Simply A Masterpiece

Lack of good storyline.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

It's an efficiently staged story of Spencer Tracy and his girl friend Irene Dunne in the US Air Force in World War II. They're deeply in love. When Tracy dies a heroic death, he's sent to the Command Post in heaven and given the assignment below of shepherding young pilot Van Johnson through his training and subsequent combat in New Guinea. Irene Dunne shows up and Johnson begins courting her, much to Tracy's disgust. He ultimately gives up the power he seems to have over her and she and Van Johnson are married.The film is worth a couple of observations. One is that performers rarely get the credit they deserve for delivering the goods in comedies or, until recently, in Westerns -- with the exception of some silent comedians. Spencer Tracy's role here is mostly comic, yet it's one of his finest performances. Every line, even the corniest, seems to come directly from his character. He boasts, he sneers, he insults, he woos clumsily. He lifts the picture well above the ordinary. He gets extra credit for his skill because he doesn't LOOK at all interesting -- not handsome, not compellingly homely, just plain plain. And he doesn't have the extra juice that ethnicity or a regional dialect would give him. He looks and sounds like what he was, an ordinary guy from a small town in Wisconsin. Turning that ordinariness into a winning trait requires a certain mastery of one's art.I'll mention just one scene. Watch him just after his death. The viewer sees a vast, empty space with a few clouds in the background. The floor is covered by a foot of ground fog. (Production design by Cedric Gibbons.) Still in uniform, Tracy appears, strolling casually but purposefully towards the camera, as if he had someplace to go. His hands are in his pockets and he's whistling a pop tune. Then he spots the figure of an old friend, Barry Nelson, in the distance, dashes over to him and gives him a big hug and handshake. Boy, is he happy to meet Nelson again! Tracy expansively begins to tell him of his latest exploit in the air and after a minute or so, pauses, gives a quick glance around, and then continues bragging as before. In the middle of a sentence, he stops, looks puzzled, and says, "Somethin's cockeyed here. I saw your plane go down in flames over Brest. How'd you get out?" "I didn't," replies Nelson. The scene is utterly stupid but Tracy and his gradually growing awareness of his surroundings makes it hilarious.The second observation is that this was released in 1943, meaning it was probably written and shot in 1942. Well, this is a story about a loved one who was killed in the war, and how much we need to put our sorrow behind us and move on with our lives. And 1942 was a very bad year when it came to the good folks at home losing loved ones overseas, and the men and women overseas losing their best friends in combat. In a sense, this is a sort of documentary, a training film for civilians on how to handle the memory of people who were killed in action. Irene Dunne will never forget Tracy but, after a bit of rough handling by Tracy's friend, Ward Bond, she marries Johnson anyway. And if there are ghosts, they will understand and forgive us. They'd want us to get on with our lives.

Pete did NOT fly a bomber (B-25). His plane was a Lockheed P-38 Lightning, a FIGHTER plane, and one of the most advanced and successful fighters of WWII. Not only did it shoot down more Japanese aircraft than any American fighter, it was used by the two top American aces: Richard Bong and Tommy McGuire.The P-38 used in the movie (and the mock-ups) were early versions since they had the very sharply angled scoop on the engines. The plane was not perfect, as it suffered from "compressability" (the phenomenon of air passing too swiftly over the control surfaces and making it extremely difficult to pull out of a dive), AND its Allison engines were not as good as the Merlin/RRs used for the P-51 Mustang. Nevertheless, it was an excellent airplane, and its twin engines were greatly appreciated by its pilots, especially those in the South Pacific who flew over great expanses of ocean. Thus, to label this plane a "bomber" is not only grossly inaccurate, it fails to capture the attitude that all fighter pilots had during the war.

This film is an example of the World War II work of Dalton Trumbo, who wrote the screen play. Not many young people have seen this picture because it was pulled from the shelves when Trumbo - one of the "Hollywood Ten" - was blacklisted by the film industry for being publicly accused of being a "Communist" by Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Red Scare. It was updated and remade in 1989 by Steven Spielburg as the movie "Always", and "Always" is just as good as this film, if not better, which proves that Trumbo wrote a great story to begin with. The re-write replaces World War II Carpet Bombing with Rocky Mountain aerial fire fighting, and adds some very sound romance and bonding that really makes the film.

Spencer Tracy plays a World War II pilot who isn't just killed, but demolished, in the exciting opening of "A Guy Named Joe". He goes to a Heavenly place (with Lionel Barrymore in charge). There, he is given his Real Wings - he is to return to earth and be Van Johnson's "Guardian Angel". In the process, he has to deal with Mr. Johnson hooking up with his ex (Irene Dunne).The Victor Fleming-directed movie doesn't do anything to differentiate the ghostly Mr. Tracy from the Earthbound players. The story is propagandistic and illogical. But, the production looks nice, and some performances are worthy. ***** A Guy Named Joe (1943) Victor Fleming ~ Spencer Tracy, Irene Dunne, Van Johnson