A Guy Named Joe

During WW2, fighter pilot Spencer Tracy (Pete) has a maverick streak which causes him problems and gets him sent to Scotland for reconnaissance flights and eventually back to the USA to train junior pilots. However, this is not before he is given a final assignment to sink a Nazi aircraft carrier alongside several destroyers. Well, as per usual he goes all maverick and it doesn't work out too well for him. Or does it? The message of the film is one of acceptance of your situation and Tracy is perfect to lead us through the proceedings as he does indeed help those junior pilots. He also helps his partner and fellow pilot Irene Dunne (Dorinda) to come to terms with her situation as she has to let go of confinement and share out the love.

It's a sentimental film that is sentimental in a good way with ghosts helping out. We have 2 locations – Earth and the halfway-house before Heaven which is presided over by deceased ace pilot Lionel Barrymore (The General). The film is a little long and the first 45 minutes is pretty dull, an exercise in setting the scene which dragged on a bit. However, the film gets going once Tracy is given his final mission and we see the introduction of novice pilot Van Johnson (Ted). It is at this point that we also get the humour going as there is amusing dialogue from the non-mortal Tracy as he walks around in the land of the living casting disapproving facial expressions. The film is also a story for Tracy to accept his fate as his true love Irene Dunne goes off with another.

Van Johnson tells an amusing story of someone who grew another foot and whilst I can see the attraction that he may have had for Dunne, I think that Esther Williams (Ellen), in a non-swimming role, was far more suited to him romantically. Ward Bond (Al) is good as Tracy's pilot pal who remains with the living but I'm afraid I cannot say the same for Commander/General James Gleason (Nails) who annoyingly barks his way through the film. Shut up Gleason!

Overall, a film with a nice story – you may get emotional. You may also start to wonder whose spirit is standing beside you, and whilst they may poke fun at you on occasion, they are ultimately there to help you along – your Guardian Angel. I met mine in a dream – there were two of them, a little boy and a little girl and when I asked them "Who are you?", the little boy turned around and said "I'm your Guardian Angel". And it was me at age 4…… I'm my own Guardian Angel! So, there is definitely weird stuff that goes on in life. Or in my head!

This is one of the best love stories ever. It isn't a war story, war simply happens to be the setting. And I don't see how a movie can prevent nations from winning a war. The whole fact that Spencer Tracy's character loves Irene Dunne's so much that he will watch her marry another man is the most amazing testimony of love. I don't know how you can watch one of the final scenes; in which Tracy and Dunne are in the plane and he says that their love is too good to make her unhappy; and still call "A Guy Named Joe," a silly movie. Again, the war was simply a setting, because war in itself isn't very interesting, it is the human experience in war which creates a story.

The Fact that Spielberg enjoyed and admired it so much that he remade it also says a little for the film.

Guy Named Joe, A (1943)

*** (out of 4)

Well-acted drama has a hot shot pilot (Spencer Tracy) getting killed during a WW2 battle leaving his fiancé (Irene Dunne) all alone. The dead pilot eventually comes back as a ghost to help a young pilot (Van Johnson) but soon his morals come into question when the young man starts dating his fiancé. This here seems to remain a popular movie considering how many times Turner Classic Movies plays it a year. The same can't be said for the Steven Spielberg remake, Always, which seems to have already been forgotten as one of the director's minor works. This film here is certainly sappy and predictable but the wonderful cast makes it very entertaining to watch even though the running time is a tad bit long. Tracy leads the way with a very touching performance that lets the actor show off various emotions ranging from anger to sweetness to even some nice comic tones. Tracy was also great at playing the tough guy with a heart and this here is no exception. Dunne is good in her role but I was surprised to see how blandly written it was. She basically just sits around (or stands) waiting for one of the men to come up to her and considering how star level at the time it's rather shocking to see her role not juiced up a bit. Johnson steals the film as the new pilot who mirrors Tracy's character too much. The naive innocence Johnson brings to the role is quite memorable. Lionel Barrymore, James Gleason and Ward Bond all offer up nice support. Barry Nelson and Esther Williams have small roles as well. The are a few battle scenes, which look extremely well including the main battle at the middle of the film when Tracy gets killed. The aerial footage was well shot and manages to be quite dramatic as well. The cinematography is another plus as is the music score. Again, the main problem tends to be in the screenplay, which really doesn't allow for too many surprises and that includes the ending, which isn't believable and really comes off rather silly. The great cast makes it worth watching though.

