O Amor não Vai à Guerra

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.

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.

I was actually around 13 years old camping near the McCloud River, near Shasta when this movie was being filmed. My family was paid to leave our campsite for the afternoon, when they filmed Vincent floating down the river. A little trivia...the scene where they pulled him out, was actually where he started his float down the river. And if the stunt man missed the netting, there was 20 foot waterfall about 1/4 mile down farther.

Anyway...I watched it at the time, and didn't get it. It wasn't until years later when I saw the movie and actually understood the meaning of it. It's pretty powerful movie and certainly a fine job by Jan at such a young age. His movie career never really took off as expected, but of course he later found success on TV. I wish this movie was available, cause I would love to see it again.

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 ****

Made in the mid 70s when it looked like Jan Michael Vincent might translate into a romantic male lead, this thoughtful and sensitive film just slipped into nowhere instead, along with his prospects. Richard Gere seen in a minor role as a marine in a lounge somewhere, seemed to overtake JMV from this film and go into Mr Goodbar, Gigolo and Sexy leading man stardom. Like BUSTER AND BILLIE also marred by the VIGILANTE FORCE and WHITE LINE FEVER type violence, BABY BLUE MARINE is actually a charming romantic drama and quite an acting suprise for any viewer who believes JMV is an action star of the time.