Bound for Glory

 SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed!

Bound for Glory (1976), directed by Hal Ashby (Harold and Maud, Coming Home), is an episodic story that reminds one of The Grapes of Wrath. It starts out with a line from Woody Guthrie that urges others to not get “plumb” down. We have here an optimist even though he sang songs about the Great Depression, the toughest economic time in American history.

The story begins in Pampa, Texas in July, 1936. Woody (David Carradine, who plays guitar and sings in the role) strums his guitar while other men talk about wanting to go to California or the Gulf of Mexico. Old Man Jenkins (Delos V. Smith, Jr.) says, “In California, you just plop a seed into the ground, you find a sprout the very next day.” They want to escape to anywhere that might suggest the promise of a better life, even if those dreams are as insubstantial as the smoke coming out of a pipe. Woody says these men are “depressing,” probably because of their pathetic ramblings. But they have lost their jobs and there is nothing promising where they are.

A man named Collister (Beeson Carroll) arrives to get gas for his car and says he’d pay a fortune teller who can inform him of something interesting. Woody says he knows the man must work for the oil company because nobody else could afford a fortune teller and a “soda pop.” He adds that the man is serious about his work because his eyebrows are knit together. He goes on to say that Collister is looking for a better idea and wants a big company to buy him out. Collister asks when he should make the transaction. Woody laughs and says he isn’t a mind reader, which is funny since he has made such an accurate assessment of the stranger. Collister gives him a dollar and compliments Woody, saying he’s the only man not claiming to know everything. The exchange shows Woody’s insight, humility, and honesty.

Since he made some money from talking, Woody paints a sign advertising his communication skills. His wife, Mary (Melinda Dillon), tells her husband to be practical about making money from his artistic sign-making ability. Woody ask her not to harp on that point, which shows him to be an impractical man interested in artistic and extraordinary practices. That same idea comes up around the family dinner table later when Woody’s father, Charlie Guthrie (Robert Sorrells), says there are jobs in Amarillo Texas at a department store. Woody says he isn’t going to be “no shoe salesman.” Mary is sarcastic about how maybe Woody can tell his daughter’s fortune when the child is “begging for milk.” The artistic and the practical just don’t mix well in Woody.

Because he now has a reputation as a fortune teller, people expect him to have other extraordinary powers like helping those that are sick from inhaling the dust from the storms prevalent in the middle of the country. These actual storms seem to mirror Mother Nature’s symbolic comment on the waste land that has taken over the United States. Woody gives a mind over body speech to encourage an ill woman to keep fighting for survival. He tells her that God gave her a mind which is “the boss of the whole body.” So, her mind can tell her body to drink water and thrive so she will not leave her husband and children behind. When the woman starts to drink water her relative offers Woody some money, but he refuses it. He probably feels doing a good deed is compensation enough, and he is proud that his words could do what they did. This ability to influence others through words eventually leads to his being a singer/songwriter.

Woody’s individualism comes across when instead of painting a shipowner’s sign with white letters against a black background, he instead uses red as the backdrop. He tells the owner that red stands out better which demonstrates his artistic sensibility and defies traditional standards. That defiance gets him fired from the job, showing that the nonconformist finds resistance from those that subscribe to rigid standards. That rebelliousness can lead to selfish behavior since we see a scene where a woman makes sexual advances after he sings. His infidelity is not an admirable aspect of rule breaking as Woody ignores the commitment to his wife.

A large man named Heavy Chandler (Lee McLaughlin) introduces himself to Woody as an “insane” man. He says that he was in an asylum and that ever since he was young he saw “newsreels” in his head. He says that those images showed that “the boom is over,” and “the dust storms are getting darker and there’s people fighting and killing, and there’s kids sick.” As a fellow fortune teller Woody most likely feels a kinship with Heavy’s premonitions, and he says, “Ain’t nothing wrong with your head.” The artist traditionally had the label of being “mad” as he felt the influence of outside forces flow through him, the literal meaning of “influence.” Those with insight into the dangerous paths that society follows often experience ridicule from the short-sighted. Heavy goes on to say that he also sees “shapes and designs and I see how to build roads better.” In his special way of transcending present limitations he can see how things can be better. Woody recognizes a kindred soul and gives paint and brushes to Heavy so he can present his vision artistically for the rest of the world to appreciate. Woody realizes that his role is the same one he advocates for Heavy.

Woody plays fiddle with some local musicians at a local square dance. Everyone is having a good time despite the tough circumstances. But it’s as if Mother Nature will not allow them to experience enjoyment since a huge dust storm interrupts the party. Woody fights the unbreathable air as he rushes home to try and protect his family which must cover all openings to their shack. As they listen to Woody’s music they must cover their noses and mouths with damp cloths. The suffocating environment is symbolic of how life is trying to choke the life out of the impoverished. He sees the depressed barber who has no customers in his dust-laden shop, and the resident who can’t get his motorcycle started because of the dirt. After learning that there will be no more square dances even the positive Woody admits to his wife that things are getting desperate.

