''The Boatniks'' is a 1970 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Norman Tokar Norman Tokar (November 25, 1919 – April 6, 1979) was an American director, actor and occasionally writer and producer of serial television and feature films, who directed many of the early episodes of '' Leave it to Beaver'', and found his g ...

and starring

Robert Morse Robert Alan Morse (May 18, 1931 – April 20, 2022) was an American actor, who starred in ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (musical), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', both the 1961 original Broadway production ...

, Stefanie Powers,

Don Ameche Don Ameche (; born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, stock, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 1930s, which ...

and

Phil Silvers Phil Silvers (born Phillip Silver; May 11, 1911 – November 1, 1985) was an American entertainer and comedic actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah". His career as a professional entertainer spanned nearly sixty years. Silvers achieved major popu ...

. It was made by

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 1 ...

, released by Buena Vista Distribution. Young and awkward, Coast Guard

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

Thomas Garland (Morse) suffers from the comparison with his late father, a war hero, which does not prevent him from falling for pretty Kate Fairchild (Powers), a young woman who manages a sailing school. Of course, the way he expresses his deep feelings for the lady leaves much to be desired, and the situation does not improve when a trio of bumbling jewel thieves interferes.

Wally Cox Wallace Maynard Cox (December 6, 1924 – February 15, 1973) was an American actor. He began his career as a standup comedian and then became the title character of the popular early U.S. television series ''Mister Peepers'' from 1952 to 19 ...

had a supporting role playing a man who manages a boat for girls to give parties for the purposes of socializing with men.

Plot

Lieutenant Jordan,

U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...

, responds to a number of pleas for help from civilian pleasure boat sailors around Southern California's Balboa Island. This type of event is typical of what the Coast Guard deals with on a regular basis, and is one of the reasons why Jordan has requested to transfer to a new station. He is handing over the reins to

Tom Garland, a polite but remarkably clumsy fellow who will now report to Commander Taylor, a man who fought in

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 ...

with Garland's father and holds him in high regard. Through a series of events, Garland's ineptitude as the station's new skipper is revealed. He repeatedly flounders in tending to the various minor issues plaguing the crowded waters' impatient travelers. It also does not take long for him to fall for Kate Fairchild, a "

girl next door The girl next door is a young female stock character who is often used in romantic stories. She is so named because she often lives next door to the protagonist or is a childhood friend. They start out with a mutual friendship that later often ...

" who runs a local boat rental and sailing school spot on the coast. Meanwhile, three jewel thieves are making their way to Mexico while listening to reports of their pursuit. There's ringleader Harry Simmons, who poses as a yacht club "commodore" and dispatches orders to his two associates, Charlie, and Max. This trio has managed to steal a jewel collection, and they intend to smuggle them inside an assortment of casually hollowed food. They decide to rent a boat from Kate to make their way south of the border, although none of the three know how to sail. With Kate's suggestion that the crooks' suspicious behavior might indicate criminality, she and Tom begin to suspect that they are indeed the three men reported about in a newspaper article. Tom is right about the suspects, but Commander Taylor initially does not believe it. Ultimately, Tom is able to convince Taylor to retrieve the stolen jewels, and ensure that the jewel thieves are arrested. THe film ends when the boat is about to get into a collision with the abandoned sub like craft, which would have capsized the boat.

Cast

as Ensign Garland * Stefanie Powers as Kate *

as Harry Simmons *

Norman Fell Norman Fell (born Norman Noah Feld; March 24, 1924 – December 14, 1998) was an American actor of film and television, most famous for his role as landlord Mr. Roper on the sitcom ''Three's Company'' and its spin-off, ''The Ropers'', and his fi ...

as Max *

Mickey Shaughnessy Joseph C. Shaughnessy (August 5, 1920 – July 23, 1985), better known as Mickey Shaughnessy, was an American actor and comedian. Early life Joseph C. Shaughnessy was born in New York City. He began in show business working as a singer at res ...

as Charlie *

as Jason *

as Commander Taylor * Joey Forman as Lt. Jordan *

Vito Scotti Vito Giusto Scozzari (January 26, 1918 – June 5, 1996), also known as Vito Scotti, was an American character actor who played both dramatic and comedy roles on Broadway, in films, and later on television, primarily from the late 1930s to the ...

