A Guy Named Joe

Infobox Film
name = A Guy Named Joe


image_size = 200px
caption = Spanish movie poster with Spencer Tracy and Irene Dunne
director = Victor Fleming
producer = Everett Riskin
writer = Dalton Trumbo (screenplay) Frederick Hazlitt Brennan (adaptation) Chandler Sprague (story) David Boehm (story)
narrator =
special effects= A. Arnold Gillespie, Donald Jahrus, Warren Newcombe
starring = Spencer Tracy
Irene Dunne
music = Herbert Stothart Alberto Colombo
cinematography = George J. Folsey Karl Freund
editing = Frank Sullivan
musical score = Herbert Stothart
distributor = MGM
released = 1943
runtime = 122 min.
country = USA
language = English
budget = $2,627,000 (estimated)
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0035959

"A Guy Named Joe" is a 1943 film made by MGM, directed by Victor Fleming, produced by Everett Riskin, from a screenplay by Dalton Trumbo, adapted by Frederick Hazlitt Brennan from a story by Chandler Sprague and David Boehm. It starred Spencer Tracy, Irene Dunne and Van Johnson.

"A Guy Named Joe" was remade in 1989 as Steven Spielberg's "Always" with Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter and Audrey Hepburn.

Plot

Pete Sandidge (Spencer Tracy) is the reckless pilot of a B-25 Mitchell bomber flying out of England during World War II. He is in love with Dorinda Durston (Irene Dunne), a civilian pilot ferrying planes across the Atlantic. "Nails" Kilpatrick (James Gleason), Pete's commanding officer, first transfers Pete and his crew to a base in Scotland and then offers him a transfer back to America to be a flying instructor. Dorinda has a feeling that Pete's "number is up" and begs him to accept. Pete agrees, but goes out on one last mission with his best friend Al Yackey (Ward Bond) to check out a German aircraft carrier. Wounded after an attack by an enemy fighter, he has his crew bail out before bombing the ship and crashing into the sea.

Pete then finds himself walking in clouds, where he first recognizes an old friend, Dick Rumney (Barry Nelson). Suddenly becoming ill-at-ease after remembering that Dick went down with his aircraft in a fiery crash, Pete says, "either I'm dead or I'm crazy." Dick answers, "You're not crazy." Dick ushers Pete to a meeting with "The General" (Lionel Barrymore) who gives him an assignment. He is to be sent back to Earth, where a year has elapsed, to pass on his experience and knowledge to dilettante Ted Randall (Van Johnson), first in flight school, then as a P-38 Lightning fighter pilot in the south Pacific. Ted's commanding officer turns out to be Al Yackey.

The situation becomes complicated when Ted meets the still-grieving Dorinda. Al encourages Dorinda to give the young pilot a chance. The pair gradually fall in love; Ted proposes to her and she accepts, much to Pete's jealous dismay.

When Dorinda finds out from Al that Ted has been given an extremely dangerous assignment to destroy the largest Japanese ammunition dump in the Pacific, she steals his aircraft. Pete guides her in completing the mission and returning to the base to Ted's embrace. Pete accepts what must be and walks away, his job done.

Cast

As appearing in screen credits (main roles identified):

A full cast and production crew list is too lengthy to include, see: IMDb profile. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035959/fullcredits A Guy Named Joe (1943) Full credits] ]

Production

The movie introduced Van Johnson in his first major role. When the filming was partially completed in 1943, Johnson was in a serious automobile accident. The crash lacerated his forehead and damaged his skull so severely doctors inserted a plate in his head. Tracy convinced MGM to suspend filming until Johnson could return to work, which he did after four months of recovery. He then went on to become a major star. Because the movie was filmed before and after the accident, Johnson can be seen without and then with the forehead scars he has carried ever since.

One of the other reasons Johnson was allowed to stay was because a deal was made that Spencer Tracy and director Victor Fleming had to stop making Irene Dunne's life miserable on set. Although she had been excited to work with Tracy, the two took an instant dislike to her and endlessly teased her, sometimes driving her to tears. The deal was made and Dunne and Tracy took the extra time caused by Johnson's recovery to re-shoot some of the scenes where their tension was noticeable. Orriss 1984, p. 80.]

Although the film was shot in wartime, budget restrictions precluded location shooting and all the flying scenes were staged at the MGM Studios. For an air of authenticity, footage shot at various United States Army Air Force (USAAF) bases throughout the United States was incorporated via an exterior backdrop process. Orriss 1984, p. 79. ] Authentic aircraft were used, although they remained firmly on the ground. The pivotal scene with Irene Dunne flying a Lockheed P-38 Lightning was recreated at Drew Field, Florida, utilizing a surplus P-38E which had been acquired from the USAAF, where it had been used as an instructional aircraft. Electric motors drove the propellers and allowed for an authentic run-up sequence. The miniature work was the product of the same MGM special effects team of A. Arnold Gillespie, Donald Jahrus and Warren Newcombe that would later be responsible for "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" (1944). [ Hardwick and Schnepf 1989, p. 50.]

Aircraft used in the film

* Lockheed P-38E Lighning fighter ("static", props turned by electric motors)
* North American B-25 Mitchell bomber (special effects scale model)
* Vultee BT-13 Valiant trainer (static but flyable aircraft on loan from Luke Field Arizona)

Reception

The film premiered at the Astor Theater in New York on 23 December 1943 to generally positive reviews. "Life Magazine" summed up the critical reaction: "MGM's "A Guy Named Joe" manages to remain strong and exciting despite such weaknesses as verbiosity and a climax that is pure 'Perils of Pauline'." The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated the team of David Boehm and Chandler Sprague for Best Original Story in 1943, but Emeric Pressburger won for "The Invaders", also known as "49th Parallel" at the 15th Academy Awards.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Dolan Edward F. Jr. "Hollywood Goes to War". London: Bison Books, 1985. ISBN 0-86124-229-7.
* Hardwick, Jack and Schnepf, Ed. "A Viewer's Guide to Aviation Movies." "The Making of the Great Aviation Films". General Aviation Series, Volume 2, 1989.
* Orriss, Bruce. "When Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Aviation Film Classics of World War II". Hawthorn, California: Aero Associates Inc., 1984. ISBN 0-9613088-0-X.

External links