Woody’s free spirit can’t tolerate staying in the bogged down existence of Pampa, so he leaves a note to Mary that says he is going to California. He hesitates for only a moment, but when he sees he can get a ride out of town he takes off. It’s not easy for the audience to accept his decision to leave his wife and young children. He travels with nothing more than the clothes on his back, his paint brushes, and a harmonica. He becomes an illegal passenger in a cramped train boxcar with other poor travelers chasing what’s left of the American Dream out west to California.

He becomes friends with another hobo, an African American named Slim Snedeger (Ji-Tu Cumbuka). On the train he also meets Po Steve and Crippled Whitey (James Jeter). Their names reflect their sad fates. Whitey calls himself a “fight spotter,” because he can “spot a fist-fight on the street three blocks” before he reaches it. He fits in with the motif of the fortune tellers, poor folks with prophetic visions who can see things that others can’t. Slim says that people can get short-tempered riding boxcars, but Woody’s optimism surfaces when he says that it still “beats walking.” But Whitey’s prediction of a fight in ten minutes is right as a brawl breaks out among the stowaways. Slim and Woody jump out when the train slows, and they climb on top of one of the train cars. Slim echoes the earlier pie-in-the-sky idea that one can find “whatever a man needs” in California. Woody keeps music as his companion as he plays the harmonica. As the train rolls on we get a taste of Woody’s most famous song, “This Land is Your Land,” that remind Americans that the country should belong to everyone, not just a privileged few.

The travelers receive a mean unwelcoming by men with clubs and guns as the train pulls into a station. One of the armed thugs threatens to kill one of the hobos. Some must give up what little money they have to continue to travel. Those like Woody who don’t hear coins “jangling” or money “folding” in their pockets are considered vagrants and must walk, threatened with thirty days imprisonment if caught riding a train for free again. Slim is able to get a ride on the train, so Woody loses his new friend in a hurry and continues traveling alone.

Woody can’t even get kindness from a clergyman, who is supposed to be in the Christian compassion business. Woody asks for work to earn a meal. The pastor says that there isn’t any work so it would be charity, and that would cause “harm” in the long run. The film suggests that it is cruel to not help people to live when there is no other alternative for them to survive.

Woody’s musical abilities are many since he can sing, play the guitar, fiddle, harmonica, and now a piano in a bar for tips. The song he sings stresses Jesus’s compassion for the poor, which makes it relevant to the Depression era. He writes songs along the way, winning over a woman’s submission by saying he wrote a particular song just for her. Despite his leaving and infidelity, he still writes letters home to his wife. One may find this act either touching or hypocritical.

Woody is thrilled when he gets a ride that crosses the Arizona border into California. However, that exhilaration lasts a New York second as many transporting their belongings must pull over. The police from Los Angeles require that every man must have fifty dollars to get into California. These are not deadbeats that are trying to enter the state, but down-on-their luck fellow citizens. So much for America being the land of the free. Woody shows his generosity by giving money to the fellow that drove him even though he is dirt poor himself.

He receives help from others that are destitute. A man shares a blanket and campfire with Woody. Another fellow helps Woody get on a guarded train as it starts to quickly depart. For his attempt to travel onboard with Woody, the guards shoot him atop one of the cars. We have citizens shooting other citizens who are just looking for a reprieve from their poverty.

Woody must jump off the train at a station since he can hardly stand up after holding on between cars so no one will notice him. But he has made it to California. However, the hopes for a better place to live there are not in the cards. He cleans up the kitchen area of the restaurant of a Chinese cook and receives chili to eat as payment. But again, there are no jobs. When he helps a couple with a bent wheel on their truck, the man, Luther Johnson (Randy Quaid), says everything in California is “bent.” The promised land is not delivering on its reputation.

Woody rides with Luther and his wife, Liz (Elizabeth Macey), and their infant child. Luther is a migrant farm worker. They go to a place where there are only about three hundred jobs and there are a thousand more than that number hoping for work. Most of the people live camped outside, crowded together, hoping against all odds to get employment. Wages are so bad that they can’t buy essentials. Woody says that there ought to be something done to help the workers. Luther mentions the possibility of a union, but a strike would bring hardship to those already suffering.