Irene Dunne is what makes any movie she is in, superb! No female actor today, or for that matter in the 30s and 40s can compare to her wholesomeness, versatility, and talent! This movie was a lesson in many aspects of life. It was made during a time that these things were much needed but we can certainly apply the same selflessness to our daily lives today. It is funny and dramatic, fast moving and keeps your interest. Spencer Tracy is good, so was Van Johnson in that part! Ward Bond is always so good at anything he dose, he is such a great SUPPORTING actor he supports and complements, he always seems to be the character he is playing.

Yet, again I must say Irene Dunne is a Jewel, she does every character in such a believable manner you feel they could be your next door neighbor. Thank You Irene !

The question that faces (or scares) Americans ever since the debacle of Vietnam is: is patriotism dead here. Because of that national nightmare we have questioned every government foreign policy ever since. Naturally we should question them, but it sometimes seems that our questioning causes a national paralysis of will. Time will tell (and shortly) if the Iraqi - Afghani incursions will add to this paralysis.

It was not the case in 1943, when A GUY NAMED JOE was made by MGM. The film is about a hot shot air force pilot (Spencer Tracy) who is in a squadron commanded by James Gleason. Although they have a friendship, Gleason is constantly having problems about Tracy's independence from rules. Frequently they pay off in damaging the enemy, but they break safety rules. Gleason also sympathizes with Tracy's girlfriend (Irene Dunne) who wants Tracy to take a quieter job (like training fliers in the states). Just when Tracy is about to take such a job, he goes on a mission, and his plane is hit. After the crew bails out, Tracy (instead of ditching) flies the plane kamikaze style into a German aircraft carrier and sinks it (but he dies).

In the afterlife, Tracy is taken under the wing of the "General" (Lionel Barrymore), and is assigned to act like a conscience or guide to budding air force pilots. He is assigned to Van Johnson, and helps him get more confidence. Johnson is assigned to a war theater where Gleason's command is, and where Dunne is. Dunne is mourning Tracy, but their closest mutual friend (Ward Bond) gets her to go out to enjoy herself. She meets Johnson, and an affair begins. Tracy gets jealous as a result.

The film follows as Tracy and Dunne finally accept the truth about the ending of their physical contact. It moves to the point of tragedy here when Tracy finally releases Dunne from the harshness of the emotional chains that bind them, and that lead Dunne to do something atypical and foolhardy for the intelligent person she supposedly is. In the end she and Johnson find a new happiness together, while Tracy goes to his next "angel" assignment.

Fantasy is usually tied to one set of ideas or theme, but what is good World War II American propaganda became a study in tragic resignation. Fortunately the acting level of A GUY NAMED JOE was so high, that the fantasy transcended the historical period film and left us with a film of emotional loss and rebuilding. As such it is a fine movie.

One final point, on a historical level. Who is Lionel Barrymore supposed to be? He is only referred to as "the General" and he died before the war. He is highly respected as a great air figure. Tracy quickly recognizes him, and tells Barry Nelson he wanted to take him up in one of the new aircraft that had been built. So who is Barrymore supposedly?

The key is the model airplane on Barrymore's desk. It is a model of a Martin Bomber. That was the plane used in 1921 to sink two battleships in Chesapeake Bay, and to prove the theories of an air power pioneer that the future of warfare was not with dreadnoughts but with air planes. The "General" is supposed to be Brigadier General Billy Mitchell.