Baby Blue Marine

Staying up late one night, I accidentally caught this movie on TV. I had been looking for it since I'm a Richard Gere fan but hadn't had any luck. Good thing I didn't buy it or anything.

That said, it's not bad. But it certainly isn't very good. Vincent is sent home from the army and once he arrives in a small town, folks there mistake him for some sort of war hero. And he goes along for the ride, for a while anyway. Gere plays a soldier who at one point steals Vincent's clothes.

Harmless, that's probably the best word I can think of for this movie. I wasn't bored and I wasn't thrilled either. It went by easily (very short film), and I've mostly forgotten about it now, but I guess I wouldn't mind watching it again someday. If I couldn't think of anything else, that is.

One advice; don't watch it for Gere alone. His role is very short, but he's got blond hair here, very funny.

Jan-Michael Vincent plays a "Baby Blue Marine" (i.e., a Marine boot camp failure) during World War II. He's initially sent home in disgrace after just five weeks--wearing baby blue fatigues--until he's knocked unconscious (by a white-haired Richard Gere), forcing him into a different uniform: that of a Raider Marine. Original screenplay by Stanford Whitmore opens with a hilarious loser's outfit overseen by an incredulous drill instructor (Michael Conrad, who's terrific). The rest of the film isn't quite so good, especially with Whitmore's overripe narrative playing out like a Preston Sturges wannabe accented with barracks talk, introspective drama, and curlicues of wobbly comedy. Vincent (laying on the sensitive soul routine) isn't the recruit I wanted to follow, anyway; that honor would go to Bruno Kirby (B. Kirby Jr.) as a fake bed-wetter who just wants to get home to his lonely wife. **1/2 from ****

This film was seen by me in a movie theater when it came out in 1976. (I haven't seen it since.) The recent passing of Jan Michael Vincent brought the memory of it back to me. I have no allegiance to Mr. Vincent, but considering his reportedly troubled life, I wanted to note that his performance in this film was truly empathetic and moving. Thus, he could certainly handle himself on screen. The film was sort of a surprise, with an excellent cast of familiar actors of that era. I particularly also recall the performance of John Lund in a very pivotal role. This picture was extremely well done, and, obviously, for me, especially memorable.

The first time I saw this film I was working as the projectionist of the multi-plex theater where it first opened in 1976. It played for two or more weeks and did good business. I must have checked my watch and looked out at the same few scenes a hundred times. The actors were so talented and the scenery so real as if it was a real 1944 town. I am 60 now and just saw it again on cable. I was about 23 or 4 when it was released. It has been hard for me to understand why Jan Michael Vincent never became a huge box office star like DeNiro or Warren Beaty. I didn't like his TV series "Airwolf" He was so talented but his feature-length movies just were swept under the rug so to speak. I guess some make it while some don't. If you see this playing on cable or in a DVD discount bin watch it un-cut by commercials. Have some tissues nearby.

I first saw this film while stationed in Germany, and I especially enjoyed the scenery, music, and the plot. The timeless standard, "I'll be seeing you", added greatly to the mood. A very imaginative, and sensitive kind of movie for all to enjoy.