He goes into town to pawn Luther’s guitar for him and stops at a soup kitchen. Woody is not used to getting handouts and expects to work for the soup. He eventually accepts the free meal from Pauline (Gail Strickland) but promises to paint a sign for the kitchen the next day. She agrees to red and white, and it appears Woody sees a connection between them. After painting the sign, he says he hopes she will make dinner for him. She realizes the romantic implication here and says she can’t grant his request. Woody rubs his scruffy beard and says, “of course you can’t.” She insists that it is not Woody’s downtrodden appearance that is the reason for the rejection. But, he shows no hurt because he says it is a good reason.

Woody then goes to a bar just to play a relaxing song, but a fight breaks out between two men. It seems there is no place of peace in this tension-packed world. Back at the migrant camp, tempers are also running high as only thirty people get jobs. Luther says that all the employers are alike no matter where a worker goes. The depression was truly great.

Ozark Bule (Ronnie Cox), a singer, arrives at the campsite and those present are excited by the possibility of entertainment. He brings fruit to eat and says he will only play his guitar if they all shout “Union!” He sings a song that criticizes the employers for saying workers will get their reward in heaven. Ozark’s ability to generate the desire to change the horrible conditions of the poor through his music gets Woody’s attention. There is a hoe-down into the evening and Woody joins with others in singing and playing music. Woody sings his songs, including “Bound for Glory,” about a righteous train traveling. The people there applaud Woody’s performance. The boss’s enforcers try to run Ozark off and fighting breaks out. Woody rides off with Ozark, who tells Woody he should start “trying” to use his talent to make a difference.

Ozark gets Woody an audition at the radio station and Woody gets a weekly job playing his music. He joins with Ozark and other musicians performing at the studio. He sings about not having a home, with the police hassling him as he wanders about, with the bosses cashing in on his hard work. He goes around to the fields with Ozark talking about joining a union and the employer’s goons come by and attack them as they barely escape with their lives. The movie is presenting the abuse of unrestrained capitalism.

Woody now looks cleaned up and goes to the soup kitchen where Pauline still says she doesn’t want to have him over for dinner because she doesn’t know him. He is persistent and funny when he says he would like gravy with his chicken. When he goes to her neighborhood he finds it to be quite upscale. He is funny when he says to Pauline that he thought the mayor would be answering the door since the building looked like city hall. At dinner he asks her if she ever feels “embarrassed” about having so much when others have nothing. He says he met many people on the road who were dead broke who didn’t want charity, just work. Woody says despite being deprived they could still give him something of themselves. When he met rich people they wouldn’t even look at him. In other words, they became dehumanized because they were always afraid of someone taking what they had. He is suggesting what Brad Pitt’s character in Fight Club says how the things you own begin to own you. Pauline is adamant that she has feelings and cares just like others. He says that isn’t good enough, but he thought she had “possibilities” because she was the first rich person “that looked back” instead of ignoring him for being poor.

At a union meeting there is much discord among those present. Woody literally writes a song on the spot and he and Ozark sing about “Stickin’ with the union.” His music and words transcend the animosity and get the crowd on their feet in unison. The goons are there, too, however, and start to use blackjacks on the men. Woody and Ozark join those in the fight to defend their bodies and their rights.

Back at Pauline’s house, Woody nurses his poor, bruised body in her luxurious tub as she sits in her bed. So, they have obviously become intimate. She admits that she is happy knowing him. Despite her being wealthy, he has added an intangible richness to her life. The next morning he confesses that he is married and has children. He can’t lie to her because he knows that they care for one another. Unlike the way he was with other women, when it comes to Pauline, he can’t be selfishly deceptive with her.

Woody now feels that he has enough money to have his family join him. He calls Mary and tells her he loves her. Woody is ready to be a family man again, and buys a house so he, Mary, and the children can live like they hoped they would. They are ecstatic in this new life, but that elation will contrast with the sadness that they will encounter later.

Woody receives fan mail, and the station manager, Locke (John Lehne), offers him a nightly gig with increased pay. However, Woody will have sponsors who want him to steer clear of “controversial” topics. The companies want to cash in on his talent but they want to own his soul so he will not attack them. Ozark gives him a knowing nod to agree to the deal, which suggests he expects to have Woody still preaching the union gospel, but not on the radio. Woody has a difficult time separating the job one uses to make money and one’s moral responsibility. He rebels on the air as he sings a song about the dashed dream of leaving the “dust bowl” for the “sugar bowl” of California, only to discover that visitors are not welcome unless they pay their way in. Locke wants a list of the songs he is going to sing, but Woody would rather have Locke fire him if he must compromise his artistic freedom.

After a show at the station, a man named Baker (Bernie Koppel) meets Woody and eventually becomes his agent. Woody travels and sings, but finding workers earning only “pennies” for their labor depresses Woody. He says to Mary that somehow it made more sense dealing with what Mother Nature served up than people’s “greed.” It seems that he is saying that Mother Nature did not knowingly try to hurt others, unlike humans. Mary worries about him losing his job and doesn’t want to return to an impoverished, unhealthy existence. It is a precarious life at this time when the state of the society can quickly lead to a ruined life.

