Baby Blue Marine (1976)

A would-be Marine fails basic training, and is sent home wearing the "baby blue" fatigues of a washout. En route, he is mugged by a battle-fatigued Marine Raider, who leaves him to hitch-hike home in an undeserved hero's uniform.

Director:

John D. Hancock (as John Hancock)

Writer:

Stanford Whitmore

Stars:

Jan-Michael Vincent, Glynnis O'Connor, Katherine Helmond

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jan-Michael Vincent	...	Marion
Glynnis O'Connor	...	Rose
Katherine Helmond	...	Mrs. Hudkins
Dana Elcar	...	Sheriff Wenzel
Bert Remsen	...	Mr. Hudkins
Bruno Kirby	...	Pop Mosley (as B. Kirby Jr.)
Richard Gere	...	Raider
Art Lund	...	Mr. Elmore
Michael Conrad	...	Drill Instructor
Allan Miller	...	Capt. Bittman
Michael LeClair	...	Barney Hudkins
Will Seltzer	...	Pvt. Phelps
Kenneth Tobey	...	Buick Driver (as Ken Tobey)
Lelia Goldoni	...	Mrs. Townsley
Marshall Efron	...	Cook

Storyline

A young man joins the Marines during WWII but fails to meet qualifications so is washed out and sent home in a light blue uniform which apparently indicates his status. He meets a real war vet in a bar who wants to go AWOL because he is afraid to be sent back. The Vet mugs the young man in the alley and takes his clothes ,leaving him the war vet uniform to wear. The young man hitchhikes towards home but on the way he stops in a small Colorado mountain town and people think he is a war hero so he gets free food and so forth. A waitress at the cafe invites him home stay with her family an he falls in love. Curiously there is a supposed WWII American-Japanese internment camp very nearby in the woods and some scenes are included that make you think it is important to the plot. In reality there never was any such camps in the woods near a town. The only Colorado camp was near Granada in the bleak wilderness areas of the dry flats of Colorado. Later three American-Japanese teen boys escape ...

---

Plot Keywords:

marine | basic training | three word title | color in title | internment camp | 

---

Taglines:

In 1943 You never got a second chance to be a hero...or a virgin.

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 September 1976 (UK)

Also Known As:

Alma de Herói

Filming Locations:

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Spelling-Goldberg Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor) (uncredited)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Final film (uncredited) of John Drew Barrymore. NOTE: After finishing this film he left the industry and became a recluse for the next 25 years.

---

Goofs

During the flag ceremony at the Japaneses Internment Camp, the wrong bugle call is sounded. They are lowering the flag at the end of the day, and that is called a "Retreat" ceremony. The bugle call you are hearing is, "Retreat", which is the first of two bugle calls that are sounded. When "Retreat" is sounded, it lets everyone know to stop and face towards the flag. The salute isn't presented until the second bugle call, "To The Colors", begins, as the flag is being lowered. In this movie, we never actually hear the bugle call, "To The Colors".

---

Connections

Features Dark Victory (1939)

---

Soundtracks

I'LL BE SEEING YOU
By Irving Kahal and Sammy Fain
Sung by Fred Karlin

User Reviews

I feel it's a movie that should be seen.

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.