A Few Good Men (1992) - The Verdict | Officer on Deck Scene | Tom Cruise | Demi Moore

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FILM DESCRIPTION:
U.S. Marines Lance Corporal Harold Dawson and Private First Class Louden Downey are facing a general court-martial, accused of murdering fellow Marine William Santiago at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. Santiago had poor relations with his fellow Marines, compared unfavorably to them, and broke the chain of command in an attempt to get transferred out of Guantanamo. Base Commander Colonel Nathan Jessup and his officers argue about the best course of action: while Jessup's executive officer, Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Markinson, advocates that Santiago be transferred, Jessup dismisses the option and instead orders Santiago's commanding officer, Lieutenant Jonathan James Kendrick, to "train" Santiago to become a better Marine.

While it is believed that the motive in Santiago's murder was retribution for naming Dawson in a fenceline shooting, Naval investigator and lawyer Lieutenant Commander JoAnne Galloway largely suspects Dawson and Downey carried out a "code red" order: a violent extrajudicial punishment. Galloway wants to defend the two, but the case is given to Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Daniel Kaffee – an inexperienced and unenthusiastic lawyer with a penchant for plea bargains. Galloway and Kaffee instantly conflict, with Galloway unsettled by Kaffee's apparent laziness whilst Kaffee resents Galloway's interference. Kaffee and Galloway travel to Guantanamo base Cuba to question Colonel Jessup and others. Under questioning, Jessup claims Santiago was set to be transferred the next day.

When Kaffee negotiates a plea bargain with the prosecutor Captain Jack Ross, Dawson and Downey refuse to go along, insisting that Kendrick had indeed given them the "code red" order and that they never intended Santiago to die. Dawson shows outright contempt for Kaffee, refusing to salute or acknowledge him as an officer because Dawson sees him as having no honor by choosing a plea bargain over defending their actions. Lt. Col Markinson disappears. Kaffee plans to have himself removed as counsel as he sees going to trial as pointless. At the arraignment, Kaffee unexpectedly enters a plea of not guilty, explaining to Galloway that he realized the reason he was chosen to handle this case was because it was expected he would accept a plea, and the matter would be kept quiet.

After the case begins, Markinson later reveals himself to Kaffee and states, unequivocally, that Jessup never ordered a transfer for William Santiago. The defense manages to establish that Cpl Dawson had been denied promotion for smuggling food to a Marine who had been sentenced to go without food, painting Dawson in a good light and proving "code reds" had been ordered before. However, the defense then suffer two major setbacks: Downey, under cross-examination, reveals he was not actually present when Dawson received the supposed "code red" order, and Markinson, after he tells Kaffee that Jessup never ordered the transfer, but, ashamed that he failed to protect a Marine under his command, commits suicide before he can testify.

CREDITS:
TM & © Sony (1992)
Cast: Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Kevin Bacon, J.A. Preston
Director: Rob Reiner
Producers: David Brown, William S. Gilmore, Steve Nicolaides, Rachel Pfeffer, Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman, Jeffrey Stott
Screenwriter: Aaron Sorkin

[nocturnalsky]

“You don’t need to wear a patch in your arm to have honor”. Ten-Hut! There's an officer on deck! One of the best scenes ever

[TheGoonsies]

I always liked that the lawyers are immediately buddies again once the verdict was reached

[nathanielmangus]

This part always tears me up. He salutes him. “There’s an officer on deck.”

[dshadow]

The way the camera pans past each lawyer as the different verdicts are read is really a great touch. Kaffe's goal was to get them off for murder. Joann felt they just followed orders and it wasn't a conspiracy to commit murder and Sam...well he felt all along they were guilty of conduct unbecoming a Marine. They each won their own little battle.

[krishna_KaraokeZone]

One good thing about the very last scene is that it ended not with Kaffe and Joe, instead, it ended with Kaffe and Jack, the defence and prosecution...It is all a part of their duties... there is no bad blood just because they had arguments in the court room...

[davidknightx]

Kaffee's best friend in this movie isn't Sam, it's Ross. Seriously, watch this movie again because I think a lot of people missed it simply because he was opposing council. Ross is constantly forced to walk a tightrope between his duty as a prosecutor and his loyalty to his friend...and he does it WELL.