Woody runs into his old traveling friend Johnson, who incurred a face wound from strike-breakers. Johnson says he learned from his baby that you must make noise to get what you want and tells Woody to keep being the voice of the poor workers. After he gives Locke the list he wanted, Woody is angry and starts to wreck the studio out of guilt for capitulating to the demand. He hits the road again to visit the workers and uses his songs to urge them to become union members. At one spot the company thugs beat him up and destroy his guitar. There is a cost for fighting inequity. Woody left the job and the family, again, and when he returns, Mary is crying when she says, “You don’t think nothing about running off whenever you get the urge.” They have a heated fight. His wife and children become collateral damage in this war Woody wages against the rigged economic system, and the film stresses how difficult it is to fight against those in power.

Woody returns to the radio studio but refuses to stop singing his songs dedicated to the field workers. Locke fires him, but Ozark is jubilant because the agent Baker lined up a CBS performance that will allow Woody to sing to the entire nation. He and Ozark go out celebrating and Woody returns home with gifts for the family. But Mary has had enough of the mostly absent and unreliable Woody going off on his crusades. She has left with the children.

When Woody auditions at the exclusive Coconut Grove venue the booking staff wants to package him as a hillbilly act and do not care about the message he is bringing. He tells Ozark that he doesn’t want to perform in front of rich folks who, according to Woody, are cut off from the rest of the population and, thus, do not bother themselves with the plight of the destitute. Baker has already told him the that he has to avoid “controversial” topics on the CBS show. It’s the same situation that he found at the radio station, where those with money, sponsors, dictate what the artist should say so their own affluent lives can remain impervious to criticism.

He walks out and Ozark finally says goodbye to Woody who says he just wants to be somewhere else. He echoes what he said earlier that he always feels he should be somewhere else. He is not content to settle in and be comfortable and complacent. He’s like a soldier who keeps looking for the battle.

There is a voice-over narrative in which a recording of the real Woody Guthrie says that he hates songs that run people down by saying they are bound to lose. As Woody rides yet another train he sings “This land is Your Land,” which stresses that we should be bound for glory. Woody would die of a terrible ailment, Huntington’s disease, but his music and hope to eliminate oppression lives on.

The next film is Bridge of Spies.

The Last Detail

SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

There’s a great deal of talent associated with this 1973 comedy-drama. The director is Hal Ashby, the man who directed Coming Home and Bound for Glory. The screenwriter is Robert Towne, who on an Oscar for Chinatown. And of course, there is Jack Nicholson, receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for his role here. The script uses a great deal of profanity, but by doing so it lends an authenticity to a story about sailors who bond in this different kind of buddy road movie. One of the soldiers is going on his “last detail,” and the other two, given the nature of the assignment, wish it was their last.

Before there is a visual, the sound of marching music is heard, with drums prominent, stressing how soldiers are supposed to fall into formation with the orders issued by their superiors. The tale begins on a Navy base in Norfolk. There is a sign which reads “Transient Personnel” office. The men here are between assignments, waiting for the next ship to take them out to sea. The impression as the movie unfolds is that sailors represent social outsiders who prefer being on ships than on land, and do not fit in well with civilians whose lives anchor them to their dull lives. The MAA (Master of Arms) summons Petty Officer Buddusky (Nicholson) and Petty Officer Mulhall (nicknamed “Mule”) (Otis Young). Neither of these men want to be bothered, acting insubordinate or profane, wishing to bide their time until they can resume their real jobs at sea. As Mule says, he doesn’t want to go on any “shit detail.” Mule’s name suggests he is stubborn about how he is used to living his life in the Navy sailing on the oceans. He is sarcastic to the messenger the MAA sent, telling him to say to the MAA that if Mule is in transit, by definition, he can’t be found.

The MAA Chief (Clifton James) calls them lucky “sons-of-bitches” because they pulled temporary duty as “chasers,” and have to go to Portsmouth Navy Prison. Their assignment is to transport a sailor named Meadows (Randy Quaid, nominated for Best Supporting Actor), who was sentenced to eight years and a dishonorable discharge. Buddusky emphasizes how extreme the punishment is by jokingly asking if Meadows killed “the Old Man,” the commanding officer. The Chief says that Meadows only stole forty dollars. Typical of the earthy humor in the film, Mule asks the Chief if he is “shitting” him, which prompts the Chief to say he wouldn’t do that since Mule is his “favorite turd.” The reason Meadows pulled such a stiff sentence is because he tried to steal the cash from the polio disease contribution box. That charity happens to be the Commander’s wife’s favorite charity, and she is responsible for the base contributions. Buddusky and Mule look sideways at each other, understanding the cruel use of power surrounding Meadows’s fate. They must travel north to Washington, D. C., New York City and Boston before dropping their prisoner off at the prison. Buddusky, wanting to make the most out of this “shit detail,” tells Mule it will only take two days to get Meadows to Portsmouth, but they’ve been given a week, so they should deliver him quickly and pocket the rest of the per diem allowance so they can have some fun with the money. This best laid plan does go astray.