as Pepe Galindo *

Tom Lowell Lowell Thomas (born January 17, 1941) is an American film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for playing baby-faced Pvt. Billy Nelson in the American drama television series ''Combat!''. Life and career Lowell was born in Philade ...

as Wagner *

Robert Hastings Robert Francis Hastings (April 18, 1925 – June 30, 2014) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Lt. Elroy Carpenter on ''McHale's Navy'' and voicing Commissioner James Gordon in the DC Animated Universe. Early life Has ...

as Chief Walsh *

Sammy Jackson Sammy Jackson (August 18, 1937 – April 26, 1995) was an American actor, known particularly for his roles reflecting rural life, and a country music disc jockey, although he also played pop-standards during 1983 at Los Angeles's KMPC. He als ...

as Garlotti *

Joe E. Ross Joe E. Ross (born Joseph Roszawikz; March 15, 1914 – August 13, 1982) was an American actor known for his trademark "Ooo! Ooo!" exclamation, which he used in many of his roles. He starred in such TV sitcoms as ''The Phil Silvers Show'' and '' C ...

as Nutty Sailor * Judith Jordan as Tina * Al Lewis as Bert * Midori as Chiyoko Kuni *

Kelly Thordsen Kelly Thordsen, born Sherman Jess Thordsen (January 19, 1917 – January 23, 1978) was an American film and television actor. Life and career Thordsen was born in Deadwood, South Dakota. He served in the United States Navy during World War II ...

as Motorcycle Cop *

Gil Lamb Gilbert L. Lamb (June 14, 1904 – November 2, 1995) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 60 films and television shows between 1935 and 1980. He was also was a stage actor, who appeared in several musicals on Broadway, including ...

as Mr. Mitchell

Release

''The Boatniks'' was released on July 1, 1970 at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City. It was re-released theatrically on June 10, 1977.

Home media

It was released twice on VHS in November 1983 and March 18, 1997,

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

on August 2, 2005, and

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

on June 21, 2016 in a Disney Movie Club exclusive, 45th Anniversary Edition.

Reception

In 1970, the film earned an estimated $5 million in North American rentals. By 1976 this figure was up to $6.6 million.

Roger Greenspun Roger Greenspun (December 16, 1929 – June 18, 2017) was an American journalist and film critic, best known for his work with ''The New York Times'' in which he reviewed near 400 films, particularly in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and for '' ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' wrote that the film "isn't a good movie about boating, and it doesn't really try to be. It isn't good situation comedy either, though it does try to be." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' stated, "There's nothing that isn't familiar about the comedy in this Disney summer release, but it's so well handled that even anticipated gags come through with honors." Kevin Thomas of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' called it "a better than usual Disney comedy. It wisely involves a lot of very good people in a series of mishaps of which they make the absolute most." Writing in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'',

Judith Martin Judith Martin (née Perlman; born September 13, 1938), better known by the pen name Miss Manners, is an American columnist, author, and etiquette authority. Early life and career Martin is the daughter of Helen and Jacob Perlman. Her father w ...

thought the film was "better than most," but she expressed concern about the "humor based on national and sexual stereotypes," including " o separate instances of the old Mexican-American caricature done in a way that no one would dare do about blacks these days." ''

The Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...

'' wrote, "Characteristically wholesome Disney comedy, quite enjoyable on its own unsophisticated level though not in the same class as ''

The Love Bug ''The Love Bug'' is a 1968 American comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson and the first in a franchise by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution that starred an anthropomorphic pearl-white, fabric-sunroofed 19 ...

'', mainly because of a surfeit of dialogue (and a consequent lack of sight gags) and Robert Morse's slight unease in conveying the central character's easygoing amiability."

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boatniks, The 1970 films 1970 comedy films 1970s heist films American comedy films American heist films 1970s English-language films Films about the United States Coast Guard Films directed by Norman Tokar Films produced by Ron W. Miller Films set in Orange County, California Walt Disney Pictures films 1970s American films