A Few Good Men

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A Few Good Men

A Few Good Men
The cast of A Few Good Men at the Haymarket Theatre, London in 2005.
Written by	Aaron Sorkin
Characters	LTJG Daniel A. Kaffee Capt. Julius A. Randolph Pfc. Louden Downey LCDR JoAnne Galloway Capt. Isaac Whitaker Lt. Jack Ross Capt. Matthew A. Markinson Lt. Col. Nathan R. Jessep LCpl. Harold W. Dawson 1Lt Jonathan James Kendrick (among others)
Date premiered	November 15, 1989
Place premiered	Music Box Theatre in New York City
Original language	English
Subject	Military law
Genre	Courtroom drama
Setting	Summer 1986 Guantanamo Bay Naval Base General court-martial in Washington, D.C.
IBDB profile
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A Few Good Men is a play by Aaron Sorkin, first produced on Broadway by David Brown in 1989. Sorkin adapted his work into a screenplay for a 1992 film directed by Rob Reiner, produced by Brown and starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, and Demi Moore.

It tells the story of military lawyers at a court-martial who uncover a high-level conspiracy in the course of defending their clients, United States Marines accused of murder.

Play

Sorkin got the inspiration for the play from a phone conversation with his sister Deborah, who had graduated from Boston University Law School and signed up for a three-year stint with the Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps. She was going to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base to defend a group of marines who came close to killing a fellow Marine in a hazing ordered by a superior officer. A young JAG defends the group, based on the real life experience of novice trial lawyer Donald Marcari. It was his first case.^[1] Sorkin took that information and wrote much of his story on cocktail napkins while bartending at the Palace Theatre on Broadway.^[2]

Once Sorkin completed a draft, his theatrical agent sent it to producer David Brown who wanted the film rights. Sorkin sold Brown the rights, getting Brown to agree to also produce A Few Good Men as a play.^[3]

Premieres

A Few Good Men had its world premiere at Kennedy Center.^[4][3]

The original Broadway stage production opened at the Music Box Theatre in New York on November 15, 1989 in a production directed by Don Scardino, designed by Ben Edwards, and with music by John Gromada. It starred Tom Hulce as LTJG Kaffee, Megan Gallagher as LCDR JoAnne Galloway, and Stephen Lang as Col Jessep. Replacement actors included Timothy Busfield and Bradley Whitford as Kaffee, Perry King, Michael O'Hare, and Ron Perlman as Jessep, and Pamela Blair as Galloway. Joshua Malina also appeared. It ran for 497 performances.

Other performances

A national touring company performed through 1992 with Michael O'Keefe as LTJG Kaffee, Alyson Reed as LCDR Galloway, and Paul Winfield as the judge.

A revival of the play starring Rob Lowe in the role of LTJG Kaffee, Suranne Jones as LCDR Galloway and John Barrowman as Lt Ross, opened at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, London in late August 2005 for preview showings, followed by a three-month run in early September 2005. The stage show was directed by David Esbjornson.

Jensen Ackles appeared as LTJG Kaffee alongside Lou Diamond Phillips as Col Jessep in a production of the play at the Casa Mañana Theatre, in Fort Worth, Texas from June 5 to 10, 2007.

It has also been performed in London and Oxford by amateur groups.

Awards and nominations

The Broadway production earned Megan Gallagher a 1990 Theatre World Award and a Best Actor nomination for Tom Hulce at the 44th Tony Awards.^[5]

Film

A Few Good Men
Theatrical Release Poster
Directed by	Rob Reiner
Produced by	David Brown Rob Reiner Andrew Scheinman
Written by	Aaron Sorkin
Starring	Tom Cruise Demi Moore Jack Nicholson Kevin Pollak Kevin Bacon J.T. Walsh and Kiefer Sutherland
Music by	Marc Shaiman
Cinematography	Robert Richardson
Editing by	Robert Leighton Steven Nevius
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures Castle Rock Entertainment
Release date(s)	December 11, 1992
Running time	138 min
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$33,000,000
IMDb

The film version was made by Castle Rock Entertainment, Columbia Pictures and New Line Cinema. It was produced and directed by Rob Reiner with David Brown and Andrew Scheinman also as producers, Jeffrey Stott and Steve Nicolaides as co-producers and William S. Gilmore and Rachel Pfeffer as executive producers. Aaron Sorkin wrote the screenplay.