Buddusky is placed in charge. They acquire the handcuffs, keys and sidearms for the trip. Meadows is obviously intimidated and seems very meek, staring down most of the time. The Chief tells Meadows that Buddusky and Mule are mean bastards so he shouldn't give them any grief. Buddusky gives Mule a look that implies that the Chief is unnecessarily piling on the misery given Meadows’s plight. Before they leave on a bus Buddusky asks Meadows if he has to use the restroom, and that one of them has to go with him. Buddusky just means they must guard him at all times, but Meadows reassures him he won’t kill himself. Buddusky laughs uncomfortably at Mule, and seems surprised Meadows would say such a thing. But it communicates how awful Meadows feels given the cruelty of his sentence, which eventually brings sympathy from the other two, who basically only saw the detail as a way for them to have some leave time. Buddusky already shows some compassion by taking off the cuffs, telling Meadows that the Navy says that on certain vehicles a prisoner needs the use of his hands to protect himself.

Director Ashby uses ambient sound in places like the snack bar and train stations to give a realistic feel. Since these guys don’t know each other, they begin to become acquainted as they embark on their road trip. On the train, Buddusky asks Mule where he’s from, which turns out to be just outside of New Orleans. After Mulhall tells Buddusky to call him “Mule,” Buddusky says there were troubles with his name, too, and people would call him, “Bad Ass,” which is the kind of nickname a macho sailor would embrace. Meadows chimes in by telling them that he didn’t even get possession of the forty dollars because he was caught while trying to lift the cash. They laugh rather immaturely at the pathetic situation Meadows found himself in. Buddusky says those in power really “stuck it” to him, and he says they put it in and “broke it off.” His graphic comment prompts Mule, who also shows sympathy here, to tell Buddusky to go easy on Meadows.

Buddusky asks Meadows if he has a record. He says not in the Navy, but a couple of times with civilian cops. Buddusky’s formal questioning is funny as he asks if it “was in the nature of a felony or a misdemeanor.” Meadows says it “was in the nature of shoplifting.” But he never was in jail. Buddusky is trying to find out if Meadows is a lifetime crook, hoping that he will discover that Meadows deserves to be imprisoned. Instead, the fact that Meadows is unjustly being incarcerated for petty infractions for an extended period is only reinforced. Buddusky tries to lessen the blow by saying that they’ll knock a couple of years off for good behavior. Buddusky says that’s something, but the look on Mule’s face shows that two years is little consolation.

Meadows is asleep and the other two notice he shoplifted some stuff that Meadows stored in his coat sleeve. When they wake him he panics and runs, but they get him back in his seat. Meadows starts crying and says he steals stuff that he doesn’t need, like hair tonic, and model cars. It appears to be a compulsion, but we find out later the possible reason for his thefts may be related to his childhood. Buddusky and Mule seem upset by this realization that Meadows has psychiatric problems. Mule is concerned about how to deal with him, so Buddusky suggests getting off the train at Washington, D. C., and letting Meadows cool off.

Here they are in the seat of the national government dragging the handcuffed Meadows around as rousing marching music plays, the soundtrack contrasting with the lack of patriotic arousal inherent in their predicament. The rigid Mule, not comfortable with any deviation in the plan, is worried they will miss the train. But Buddusky says they have plenty of time to get to their destination. Buddusky wants to know if he can trust Meadows not to run away or steal anything. They hope to get a bite to eat without making a scene. Meadows wanted cheese melted on his burger, but when the food arrives and it is not as he ordered, he does not complain, saying it’s okay. Buddusky wants to provide Meadows with some simple comforts before getting locked up. Acting a bit like Nicholson’s character in Five Easy Pieces, Buddusky demands that he send the burger back. When it is returned to Meadows with the cheese properly melted, he is happy for the first time on the journey.

