Baby Blue Marine
| Baby Blue Marine | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | John D. Hancock |
| Produced by |
Leonard Goldberg Aaron Spelling |
| Written by | Stanford Whitmore |
| Starring |
Jan-Michael Vincent Glynnis O'Connor Katherine Helmond |
| Music by | Fred Karlin |
| Cinematography | László Kovács |
| Edited by | Marion Rothman |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Baby Blue Marine is a 1976 Metrocolor film set during World War II that was directed by John D. Hancock. It stars Jan-Michael Vincent and Glynnis O'Connor. The feature film was produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg, both of whom were better known for their television work. (Nineteen seventy-six was also the year that O'Connor appeared opposite John Travolta in The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, a TV movie produced by Spelling and Goldberg).
Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film 2½ out of 4 stars.[1]
Plot
Marion (Jan-Michael Vincent), a Marine recruit during World War II is kicked out of the Corps and sent home in a blue fatigue uniform. As recruits sent their civilian clothes home or sold them, the Corps did not wish less than honorably discharged Marine recruits to wear a uniform they had not earned. In real life, the Marine Corps issued light blue uniforms used by Flying Cadets prior to Pearl Harbor; hence the name "Baby Blue Marine" for a failed recruit.
Marion meets a Marine Raider (Richard Gere in his second big screen appearance) a young, battle-scarred war hero back from the Pacific who has aged beyond his years with prematurely gray hair. As the Raider doesn't wish to return to the war, he knocks out Marion and trades uniforms with him.
Marion enters an idyllic small town where the decorations and Raider shoulder-sleeve insignia of his uniform make him a hero to the community whose own young men are away at the war.
Cast
- Jan-Michael Vincent as Marion
- Richard Gere as Marine Raider
- Glynnis O'Connor as Rose
- Katherine Helmond as Mrs. Hudkins
- Dana Elcar as Sheriff Wenzel
- Bert Remsen as Mr. Hudkins
- Bruno Kirby as Pop Mosley
- Art Lund as Mr. Elmore
- Michael Conrad as Drill Instructor
- Allan Miller as Capt. Bittman
- Michael LeClair as Barney Hudkins
- Will Seltzer as Pvt. Phelps
- Kenneth Tobey as Buick Driver
- Lelia Goldoni as Mrs. Townsley
- Marshall Efron as Cook
- Rock-Bear as Chip, Raider's pet dog
Film locations
Baby Blue Marine was primarily shot in Siskiyou County, California. Most elements were filmed in McCloud, California with the scene at a local football game filmed in Weed, California at the high school. A couple of scenes were shot at the old Amtrak Museum, at mainside at Camp Pendelton. It showed one of the rare times Mount Shasta was shown in a motion picture. Other elements were shot in Hollywood.
Vincent also stars in Tribes, another film that features the Marine Corps.[2]
References
External links
- Baby Blue Marine at the Internet Movie Database
- Baby Blue Marine at Rotten Tomatoes
- Baby Blue Marine at AllMovie
- Baby Blue Marine at the TCM Movie Database
- Baby Blue Marine at the American Film Institute Catalog