"I don't understand why Meadows does what he does at the end. Is it because he wants to show BA and Mule that he learned something from them or maybe he just wants to give them a thrill?"
Meadows runs because he doesn't want to go to Navy prison. This represents a milestone for Meadows, who heretofore had been passive and submissive. He made a bold decision, and stuck with it. This scene is also ironic because Buddusky had always pushed Meadows to stop being so passive. Unfortunately, the one time Meadows decides to take action, he puts Buddusky's ass on the line. Meadows was finally standing up for himself, like Buddusky had taught him. But Buddusky and Mulhall had granted Meadows enormous freedom on his sworn promise that he would not try to escape again. Therefore Buddusky feels Meadows betrayed their trust, so when he catches the fleeing Meadows, he beats Meadows up in a blind rage. Mulhall has to drag Buddusky off of Meadows, who lays whimpering and crying in the snow. It's a very poignant and significant scene, since this is when they are just killing time before having to drop off Meadows at Portsmouth before the time deadline.
"Also in the movie BA and Mule bond as friends. In the last scene it seems that they will be heading in different directions and will never hang out again together."
Buddusky and Mulhall did bond as friends, but they had never met before taking Meadows to prison. They were just two anonymous sailors from the fleet. Both of them were "in transit," meaning they were awaiting transfer to their next ship. Both of them were lifers who hand been in the Navy for a lot of years, so they shared a common connection: the brotherhood of professional military service. Like when Mulhall reluctantly went to help Buddusky beat up the marines in the bus-station bathroom. In the end they went their separate ways because such is the nature of life in the military. Buddusky was going to one ship, Mulhall to another. They weren't going to be shipmates. Besides, they worked in different ship's divisions. Buddusky was a signalman (bridge) and Mulhall was a gunner's mate (weapons). It's quite possible they never saw each other again, especially since both were just a few years away from retirement.
"I have never seen Otis Young in anything else. He looks like a man rich in character."
He was excellent in this movie. His performance struck just the right balance. It's a pity he didn't make more movies.
"Growing up I always that that JN was over rated but I had never seen this movie before. He is just great."
Agreed. He was outstanding in a lot of his early movies, but I still think this was his best performance. Quite simply, he was Billy "Bad Ass" Buddusky!
Pray for an early spring ... or permission to open fire.
reply
share
juanmonge69
15 years ago
Thanks that clears up alot of things. But in the beginning it seems that Ba and Mule knew each other.
reply
share
thelastrebel64
15 years ago
"Thanks that clears up alot of things. But in the beginning it seems that Ba and Mule knew each other."
Well, they were both in transit, which means they were probably quartered in the same barracks. They may have seen each other around the barracks, or at the first class petty officers' mess. It's possible they had a nodding acquaintance before their assignment, but I doubt it. However, since they were both sailors, and they were both lifers, they understood each other. People in the military tend to bond at a faster rate than civilians. It's surprising how GI's become such close friends in a short amount of time. Military personnel have somewhat of a clannish mentality, and tend to stick together. When you see another guy wearing the same uniform as you, you feel like he's your brother, unless you have some personal animosity towards that particular individual. I think you have to be a military veteran to really understand the GI mentality. It's a very different world compared to civilian life.
Pray for an early spring ... or permission to open fire.
reply
share
kag2
10 years ago
Budduskey and Mulhall shared the bond of common sailors, both well into their 30's and close to their Twenty - retiring from the military with 20 years experience and receiving 50% of their annual service pay per year for life. And as stated above, you tend to bond quickly in the military, then separate just as quickly. If they knew each other, it was barely, and probably only from being stuck on the same naval base for a few weeks while awaiting their orders.
After dropping off their prisoner (to their distaste), they had several differences that might have made each feel it was time to separate, rather than head back to Norfolk, Virginia together.
1) Mulhall was more sober and mature, closer to retirement, and not eager to do anything to screw that up. Budduskey was a more immature risk-taker.
2) Mulhall was black, Budduskey white. The difference can chill friendships.
3) Mulhall may have feared hanging with Budduskey more than he let on - figuring it was better to go off on his own rather than hang with Bad Ass and end up in some whiskey-soaked brawl with more Marines, or whomever.
4) Budduskey seemed fully capable of boozing and whoring his way back to Norfolk without help from a more sober navy mate.
5) After spending a few days together, maybe it was just time to separate.
reply
share