Encouraged that he is lightning Meadows’s spirits, Buddusky now wants to get Meadows a beer. Meadows says he’s not old enough, to which Buddusky says “everybody’s old enough for a beer,” like it’s sort of an American inalienable right. Buddusky says Meadows is going away for eight years and receiving a dishonorable discharge, so the least they can do is get him a beer. Buddusky continues to try to ease his conscience for having to take Meadows to jail for an unjust stretch of time. They go to a bar and the bartender (Don McGovern) says the law says he has to serve Mule (making a racial reference because Mule is black), but says he needs to see ID for Meadows. Meadows wants to get out, but Mule, enraged at the racism directed at him, tells the bartender to shove it. Buddusky says he better not be reaching for a club under the counter. The bartender says he’ll call the shore patrol. Buddusky then explodes, calling the man a “redneck,” saying he is the shore patrol, followed by him whipping out his gun. Mule persuades Buddusky to leave. When they get outside, the three of them whoop it up, thrilled by the macho confrontation. Buddusky boasts that he scared that “cracker” and the other two agree loudly that Buddusky lives up to his nickname “Bad Ass.” Buddusky is excited now playing the role of the tough party guy who is going to show Meadows a good time before he goes to Portsmouth. He vows that Meadows isn’t leaving town until he gets some beer.

They buy some six-packs and get roaring drunk, with Mule’s enjoying the fun outweighing his strictness for procedure, only momentarily upset that they missed the next train. Buddusky says they’ll just get a hotel room for the night and take the train in the morning. Buddusky and Mule say what they are doing beats being in “Shit City,” and Meadows says it even beats being in Portsmouth, where he is going to prison. Buddusky is trying not to think about the end of the trip, and is upset about the reminder. So he says Meadows has “a hell of a knack for killing a conversation.” Buddusky starts showing Meadows how to be a signalman, as if he is going to have a career instead of going to jail. Meadows is quite good at it, which impresses Buddusky. He says Meadows, like him, has a “flair” for going through the motions. This connection adds to a feeling of kinship despite their opposing roles of guard and prisoner.

Meadows asks why did Buddusky get so angry at the bartender, since he was just doing his job. Buddhusky asks the mild-mannered Meadows if he ever just gets mad just to get it out of his system. Meadows says he gets angry at injustice (yet he doesn’t seem angry about what is happening to him), but that is too abstract for Buddusky. He wants the anger directed toward unfairness to be personal. He asks if Meadows ever gets angry at the “Old Man” for sending him to prison. Meadows starts to say, again, the Commander was just doing his job. Buddusky is incensed about the wrong perpetrated against Meadows, and is upset at Meadows for not being enraged. Meadows says there was something that made him angry once. It wasn’t that the Marine guards beat him up, which shows how he has been excessively brutalized, but that one of them asked him if he believed in Jesus Christ. The guard said he was Jesus in the brig. Meadows felt that he was awful to say that. (Meadows is a sort of Christ-figure, since he leans toward turning the other cheek, and is being sacrificed while others do cruel acts, as they project their sinful ways onto him, using him as a scapegoat). But Meadows only response, as opposed to Buddusky’s wanting to have punched out the Marine, was to hope the Navy chaplain wouldn’t hear what the Marine said. The cynical Mule says that chaplains just want to cozy up to commanders, but Meadows is a sort of a defender of the faith, saying that it isn’t easy being a chaplain. Buddusky is so frustrated with Meadows he tells him to hit him, which Meadows can’t do because he likes Buddusky, even though he is taking him to prison. Buddusky is seeking penance for what he is having to do, reminding Meadows of the fact that he is taking him to jail. Meadows, in a Christ-like way, says Buddusky is only doing his job. Buddusky is livid because he isn’t being punished for his guilt, which he feels he deserves, but instead is being forgiven in a Christian manner.

Buddusky wants to take Meadows to see his mother. Mule is again resistant at first, but when the unselfish Meadows says he doesn’t want to get them into trouble since they have been so nice to him, Mule caves, feeling guilty about not responding generously when he is treated with kindness. The Golden Rule seems to be in play here. They go to Camden, NJ. Sadness accumulates as Buddusky hears Meadows talk about his father having left them and starting a new family far away in Seattle. Meadows thinks he has a sibling there, but is not sure. This uncertainty adds to the poignancy. He points out where he graduated from high school, and says a teacher wanted him to be a veterinarian. That remark makes Buddusky’s face reflect even more sorrow for Meadows’ pathetic life that never reached its childhood’s goals. It’s freezing as they go to Meadows’s mother’s house, but nobody answers the door, adding to the futility of the situation. Buddusky asks if Meadows wants to wait around despite the cold, or ask a neighbor, which is what Meadows says he will do. He goes off, and Mule, his duty kicking in, is worried that they shouldn’t give him a chance to run off. They find him talking to the neighbor, as he said he would. Buddusky says that Meadows really wants to go to jail because given his psychological problems, “on the outside, too many things can happen to him, all of it bad.” Buddusky is now rationalizing his having to deliver the young man to Portsmouth, as if it’s the best thing for him.