Cast

The film stars:
Tom Cruise ... LTJG Daniel Kaffee
Jack Nicholson ... Col. Nathan R. Jessep
Demi Moore ... LCDR JoAnne Galloway
Kevin Bacon ... Capt. Jack Ross
Kiefer Sutherland ... 1Lt Jonathan Kendrick
Kevin Pollak ... LTJG Sam Weinberg
J.T. Walsh ... Lt. Col. Matthew Markinson
James Marshall ... Pfc. Louden Downey
Wolfgang Bodison ... LCpl. Harold W. Dawson
J.A. Preston ... Judge (Col) Julius Alexander Randolph
Matt Craven ... Lt Dave Spradling
Michael DeLorenzo ... Pfc William T. Santiago
Noah Wyle ... Cpl Jeffrey Barnes
Cuba Gooding, Jr. ... Cpl Carl Hammaker
Xander Berkeley ... Capt Whitaker
Joshua Malina ... Tom
Christopher Guest ... Cdr (Dr.) Stone
Aaron Sorkin ... Lawyer bragging in tavern

Plot synopsis

The plot summary in this article or section is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the article. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot. (November 2008)

The film starts with a Silent Drill (performed by the Texas A&M University Fish Drill Team).^[6]

LTJG Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise), son of the late Lionel Kaffee (who held the positions of Attorney General and Navy Judge Advocate General), is an inexperienced US Navy lawyer who leads the defense in the court-martial of two Marines, PFC Louden Downey (James Marshall) and LCpl Harold Dawson (Wolfgang Bodison), who are accused of murdering a fellow Marine of their unit, PFC William T. Santiago (Michael DeLorenzo), at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. (The film marked the acting debut of Wolfgang Bodison who played Harold Dawson; Bodison was not an actor but a film location scout.)

Santiago was not quite up to the task compared to his fellow Marines. He complained of health conditions that his superiors ignored and was generally disliked by everyone in his company. He had gone out of the chain of command to request a transfer off the base, even going so far as bargaining for one in exchange for blowing the whistle on Dawson for an "illegal fence-line shooting" when Dawson exchanged shots with a guard on the Cuban side.

In a flashback, Col Nathan Jessep (Jack Nicholson), the CO of the Marine detachment at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is shown reading the letter detailing the incident to two subordinate officers: his executive officer LtCol Matthew Markinson (J.T. Walsh), and 1st Lt. Jonathan Kendrick (Kiefer Sutherland), Santiago's platoon commander. Jessep and Kendrick are incensed that Santiago would do this, and Markinson is the only one who wants to go ahead with transferring Santiago off the base. However, Jessep gives a speech about their duty as officers to train those who defend their nation, sarcastically suggesting the logical extension of "surrendering our position in Cuba" if just one Marine is sent packing. He thus makes the decision not to transfer Santiago. Markinson questions it and, after Lt Kendrick is dismissed, is reprimanded for questioning Jessep's authority in the presence of another officer. Jessep then calls Kendrick in order to discuss "young William's training".

When Dawson and Downey are later arrested for Santiago's murder, Naval investigator LCDR JoAnne Galloway (Demi Moore) suspects that they, who were top-class Marines compared to Santiago, were carrying out a "code red" (a term invented for the film referring to a military colloquial speech term by which a soldier who fails to keep up to standard is "trained" by other members of his unit until he is up to it. The correct terminology is hazing).

A lawyer herself, Galloway asks to be allowed to defend them, but the case is handed over to LTJG Daniel Kaffee who has a reputation for settling cases out-of-court. However, she manages to soon bring Kaffee round to her point of view when, late in the day, Dawson and Downey state that they were ordered by Kendrick to deal with Santiago by shaving his head, only minutes after Kendrick had told the whole platoon not to touch the would-be victim.

