Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv scheduleAwards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotesFun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsA Guy Named Joe (1943) More at IMDbPro »
Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Chandler Sprague (story) and
David Boehm (story) ...
more
Release Date:
March 1944 (USA) more
Tagline:
A GUY - A GAL - A PAL - It's Swell!
Plot:
A sentimental, patriotic (if not propagandistic) Hollywood fantasy about a dead World War II bomber pilot... more | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. more
NewsDesk:
(4 articles)
Interview: An Ice Cream Social With Oscar Winner Richard Dreyfuss
(From HollywoodChicago.com. 23 September 2009, 8:46 PM, PDT)
Van Johnson: 1916 - 2008
(From IMDb News. 14 December 2008, 1:27 PM, PST)
User Comments:
A Girl Named Irene, A Guy Named Spence, and Another Guy Named Van more (21 total)
Cast
(Complete credited cast)| Spencer Tracy | ... | Pete Sandidge | |
| Irene Dunne | ... | Dorinda Durston | |
| Van Johnson | ... | Ted Randall | |
| Ward Bond | ... | Al Yackey | |
| James Gleason | ... | 'Nails' Kilpatrick | |
| Lionel Barrymore | ... | The General | |
| Barry Nelson | ... | Dick Rumney | |
| Esther Williams | ... | Ellen Bright | |
| Henry O'Neill | ... | Colonel Sykes | |
| Don DeFore | ... | James J. Rourke (as Don De Fore) | |
| Charles Smith | ... | Sanderson | |
| Addison Richards | ... | Major Corbett |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
120 min | USA:122 min (copyright length)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Certification:
Australia:PG | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #9727) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)
Filming Locations:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
This picture was featured as MGM's big Christmas spectacular of 1943. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When "Nails" confronts Pete with a combat photo of Pete's bomber flying much too low during a raid, the aircraft seen in the picture is a Lockheed Hudson. Pete piloted a North American B-25 Mitchell. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in The Heavenly Kid (1985) more
Soundtrack:
Fight On more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (21 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for A Guy Named Joe (1943) moreRecommendations
|
|
|
|
|
| Air Force | Pearl Harbor | Flying Fortress | Sky Giant | Flying Tigers |
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Drama section | IMDb USA section |
| Add this title to MyMovies |

This is a wonderful romantic picture set in World War II and I have to say Spencer Tracy has almost as much chemistry with Irene Dunne as he does with Katharine Hepburn.
During his career Spencer Tracy was basically two types of character, the cryptic tough guy adventurer and later on a wise father figure. In A Guy Named Joe his Pete Sandidge gets to be both. But he has to get killed before he morphs into his second character.
Spencer Tracy is an ace pilot who's over in the European Theatre and his girlfriend, Irene Dunne is also a pilot, a la Amelia Earhart. She's forever worried about the risks he takes and then her wishes turn into reality as he gets himself killed.
Of course he's not quite ready to enter the pearly gates. It seems as though Heaven has an Air Corps advisory program for ghosts to advise living pilots and Spence's first assignment is Van Johnson. Wouldn't you know it, Van's the guy that's getting Irene on the rebound. Tracy's not enough of a ghost yet that the old green-eyed monster isn't grabbing hold of him. So.............................
With Tracy being dead, the possibilities of endings are limited. But it's at this point that Tracy grows into the father figure character we know him better from in his later work.
Van Johnson's career got a big boost from this film. He's previously been in mostly B films, a lot of them as successor to Lew Ayres in the later in the Dr. Gillespie series. He was injured in a motorcycle accident during the shooting and Spencer Tracy threatened to walk off the picture if Van was replaced. Van healed and the film started him into the upward path of his career.
Irene Dunne who did almost as many musicals as straight drama in the 1930s got to sing in this film. That's always a plus. Here she sings a great rendition of I'll Get By which was enjoying a revival of popularity in the World War II years.
Rounding out the supporting cast are Lionel Barrymore, Ward Bond, James Gleason, Barry Nelson, and Don DeFore all performing to their usual standards of excellence.
A really great romantic film like they don't make any more.