''Baby Blue Marine'' is a 1976 American

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

film set during

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

that was directed by

John D. Hancock John D. Hancock (born February 12, 1939) is an American stage and film director, producer and writer. He is perhaps best known for his work on ''Bang the Drum Slowly''. Hancock's theatrical work includes direction of both classic and contempor ...

and starring

Jan-Michael Vincent Jan-Michael Vincent (July 15, 1944 – February 10, 2019) was an American actor known for portraying helicopter pilot Stringfellow Hawke in the TV series ''Airwolf'' (1984–1987) and the protagonist, Matt Johnson, in the 1978 film ''Big W ...

. The feature film was produced by

Aaron Spelling Aaron Spelling (April 22, 1923 June 23, 2006) was an American film and television producer and occasional actor. His productions included the TV series ''Family'' (1976–1980), '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), '' The Love Boat'' (1977–198 ...

and

Leonard Goldberg Leonard J. Goldberg (January 24, 1934 – December 4, 2019) was an American film and television producer. He had his own production company, Panda Productions (formerly Mandy Films, and earlier Daydream Productions when he was working with Jer ...

Plot

Marion “Hedge” Hedgepeth, a

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military ...

recruit during World War II, washes out in recruit training in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. He is sent home in an unadorned baby blue uniform, leftover military surplus, as most recruits sent their civilian clothes home, thus the derogatory designation Baby Blue Marine. Traveling by bus to his home in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, Hedge meets a

Marine Raider The Marine Raiders are special operations forces originally established by the United States Marine Corps during World War II to conduct amphibious light infantry warfare. " Edson's" Raiders of 1st Marine Raider Battalion and " Carlson's" R ...

veteran at a stopover. The young, battle-scarred, and highly decorated Marine has aged beyond his years with prematurely gray hair. As the Raider does not wish to return to the war, he knocks out Hedge and trades uniforms with him. Now penniless, with only the Raider uniform for clothing, Hedge hitchhikes towards St. Louis. He enters the idyllic small town of Bidwell, California, below

Mount Shasta Mount Shasta ( Shasta: ''Waka-nunee-Tuki-wuki''; Karuk: ''Úytaahkoo'') is a potentially active volcano at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California. At an elevation of , it is the second-highest peak in the Cascad ...

. His uniform’s decorations and Raider shoulder-sleeve insignia make him a hero to the community, whose own young men are away at the war. At the local diner, Hedge is befriended by waitress Rose, a recent high-school graduate, and Mr. Elmore, a local who lost his son in the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

. He also meets

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Private Danny Phelps, a local who just finished basic training and is awaiting assignment to the army typing pool. Rose invites Hedge to stay with her family for a few days, where Hedge bunks with her brother, Barney. Rose and Hedge fall in love, and he eventually tells her the truth of his story, saying that he has chosen to stay quiet because he does not want the real Raider to get in trouble for deserting. When three American-born teenaged boys escape from a local Japanese American internment camp, the camp’s small and inexperienced army troop is joined by the locals in searching the woods. Mr. Elmore reminds everyone that these are young American citizens, but some of the locals, particularly Private Phelps, seem hellbent on killing the "Japs". Hedge finds the boys first, and they admit that they are sick of being unfairly held and are (naively) trying to get home to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

. Phelps spots the scene from a nearby ridge and shoots, hitting Hedge, who falls into the rapids of a rushing mountain stream. The Japanese-American boys, aided by Mr. Elmore and a repentant Phelps, barely save the heavily bleeding Hedge from drowning. Thinking he might die, Hedge tells Rose to tell everyone his true story. When the war ends, Hedge returns to Bidwell and Rose, having served as a corporal under

General Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

in the

U.S. Third Army The United States Army Central, formerly the Third United States Army, commonly referred to as the Third Army and as ARCENT, is a military formation of the United States Army which saw service in World War I and World War II, in the 1991 Gulf Wa ...