Kaffee's plea-bargaining methods would have prevented the case from ever going to court and causing embarrassment to the Marine Corps and potentially mar Col Jessep's chances of advancement, since he is being considered for the position of Director of Operations for the National Security Council. Kaffee has never even been to court (except as a defendant when his driving license was suspended) and thus can devote himself to his passion of softball. He also lives in the shadow of his late father Lionel who is considered one of the greatest trial lawyers of his time.

Goaded by Galloway and Dawson, however, he agrees to be lead counsel for the defense. Over the course of the trial Kaffee progresses from a novice lawyer to an experienced and effective Navy attorney. His relationship with Galloway evolves as well. There is friction between them the instant they meet: she believes that he does not care about his clients and that he settles cases quickly because he is afraid to actually argue in court. He thinks she is interfering with his handling of the case. They come to realize that they both want to learn the truth and give their clients a vigorous defense, and they know that they will have to work together to achieve this. Although there are some flirtatious moments between Galloway and Kaffee, they don't become romantically involved.

The third member of the team is LTJG Sam Weinberg (Kevin Pollak), who is skilled at research and preparing witnesses.

On the whole though, Kaffee has few illusions: after weeks of hard work preparing the case he simply mutters: "We're gonna get creamed!" The prosecution, led by his friend Capt Jack Ross (Kevin Bacon), himself a Marine, has a good case: Dawson and Downey have never denied assaulting Santiago, they just never intended to kill him. Things aren't helped by their personalities. It takes a lot of prompting to get them to reveal evidence crucial to the defense, such as Kendrick telling them to deal with Santiago after telling the rest of the men that he was not to be touched. Downey is a simple-minded young man, a stereotype village idiot who doesn't even appear to know where he is or the seriousness of his position. The more authoritative Dawson believes greatly in honor and duty and is determined to go all the way rather than dishonoring himself and the Marine Corps with a plea bargain. He furiously makes this point to Kaffee when he rejects a deal which would have gotten him and Downey out in six months rather than serving up to twenty years in prison. When this discussion finally falls apart, Dawson calls Kaffee a coward for making such deals and then fails to salute him.

LtCol Markinson, Jessep's second-in-command, who has gone UA and completely disappeared, turns up out of the blue in Kaffee's car when the case is already in progress. Earlier, while investigating the crime scene in Cuba, the defense team had been told by Jessep that Santiago was to be transferred off the base. Markinson now tells Kaffee that there was never any intention of doing this and that Santiago's transfer orders were drawn up long after his death as part of a cover-up. When Kaffee is unable to find evidence to corroborate his version, he announces his intention to have Markinson testify. Rather than face the disgrace and humiliation of a public exposure for himself, Jessep, and the Marine Corps, Markinson sends a letter to Santiago's parents, blaming his own weakness for the loss of their son, dresses up in full uniform and commits suicide.

At the same time, evidence turns up which questions whether or not Kendrick did order Dawson and Downey to carry out the Code Red, something the defense had always taken for granted. Galloway, however, is convinced that not only Kendrick, but also Jessep ordered the Code Red, and tries to persuade Kaffee to cross-examine him on this point. Kaffee is horrified: there is no proof whatsoever that Jessep was involved and if he makes such accusations against a senior officer he could himself face a court-martial which will ruin his career.

Kaffee, drunk, reflects on his late father, Lionel, along with his friend and fellow lawyer Sam Weinberg. When they discuss the Jessep issue, Weinberg admits that with the evidence they have Kaffee's father would never have called Jessep to the stand. However, he does state that he would rather have the younger Kaffee as lawyer for Dawson and Downey any day and that Daniel has to decide if it is he or Lionel who is handling the case. Daniel Kaffee finally decides to "put Jessep on the stand".

In court, Kaffee confronts Jessep and produces rather weak but convincing evidence that Santiago was never to be transferred. The two men get into intense questioning and arguments, during which Jessep, in an outburst, finally admits to ordering the Code Red. (This is the scene in which Jessep declares emphatically, "You can't handle the truth!". Jack Nicholson's reading of the line would lead to its being voted the twenty-ninth greatest American movie quote of all time by the American Film Institute.^[7])

Jessep justifies his actions on the grounds that transferring Santiago could have resulted in similar transfers for all the Marines on the base and thus weakening the nation. Because he defends his country, Jessep does not see why Kaffee, who has never seen action, should question his methods: "I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said 'Thank you' and went on your way." Santiago's death "while tragic, probably saved lives."

