''Coast Guard'' is a 1939 American adventure film released by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

, directed by

Edward Ludwig Edward Irving Ludwig (October 7, 1899 – August 20, 1982) was a Russian-born American film director and writer. He directed nearly 100 films between 1921 and 1963 (some under the names Edward I. Luddy and Charles Fuhr). Ludwig was also one ...

and starring Randolph Scott,

Frances Dee Frances Marion Dee (November 26, 1909 – March 6, 2004) was an American actress. Her first film was the musical ''Playboy of Paris'' (1930). She starred in the film '' An American Tragedy'' (1931). She is also known for starring in the 1943 ...

and

Ralph Bellamy Ralph Rexford Bellamy (June 17, 1904 – November 29, 1991) was an American actor whose career spanned 65 years on stage, film, and television. During his career, he played leading roles as well as supporting roles, garnering acclaim and ...

. It is set before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. ''The Hollywood Reporter'' indicated that Frances Dee replaced

Gene Tierney Gene Eliza Tierney (November 19, 1920 – November 6, 1991) was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed for her great beauty, she became established as a leading lady. Tierney was best known for her portrayal of the title character in the ...

in the role of Nancy Bliss. ''Coast Guard'' was the first film of actor Michael Gale, who changed his name in 1941 to Craig Stevens.

Plot

Lieutenant Raymond "Ray" Dower commands a

United States Coast Guard cutter United States Coast Guard Cutter is the term used by the U.S. Coast Guard for its commissioned vessels. They are or greater in length and have a permanently assigned crew with accommodations aboard. They carry the ship prefix USCGC. Histor ...

. His best friend in the Coast Guard, Lieutenant Thomas "Speed" Bradshaw, is a highly regarded, but reckless pilot. In a daring rescue at sea, both men are involved in saving Tobias Bliss, the captain of a tramp steamer. At the base hospital, the two officers visit the rescued man and meet Nancy, his granddaughter. Both friends fall in love with her, but Speed proposes first; broken-hearted, Ray still acts as the best man at the wedding. The marriage falters, and when Nancy is fed up with many nights alone, she leaves Speed. In trying to win her back, Speed crashes while stunting over her house. Grounded and facing a court-martial, the disgraced pilot finds out that his best friend is missing while on an Arctic rescue mission. Nancy coaxes Speed and his co-pilot, O'Hara, to attempt a rescue, and after a harrowing crash-landing in the Arctic, an injured Ray is located. Speed manages a dangerous takeoff and flies his friend back home, to find a relieved Nancy waiting for him.

Cast

As credited, with screen roles identified: * Randolph Scott as Lieutenant Thomas "Speed" Bradshaw *

as Nancy Bliss *

as Lieutenant Raymond "Ray" Dower *

Walter Connolly Walter Connolly (April 8, 1887 – May 28, 1940) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 50 films between 1914 and 1939. His best known film is ''It Happened One Night'' (1934). Early years Connolly attended St. Xavier Coll ...

as Tobias Bliss *

Warren Hymer Edgar Warren Hymer (February 25, 1906 – March 25, 1948) was an American theatre and film actor. Early life He was born in New York City. His father, John Bard Hymer (1875/1876 – 1953) was a playwright (with nine Broadway plays to ...

as O'Hara *

Robert Middlemass Robert Middlemass (September 3, 1883 – September 10, 1949) was an American playwright and stage actor, and later character actor with over 100 film appearances, usually playing detectives or policemen.(13 Feb 1937)Mrs. Susan C. Middlemass ...

as Captain Lyons *

Stanley Andrews Stanley Andrews (born Stanley Martin Andrzejewski; August 28, 1891 – June 23, 1969) was an American actor perhaps best known as the voice of Daddy Warbucks on the radio program ''Little Orphan Annie'' and later as "The Old Ranger", the first ...

as Commander Hooker * Edmund MacDonald as Lieutenant Thompson *

Lester Dorr Lester Dorr (born Harry Lester Dorr; May 8, 1893 – August 25, 1980) was an American actor who between 1917 and 1975 appeared in well over 500 productions on stage, in feature films and shorts, and in televised plays and weekly series. Even ...

as Second Officer (uncredited)

Production

''Coast Guard'' was a period

B film A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

actioner, combining exciting coast guard rescues with a typical romantic sub-plot: "friends in love with girl, girl picks cad, romance in trouble, all is right in the end". An array of stock footage and model work is mixed in with live action. As one of the many serials, features and shorts that was based on the United States Coast Guard, the "B" feature was notable in that it featured a trio of rising stars, Randolph Scott, Ralph Bellamy (in another one of his "buddy" roles as the steady and dependable friend) and Frances Dee. Principal photography took place at the Columbia Studios and on location along the California coastline from April 26–June 16, 1939. ''Coast Guard'' highlighted the state-of-the-art rescue equipment used by the USCG, including the Douglas Dolphin seaplane.

Reception

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fi ...

, in a later review, commented, "Routine but action-filled hokum with similarities to

Capra Capra may refer to: * ''Capra'' (genus), comprising the goats * Capra (goat dance), a Romanian custom * Capra (titular see), a titular see in the Catholic Church * Capra (car), a pick-up brand from the Iranian Bahman Group People * Buzz Capra ...

's '' Dirigible''."Maltin, Leonard
"Leonard Maltin Movie Review."
''Turner Classic Movies'', 2013. Retrieved: May 16, 2013.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Bowers, Peter M. "Douglas Dolphin." ''Airpower'', Volume 12, Number 6, November 1982. * Carlson, Mark. ''Flying on Film: A Century of Aviation in the Movies, 1912–2012''. Duncan, Oklahoma: BearManor Media, 2012. . * Francillon, René J. ''McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920, Volume 1.'' London: Putnam & Company Ltd., Second revised edition, 1988, 1979. . * Sims, Don. "U.S.C.G. Aviation ... A History." ''Air Classics Quarterly Review'', Volume 3, No. 2, Summer 1976. * Wainwright, Marshall. "Dolphin from Douglas: Part Two." ''Air Classics'', Volume 47, No. 5, May 2011.

External links

* * * {{Edward Ludwig 1939 films American romantic drama films American aviation films Columbia Pictures films 1930s English-language films American black-and-white films 1939 romantic drama films American adventure drama films 1939 adventure films Films about the United States Coast Guard Films with screenplays by Richard Maibaum 1930s American films