reds, but Kaffee negates that argument by saying not everything is written down, such as where the mess hall is. Kaffee’s grabbing one of the books out of Ross’s hand as they exchange places shows how Kaffee can improvise, which makes him different from his father who planned everything, following military rigidity. Guidelines are one thing, but between the lines of written rules is the leeway to exercise freedom, but also to justify exerting authoritarian will.

 

The mysterious Markinson seems to appear out of thin air in the back of Kaffee’s car. He says that Kendrick ordered the Code Red, and that Santiago was never going to get off the base, because Markinson signed the transfer orders after Santiago died as part of the cover-up. He also says Jessup lied about the flight for Santiago being the only one since there was a plane leaving several hours earlier. Kaffee says he will get Markinson immunity to testify. But, Markinson doesn’t want it, feeling he deserves no reward as he says he is not “proud” of what he did or is doing. Which means he feels guilty for allowing Dawson and Downey to take the blame for Santiago’s death, and also for becoming an informer, which is what Santiago was, and which led to his death. Markinson feels like a lost man, a person without a military or a civilian code.

 

As Weinberg looks for the flight log, Kaffee meets with Ross to tell him he has Markinson. Ross, who is a Marine, says he is not like Jessup or Kendrick (those “fanatical” ones Galloway mentioned). He says he doesn’t believe Dawson and Downey belong in jail, but his personal thoughts can’t interfere with his job, which he feels he must carry out, as did Dawson and Downey. So, he is like the other Marines who put the mission above personal views which may conflict with orders. Ross also warns Kaffee that he can be court-martialed for accusing an officer of a felony without evidence, since the legal system in the military is rank protective.

 

On the witness stand, Kendrick continues to be hostile toward Kaffee, who tries to show inconsistencies in Kendrick’s behavior and evaluations of soldiers, specifically concerning Dawson. Kendrick again stresses what he relies on for his actions, which are The Marine Corps Code of Conduct and The King James Bible. The only authority he pays attention to are, “Nathan R. Jessup, and the Lord our God.” He is repeating the putting of the leadership of the Corps before God, showing his priorities and his rigidity, since he relies solely on rules that are inflexible. Kendrick gave orders for another soldier, Pvt. Bell, to be restricted to barracks and have his nourishment reduced for committing an offense. However, Kendrick does not concede that his order was a Code Red. He says he knows they exist but that he has never ordered one. Dawson’s humanity again is revealed, since he secretly supplied food to Pvt. Bell. Kaffee suggests that Dawson, whose record was perfect, then received a low rating because he defied the meal restriction. Kendrick considers disobeying an order to be “a crime.” Kaffee suggests that shouldn’t Dawson be allowed, in a non-combat situation, to decide which orders to follow and which to ignore based on his own sense of right and wrong. Of course, Kaffee knows that in the military that is not the way things operate in crisis situations. When Kendrick says Dawson can’t disobey any order, Kaffee says that Dawson, following his low rating, was then motivated to carry out any subsequent order from Kendrick, including a Code Red, because defiance meant punishment. 

 

The flight log backs up Jessup’s version of what happened, and Markinson tells Kaffee that Jessup had the logbooks altered for take-offs and landings. Markinson just wanted to be an information source, and the thought of testifying in court and breaking his allegiance to the Marine code of conduct is too much for him to bear. He puts on his dress uniform and commits suicide with his firearm. At the trial, Downey testifies that he received the order to perform a Code Red from Kendrick. But Ross gets him to admit that he was hiking at the time Dawson said that Kendrick gave the Code Red. Downey only heard it from Dawson. He seems to be committing perjury, but Downey doesn’t understand the legal restriction against hearsay evidence. So devout is his belief in the Corps that he believes that whatever Dawson told him was the absolute truth, just as if he heard the words from Kendrick in person.

 

Kaffee, after learning about Markinson’s suicide, shows up drunk at his place where Galloway and Weinberg wait for him (there is a rainstorm, the inclemency of the weather reflecting the possible severe punishment the Marines may receive). After telling them that they now have no more witnesses, Kaffee says the case is over, and that Dawson and Downey needed a trial lawyer. His insecurity comes through here as he is probably feeling the weight of his father’s reputation bearing down on him. Galloway relentlessly pushes to continue fighting by putting Jessup on the stand and getting him to admit he ordered Kendrick to issue the Code Red. Kaffee is savagely sarcastic toward her, saying her advice is “galactically stupid!” Galloway says with sad sarcasm that she is sorry she lost him his set of steak knives, and leaves. Weinberg tells Kaffee that although his father was a great trial lawyer Weinberg would choose his son to represent the defendants based on how he was in the courtroom. Given the circumstances, Weinberg says, even though Lionel Kaffee and Weinberg would not put Jessup on the stand, the real question is what would Kaffee do? Weinberg is trying to get Kaffee to realize he has to get out from under the legal shadow of his father. Kaffee shows he is his own man and chases after Galloway, saying he will go after Jessup.