Unmoved by this point of view, Kaffee and the Judge (J.A. Preston) prompt prosecutor Ross to place Jessep under arrest and read him his rights. Jessep, who feels that he was just doing his job, leaves the stand and is ready to depart the courtroom but told to stand his ground. Jessep is charged with the crime stemming from the incident. In surprise and disbelief at the levelling of charges against him, he lunges at the defense counsel, claiming that "all you did was weaken a country today, Kaffee. That's all you did. You put people's lives in danger. Sweet dreams, son." Kaffee answers back by telling Jessep not to call him "son" and that the Colonel is now going to face charges of his own.

Kaffee later admits to Ross to a little bluff which unnerved Jessep enough to cause his downfall. Ross then announces that Kendrick will also be arrested.

Dawson and Downey are later found not guilty of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, but are found guilty on the charge of "conduct unbecoming a United States Marine" and are dishonorably discharged from the Corps. PFC Downey is shocked and angered by the sentence, asserting that Jessep's confession demonstrated that they did nothing wrong. LCpl Dawson, reflecting momentarily, points out that they did do wrong by failing in their duty to fight for those unable to fight for themselves, like Pvt Santiago.

As they leave, Kaffee tells Dawson that he doesn't need to wear a badge on his arm to have honor. Dawson reacts by saluting Kaffee, displaying a new respect for the man, having purposely refused to do so earlier when he dismissed Kaffee's plea-bargaining methods as cowardice.

Depiction of military law

The writer has taken freedom with certain aspects of the law and military procedures in this fictionalization of a real story. These include:

• The two Marines are charged with and found guilty of "Conduct Unbecoming a United States Marine". There exists no such crime in the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The closest crime to this would be "Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman" or Article 133 of the UCMJ, which applies to only commissioned officers, or those holding appointed office in the US Military or cadets of any of the United States service academies or ROTC programs. The two defendants were enlisted Marines, neither were officers, nor held to "gentlemen" standards as such. As enlisted Marines, they are held to conduct standards of any Military personnel, but not to the extent of an Officer who by definition has moral, legal, and higher decision-making authority. They would have been given dishonorable discharges for general dishonorable conduct. In the actual case, the two Marines, of the 10 enlisted Marines involved, were tried at Court-Martial, but were acquitted. They were subsequently awarded administrative discharges under other than honorable conditions by an administrative review Officer, not by a legal proceeding.^{[citation needed]}
• US Marines and Navy personnel do not salute when indoors, unless under arms (ie, carrying a weapon and wearing cover).
• The term "Code Red" has never been used to describe extrajudicial punishment in the US Marines; and was never used at the US Naval Base Guantanamo Bay during the period in question to describe or refer to any kind of activity. While the most commonly used term in that respect is actually "blanket party." Marines on Gitmo during the period in question will be familiar with the term "wolfpack", a term actually used by Marines on the Leeward side of the island for similar incidents.

Awards and nominations

The film was nominated for four Academy Awards:

• Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Jack Nicholson)
• Best Film Editing
• Best Picture
• Best Sound

The film was nominated for five Golden Globe Awards:

• Best Director (Rob Reiner)
• Best Motion Picture - Drama
• Best Actor (Tom Cruise)
• Best Supporting Actor (Jack Nicholson)
• Best Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin)

References

1. ↑ Theatre of Dare, North Carolina, "A Few Good Men - The Real Story", Accessed July 31, 2008]
2. ↑ "A Few Good Men London theatre tickets and information". ThisIsTheatre.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-22.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Three Days, 15 Seminars, One Great Experience by Valerie Weiss, from imaginenews.com
4. ↑ A Moment of Decision At the Kennedy Center - New York Times
5. ↑ IBDB Production Awards
6. ↑ Corps Fish Drill Team reinstated - Front Page
7. ↑ AFI Quotes

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External links

• A Few Good Men at the Internet Movie Database
• A Few Good Men at Rotten Tomatoes

www.afgm.co.uk

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