Cast

as Marion *

Glynnis O'Connor Glynnis O'Connor (born November 19, 1956) is an American actress of television, film, radio, and theater. She first gained wide attention in the mid-1970s with leading roles in the television version of ''Our Town'' and in the short-lived series ...

as Rose *

Katherine Helmond Katherine Marie Helmond (July 5, 1929 – February 23, 2019) was an American actress. Over her five decades of television acting, she was known for her starring role as Jessica Tate on the sitcom ''Soap'' (1977–1981) and her co-starring role as ...

as Mrs. Hudkins *

Dana Elcar Ibsen Dana Elcar (October 10, 1927 – June 6, 2005) was an American television and film character actor. He appeared in about 40 films as well as on the 1980s and 1990s television series ''MacGyver'' as Peter Thornton, MacGyver's immediate ...

as Sheriff Wenzel *

Bert Remsen Herbert Birchell "Bert" Remsen (February 25, 1925 – April 22, 1999) was an American actor and casting director. He appeared in numerous films and television series. Biography Remsen was born in Glen Cove, New York, on Long Island, the son of ...

as Mr. Hudkins *

Bruno Kirby Bruno Kirby (born Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu Jr.; April 28, 1949 – August 14, 2006) was an American actor. He was known for his roles in ''City Slickers'', '' When Harry Met Sally...'', '' Good Morning, Vietnam'', ''The Godfather Part II'', and ...

as Pop Mosley (as B. Kirby Jr.) *

Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Heaven'' (1978). He came to prominence with ...

as Raider *

Art Lund Arthur Lund (April 1, 1915 – May 31, 1990) was an American baritone singer, initially with bandleaders Benny Goodman and Harry James, and was also a television and stage actor. Biography Arthur Lund was a graduate of Eastern Kentucky Uni ...

as Mr. Elmore *

Michael Conrad Michael Conrad (October 16, 1925November 22, 1983) was an American actor perhaps best known for his portrayal of veteran cop Sgt. Phil Esterhaus on ''Hill Street Blues'', in which he ended the introductory roll call to each week's show with "Le ...

as Drill Instructor * Allan Miller as Capt. Bittman * Michael LeClair as Barney Hudkins *

Will Seltzer Will Seltzer is an American actor who had supporting roles in films such as ''Baby Blue Marine'' (1976), ''Citizen's Band'' (1977), ''The Chicken Chronicles'' (1977), '' The One and Only'' (1978), ''More American Graffiti'' (1979), ''Johnny Dangero ...

as Pvt. Phelps *

Kenneth Tobey Kenneth Jesse Tobey (March 23, 1917 – December 22, 2002) was an extremely prolific American actor who performed in hundreds of productions during a career that spanned more than half a century, including his role as the star of the 1957-1 ...

as Buick Driver (as Ken Tobey) * Lelia Goldoni as Mrs. Townsley * Marshal Efron as Cook * Barton Heyman as Barker *

Adam Arkin Adam Arkin (born August 19, 1956) is an American actor and director. He is known for playing the role of Aaron Shutt on ''Chicago Hope''. He has been nominated for numerous awards, including a Tony (Best Actor, 1991, '' I Hate Hamlet'') as well ...

as Rupe * Damon Douglas as Dobbs * Barry Greenberg as Idiot #1 *

John Blyth Barrymore John Blyth Barrymore III (born May 15, 1954) is an American film and television actor. He is known for his role as Zeke in the 1970s television series ''Kung Fu'', which was his first role on television. Biography John Blyth Barrymore III was b ...

as Idiot #2 *

John Calvin John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...

as Paratrooper * Richard Narita as Masamura * Evan C. Kim as Harakawa (as Evan Kim) * Keone Young as Katsu * Phyllis Glick as Girl Behind Bus Counter * William Martel as Bartender * Warren Burton as Second Serviceman * Abraham Alvarez as First Serviceman * Bill Sorrells as Coach * Carole White as Girl On Bus (as Carole Ita White) * Duncan Gamble as Sailor *

Tita Bell Tita Bell is an American television soap opera writer. Besides working on soap operas, Bell also wrote a scenario for a ''Bednaya Nastya'' in 2003, and had a recurring role as Trudy on ''Happy Days'' from 1974 to 1977. Positions held '' The City ...

as Girl #1 *

Lani O'Grady Lani O'Grady (born Lanita Rose Agrati, October 2, 1954 – September 25, 2001) was an American actress and talent agent. She is best remembered for her role as Mary Bradford, the eldest sister from ''Eight Is Enough''. Early life O'Grad ...

as Girl #2 * Barbara Dodd as Mother * Tom Lee McFadden as First Shore Patrolman * James Carroll as Second Shore Patrolman (as James Lough)

Film locations

Vincent also stars in ''

Tribes The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...

'', another film that features the Marine Corps.

Reception

Film critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

gave the film 2½ out of 4 stars.

References

External links