Meadows finds out his mother is out for the day. Buddusky says they might want to wait in the house in case she comes home early. When he pushes open the unlocked door, the place looks like a garbage dump. During the silent pause that follows, Buddusky looks like he can see that Meadows had a miserable childhood, which may have warped him, and made him want to steal stuff, since he had so little for himself while growing up. Meadows says, “I don’t know what I would’ve said to her anyway.” It is a way of covering up the disappointment of not seeing her, but his words also point to him having no connection to his own mother.

Back on the train, Buddusky, still trying to relieve his guilt, says that Meadows's mom should write her congressman to try and get him off. Mule is coldly practical here, saying that won’t accomplish anything. They would either have to let Meadows go, or drop him off, and they aren’t going to set him free. Meadows starts crying and goes to the restroom. Buddusky blames Mule for upsetting Meadows, but Mule believes he is just being realistic, and says how much he hates this “detail,” since he knows how lousy it makes him feel to be part of this unfair activity. Mule finds himself in jeopardy if they don’t distance themselves emotionally from Meadows, because he can’t do anything about the young sailor’s plight, and it will only make Mule feel worse if he lets his feelings interfere with his duty. Mule says that the Navy is the best thing that happened to him and he doesn’t want to mess it up by straying off the mission with Buddusky. Mule accuses Buddusky of trying to impress Meadows with his rebellious actions, but Buddusky, implying that it isn’t about trying to make himself important, says he’s only trying to show Meadows a good time. Mule counters by saying that Meadows can’t have “a good time” because he doesn’t know how, and it won’t help him get through his eight years in prison. Even though Buddusky argues correctly that Meadows enjoyed himself in Washington, Mule doesn’t want his fatalistic, detached attitude disrupted. That way, he won’t feel responsible for the cruel deeds done by the arm of the service he said was “the best thing that ever happened” to him.

They have two hours at the station in New York before taking the next train, and Mule doesn’t want to leave the building to avoid getting into more mischief. Buddusky puts his shore patrol gear in a locker, as if abdicating his association with the detail. Mule, reluctantly, follows his action. As if in defiance of Mule’s directions, Buddusky shows how he can be rowdy without leaving the train station by getting into a brawl with Marines in the men’s room. Mule and Meadows help him with the fight, with Buddusky, acting like a big brother, being proud that Meadows joined in. Afterwards, Buddusky even gets Mule to admit it was fun roughing it up, as the men engaged in exhilarating, if juvenile, macho rowdiness.

To continue his quest to divert Meadows from his fate, Buddusky takes them to a place he says has the best sausage sandwiches. Then they go to a bar where Buddusky hustles an opponent in a game of darts. He then splits the money with the other two, telling Meadows they’re partners which, psychologically, raises Meadows to a place of equality with his traveling companions. He has treated Meadows so that feels like he finally belongs with others, which obviously is something Meadows was deprived of in his life. Both Buddusky and Meadows perform their signalman movements on the street. When Buddusky says that Meadows should put in for the job, the three of them then become quiet, reality silencing them, since they know Meadows will not have that opportunity.

They hear chanting and Meadows wants to check it out. There is a type of religious gathering that Buddusky humorously tells Meadows he’ll explain later, while having no clue about what is going on. Meadows takes a piece of paper which notes the words to chant, and Buddusky, exercising his sailor’s right to be profane, says Meadows can pray for all of them to get laid. The sweet Meadows questions if that is something they should be chanting for. They go to an X-rated store and Buddusky, continuing his carnal musings, makes a crude reference pertaining to oral sex. Again, in contrast, the innocent Meadows says he never experienced that activity. Meadows, again contrasting with the lascivious Buddusky, is so unworldly that he believes a fictitious sexual story about the talents of a one-eyed prostitute who “winks” guys to pleasure. More fitting with Meadows childlike mentality, Buddusky and Mule take their prisoner to a skating rink where Meadows has fun on the ice. Buddusky, feeling fulfilled in his quest, gives Mule an “I told you so,” as Meadows shows that he can have a good time. Buddusky tells Meadows he can have a bracelet inscribed, and Meadows wants it to read he is a signalman, which shows that is the closest he will get to his dream.

They go to a cafe and have some coffee while Meadows is chanting. A woman, Donna (Luana Anders), hears him and walks over. She knows about the religion, and says Meadows can chant for anything. When he doesn’t say what he is chanting for, she says it can be for a girl. Donna invites him over to her table and then all of them to her apartment for a party, where a culture clash occurs. The hippie types there and the sailors can’t relate to each other, entrenched in their lifestyles. There is a young male who pushes Mule to complain about President Nixon. One of the women wants to know why there aren’t more black sailors. Mule, satirically, says you have to get a recommendation from a white guy. Buddusky keeps hitting on one of the women by talking about the sailor’s life, which couldn’t be any more irrelevant to her world. When another woman asks how he felt going to Vietnam, Mule says if “the man” says you have to go, you go. He is a soldier and sees no way around following orders, which is incomprehensible to the anti-establishment young people of the time protesting the Vietnam War and racial injustice. 