 

The next day the three go over how to deal with Jessup. Kaffee says he thinks Jessup would love to admit he ordered the Code Red because he is so arrogant he doesn’t like hiding how he runs things, especially not in front of the Harvard grad with the “faggoty” uniform. He isn’t sure how to get Jessup to the point of revealing what he did. He says he thinks better with his baseball bat and when he retrieves it from his closet, he looks at his clothes, which reminds him of the uniforms hanging in Santiago’s room, and he gets an idea. He goes to his office and gets a list of personnel who worked at Andrews Air Force Base, and tells Weinberg to go to the base. Kaffee and Galloway are ready to go into the courtroom, but Weinberg isn’t there yet with the “guys.” Galloway, in a bit of reversal of her gung ho attitude, tells Kaffee that if it doesn’t look like he’s going to get Jessup, he should back off, because he could get into serious trouble.

 Jessup walks to the stand with an intimidating look at Kaffee. Weinberg then enters with two air base groundsmen. Jessup notices their entrance, possibly feeling a twinge of concern. Kaffee wants to make sure that the jury now knows that Markinson killed himself, possibly planting a seed of curiosity in their minds as to why the second-in-command to Jessup would be so conflicted. Jessup testifies that he gave Kendrick the order to tell his men not to harm Santiago and at the same time had Markinson arrange Santiago’s departure to keep the man out of danger. Kaffee then establishes that Jessup was only coming for a day and brought a change of clothes, personal items, and contacted some people. Yet Santiago, after writing dozens of letters begging to get out of Cuba, supposedly was “leaving for the rest of his life,” but hadn’t packed one item and didn’t call anyone. The thrust here is that there was no plan to transfer Santiago since he didn’t take action that would indicate he knew he was leaving. When Kaffee pointedly suggests that there wasn’t any transfer order, Jessup is cool, saying maybe Santiago was an early riser and packed then, and maybe he didn’t have any friends to contact. He is sarcastic toward Kaffee, wondering if all he was asked to do was talk about phone calls and clothes. It is at this point that Kaffee looks around the room, since he has reached that line Galloway was talking about where he may not get Jessup’s admission of the Code Red, and he must be courageous if he continues. 

 

Jessup thinks he has won and starts to walk away, but Kaffee shows no respect toward Jessup, telling him he isn’t done with him and that he should “sit down.” His attitude is meant to antagonize Jessup. Jessup questions the judge about how he is running his court. Kaffee’s plan is working because he revealed Jessup’s condescending attitude. The judge then says Jessup should address him as “Your Honor,” because he has earned the right to be shown respect, too. 

 

Kaffee asks if there was an earlier flight that was supposed to leave at eleven the previous evening and arrive at Andrews at two in the morning. Jessup says no, but Kaffee says that he will be calling the two ground crew men to testify shortly. He then asks if possibly Kendrick never gave Jessup’s order that Santiago shouldn’t be touched. Kaffee makes himself look like an ignorant man who has no idea of the sanctity of the chain of command. His stance stokes Jessup who asks rhetorically if Kaffee ever was in a position to put his life in the hands of others on the front line of battle, or have fellow soldiers rely on him. Jessup instructs Kaffee that if orders aren’t followed, “people die.” Then Kaffee springs his trap: if Jessup’s orders are always followed, and his order was that Santiago should not be touched, then why was there a need to transfer him off base to protect him? Jessup backpedals and says that sometimes men take matters into their own hands. But Kaffee persistently interrupts, saying Jessup just said his men never act on their own without receiving orders. Jessup starts to break and calls Kaffee a “snotty little bastard.” Ross tries for a recess, but the judge wants to hear Jessup’s explanation. When Kaffee demands to hear the truth, we get the famous line from Jessup, “You can’t handle the truth!” He then angrily says that Santiago’s death actually saved lives most likely because in Jessup’s mind there can’t be exceptions as to how his men must learn to meet his standards. He says he provides the safety blanket that others live under by doing the “grotesque” business that Kaffee and others don’t want to do nor appreciate, and then they have the audacity to question how Jessup provides that protection. He says they “want” him and “need” him on that line of defense. Kaffee roars that there was no transfer order, Jessup doctored the flight logs, and ordered the Code Red. When he continually challenges Jessup, the man finally admits to Kaffee about ordering the Code Red, “You Goddamn right I did!” 

 It is now Jessup’s turn to not understand why he is being charged with anything. As the MP’s guard him and Ross reads him his rights, Jessup tries to physically attack Kaffee. After being restrained, he says that Kaffee just put the lives of people in danger, and uses the word “son” in a dismissive way to refer to Kaffee. For Kaffee, being called “son” by this man is an insult compared to the esteemed father who addressed him that way. Kaffee tells him that he is an officer and a lawyer, and says, “You’re under arrest, you son-of-a-bitch.”  Jessup’s hat has fallen to the floor, implying he has been deprived of his power.

 

Kaffee tells Ross that the two airmen knew nothing about an earlier flight, and were only a bluff. Ross says he has to arrest the self-declared religious Kendrick for his part in the Code Red and perjury. The jury finds Dawson and Downey guilty of “behavior unbecoming a Marine,” and they receive dishonorable discharges (which is really a charge for officers, and they should be discharged “for the good of the service,” given their ranks, as noted on IMDb). Downey doesn’t understand why they were blamed for anything since it was shown that they were following orders. But Dawson says they are guilty of not fighting “for people who couldn’t fight for themselves,” and they should have protected Santiago, as Dawson had done earlier. Dawson now gives Kaffee respect by saluting him as he leaves. The movie is stating that orders should not be followed without question under circumstances when human decency indicates that the ends do not justify the means.

The next film is Shattered Glass.