The Last Detail

The Last Detail
Theatrical release poster
Directed byHal Ashby
Screenplay byRobert Towne
Based onThe Last Detail
by Darryl Ponicsan
Produced byGerald Ayres
Starring
CinematographyMichael Chapman
Edited byRobert C. Jones
Music byJohnny Mandel
Production
companies
  • Acrobat Productions
  • Bright-Persky Associates
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • December 12, 1973 (1973-12-12)
Running time
104 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2.3 million[1]
Box office$10 million[2]

The Last Detail is a 1973 American comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby, from a screenplay by Robert Towne, based on the 1970 novel by Darryl Ponicsan. The film stars Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, Randy Quaid, Clifton James, and Carol Kane. It follows two career sailors assigned to escort a young emotionally withdrawn junior sailor from their Virginia base to Portsmouth Naval Prison in Maine.

The Last Detail was theatrically released in the United States by Columbia Pictures on December 12, 1973. The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances of Nicholson and Quaid, as well as Towne's screenplay. It was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards, three Academy Awards, and four British Academy Film Awards (winning two).

  1. ^ Beach, Christopher (2009). The Films of Hal Ashby. Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. p. 176. ISBN 978-0-8143-3415-7.
  2. ^ "The Last Detail (1973)". The Numbers. Retrieved January 17, 2012.