Meadows reveals to Donna that he is being taken to prison. She says why not go to Canada, and he again unselfishly says the guys are his friends, and if he escaped, they would pay for it, which Meadows can’t allow. Meadows, Buddusky’s sexual preoccupation probably rubbing off on him, probably thought he was going to have sex when Donna takes him upstairs and takes off her shoes. But, instead, she chants for his escape. The sailors miss their train again and then catch it the next day. On the ride to Boston, Meadows now has the desire to stand up for himself, as he sends eggs back because they weren’t cooked to his liking. The other two laugh, and Buddusky gives Meadows an approving nod, feeling his self-assertiveness training is being adopted by his protege, as Meadows says he’s “learning.”

In Boston, Buddusky wants Meadows to lose his virginity. They ask a cab driver about a brothel, and the driver was a sailor himself, so the “manly” kinship of the military world is exhibited. He takes them to a place where he gets a cut of the action. Meadows has to pick one of the girls, most of them understandably looking bored and tired. He chooses a very slight girl (Carol Kane) and Buddusky tells her to do a good job since, unfortunately, the memory of the encounter has to last a long time. The inexperienced Meadows climaxes immediately, and is embarrassed. Buddusky is supportive, telling Meadows it’s okay, and he’ll pay for him to go again. While they wait, Mule asks if Buddusky was ever married. He says he was, to a woman who wanted him to go to trade school and be a TV repairman. He says all of this like it would be a dreary job, driving around in the smog to fix televisions out of a Volkswagen bus. Buddusky says, “I just couldn’t do it.” His story stresses the outsider mentality of the sailor who doesn't want to be tied down to the rules of the land. Mule never married, and brags about all the places he has been able to visit. Given his “in transit” preference for living, he says he wouldn’t know what to do without the Navy. Buddusky says that they are “just a couple of lifers,” and it almost sounds like they are in jail, too, but it is a self-imposed imprisonment because they don’t know any other way to be.

Meadows is able to perform this time with the girl, and he is sweet to her, and she to him. Later he says that he knows it could be an act, but he tells Buddusky that he thinks she liked him. He says she probably did, which helps Buddusky believe he is helping Meadows feel good about himself. They have a little time before dropping him off. Meadows doesn’t want to repeat anything, most likely because the first times things are experienced make them feel special. It is a cold day, with snow on the ground, and Meadows says that if it was nice outside they could have a picnic.

Buddusky tries to deliver on that wish, as the next scene finds them at a snow-covered park where they start a fire to cook hot dogs. Buddusky didn’t remember the buns, and is pissed because Mule yells at him for forgetting. They’re anger is misplaced because they are really upset about delivering Meadows to Portsmouth. Buddusky says to Mule that Meadows has come a long way over only a couple of days. He most likely feels fulfilled, but also sad that Meadows won’t have time to continue his growth. Mule, wanting to end their feeling badly about the situation, says they should get it over with. Buddusky agrees, but doesn't move. Buddusky then says Meadows won’t stand a chance at Portsmouth, getting kicked around there. Mule knows where Buddusky is implying, and says he doesn’t want to hear that, because he can’t entertain the idea of freeing Meadows. Meadows wanders off and signals “bye, bye.” He takes off, but Buddusky can’t let him go despite what he said earlier. He is pissed probably because he feels betrayed that Meadows is running off after he showed the young man some kindness, and didn’t let Buddusky decide whether to free him. It is almost that Mule was right, that showing Meadows an enjoyable time, ironically, made his incarceration seem more intolerable to him. Buddusky catches up with Meadows and hits him several times, taking out his anger over the situation on Meadows for making him be part of the lousy detail.

They drop Meadows off and he is hustled off by the guards without being able to say goodbye as the prison doors clang shut, the metallic sound echoing the harshness of the situation. Buddusky and Mule are reprimanded for abusing the prisoner because they refuse to blame Meadows for trying to escape his unfair sentence. Also, someone in Norfolk forgot to endorse their orders, so they are told their trip was not approved, yet they traveled anyway. Mule says they want to see the superior officer. The Marine officer (Michael Moriarty) doesn’t want to have a problem, so he tells them to get out. As they march out Buddusky lets his anger out at the Marines and Mule again says he hates the detail, as if it is an abstraction, but they are really feeling miserable for what happened to Meadows. They stride off in their anger which undermines the patriotic music of “Anchors Away” playing in the background.

After a short break, the next film is Witness.