But let's look at the facts:

Their first conversation we see Ross negotiate with Kaffee to drop the sentence, but warns him about Kendrick telling the men not to touch William. This is VERY interesting because Kaffee doesn't even know who he's talking about. Seriously, why tell him this? Because he's trying to slide a tip to Kaffee. It works because Kaffee realizes something doesn't seem right later when he's talking to Sam. I think this was planned to give Kaffee leverage for the next step.


Their second conversation is about Kaffee finding about the order. Ross didn't know about the order. He's shocked by it. However, he's already been looking for a way to help Kaffee and has a deal ready to go to have his clients out in 6 months after KILLING a fellow marine. And he warns Kaffee that fighting is going to lead to failure (which is VERY nearly does).

The bar/resturant scene is where their friendship is revealed the most. And what's the first thing Ross does? Congratulates Kaffee on his turnaround. It hurt his case, but you see him actually crack a smile in the courtroom. A best friend enjoys your successes despite it not being in that friend's best personal interest. But Kaffee finding Markins changes things. Ross rightfully deduces Markinson won't hold up in court (he doesn't even make it to court). Kaffee is placing his faith in the testimony of Markinson against Jessep, which in the context of the movie, is career suicide. He does his best to make him acknowledge this hoping he'll back off. And then he comments on why Kaffee is doing all this; because of his dead father. He knows him. And what does Kaffee do? What's the best argument he can use against him in his anger? He's says he's bad at softball. LOL. That's literally the only negative thing he can think of.

Now comes the scene with Jessup. Ross tries again to get Kaffee off the hook by having the court apologize to Jessep and give Kaffee a reprimanded. This may seem harsh, but a reprimand is just a warning. It's slap on the wrist that Ross has to suggest because you can't just make a colonel fly all the way to court and just immediately let him leave without consequences. Again, Ross is trying to give Kaffee an out because he has nothing on Jessep and he's risking his career by doing this.

And when Kaffee starts yelling accusations at Jessup, Kaffee yells "Dammit Kaffee!". He's freaking out because his friend is destroying his career right in front of him, just like he was afraid of. The ONLY thing that saves Kaffee is Jessup falls for the trap and, despite being told by the judge he doesn't have to say anything, he can't help himself.

And it's here the movie saves these two for the final scene. Ross actually looks happy for Kaffee despite all his hard work and still losing. And the final line is him telling him he's going to arrest Kendrick to give Kaffee another victory lap.

Ross is the best friend a guy could ask for.

[zacharyperea]

People are forgetting that they still commited manslaughter essentially. Dishonorable Discharge is about the best those two could have hoped for. Honestly the jury was being merciful here. They could easily have spent time in military prison.

[Takedown]

When he said, "Yeah we did." That hit so hard. He knew their job as marines was to save Willie and even though what they did was not intent to kill, they failed. I'll say that again as he would, "We failed." It's that simple. While Jessup was the reason Willie died, they just as much as Markinson were guilty of not saving Willie through whatever means. If that isn't conduct unbecoming of a marine, Idk what is.

[JCurl]

“We’re supposed be to fight for people who cannot fight for themselves” wish that was everyone’s motto

[joemirotta]

I like the exchange between jack and Danny even though they are on different sides it shows they respect each other and are friends

[asgbdhj]

My Marines say "ten hut, there's an officer on deck" every time I walk in and it makes me feel so good. I know they're saying it as a joke from this movie but it'll bring tears to my eyes when I'm 70 and miss them.

[aaroncrawford]

I wish we could've got a scene where Kevin Bacon arrests Lieutenant Kendrick lmao

[xanmontes]

"What does that mean?"

God, marines like that couldn't sink if you asked them to...

[ejmurphy]

Demi is giving Cruise the "don't even bother wearing socks tonight" look when she exits.

[Deon]

I think it's fitting that Lt. Kaffe receives Harold's final salute.

[BigBrotherMateyka]

"We were supposed to fight for people who couldn't fight for themselves...we were supposed to fight for Willy..." 😢

[RYMAN]

I love how while it didn’t end with them going to prison, they still didn’t really “win” in the end

[jpbaidal]

03:07 no Better feeling in the world when you make someone feel proud of you by doing the right thing.

[miked]

My favorite part about this is how the Captain said he was going to go arrest Kendrick. I always wondered what happened to him since the Colonel admitting he ordered the code red showed that Kendrick lied on the stand. And he was a prick about it too. I also wonder if anything happened to the medical doctor.

[tigalbaby]

If there is a superior last scene in another movie … let me know . The ultimate respect shown to a superior who has earned it in battle. Ten hut …. there is an officer on deck !