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IMDbPro

A Guy Named Joe

  • 19431943
  • PassedPassed
  • 2h
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
2.6K
YOUR RATING
Spencer Tracy and Irene Dunne in A Guy Named Joe (1943)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:00
1 Video
31 Photos
  • Drama
  • Romance
  • War
A dead World War II bomber pilot named Pete Sandidge, becomes the guardian angel of another pilot, Ted Randall. He guides Ted through battle and helping him to romance his old girlfriend, de... Read allA dead World War II bomber pilot named Pete Sandidge, becomes the guardian angel of another pilot, Ted Randall. He guides Ted through battle and helping him to romance his old girlfriend, despite her excessive devotion to Sandidge's memory.A dead World War II bomber pilot named Pete Sandidge, becomes the guardian angel of another pilot, Ted Randall. He guides Ted through battle and helping him to romance his old girlfriend, despite her excessive devotion to Sandidge's memory.
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
2.6K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Victor Fleming
  • Writers
    • Chandler Sprague(story)
    • David Boehm(story)
    • Frederick Hazlitt Brennan(adaptation)
  • Stars
    • Spencer Tracy
    • Irene Dunne
    • Van Johnson
Top credits
  • Director
    • Victor Fleming
  • Writers
    • Chandler Sprague(story)
    • David Boehm(story)
    • Frederick Hazlitt Brennan(adaptation)
  • Stars
    • Spencer Tracy
    • Irene Dunne
    • Van Johnson
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 40User reviews
    • 11Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 2 nominations total

    Videos1

    A Guy Named Joe
    Trailer 2:00
    A Guy Named Joe

    Photos31

    Ward Bond and Irene Dunne in A Guy Named Joe (1943)
    Spencer Tracy in A Guy Named Joe (1943)
    Spencer Tracy, Ward Bond, and James Gleason in A Guy Named Joe (1943)
    A Guy Named Joe (1943)
    Spencer Tracy and Irene Dunne in A Guy Named Joe (1943)
    Spencer Tracy and Ward Bond in A Guy Named Joe (1943)
    Spencer Tracy, Van Johnson, Don DeFore, and Barry Nelson in A Guy Named Joe (1943)
    Spencer Tracy and Irene Dunne in A Guy Named Joe (1943)
    Ward Bond and Irene Dunne in A Guy Named Joe (1943)
    Spencer Tracy, Ward Bond, and Irene Dunne in A Guy Named Joe (1943)
    Spencer Tracy and Irene Dunne in A Guy Named Joe (1943)
    Spencer Tracy, Ward Bond, and Irene Dunne in A Guy Named Joe (1943)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Spencer Tracy
    Spencer Tracy
    • Pete Sandidge
    Irene Dunne
    Irene Dunne
    • Dorinda Durston
    Van Johnson
    Van Johnson
    • Ted Randall
    Ward Bond
    Ward Bond
    • Al Yackey
    James Gleason
    James Gleason
    • 'Nails' Kilpatrick
    Lionel Barrymore
    Lionel Barrymore
    • The General
    Barry Nelson
    Barry Nelson
    • Dick Rumney
    Esther Williams
    Esther Williams
    • Ellen Bright
    Henry O'Neill
    Henry O'Neill
    • Col. Sykes
    Don DeFore
    Don DeFore
    • James J. Rourke
    • (as Don De Fore)
    Charles Smith
    Charles Smith
    • Sanderson
    Addison Richards
    Addison Richards
    • Maj. Corbett
    Kirk Alyn
    Kirk Alyn
    • Officer in Heaven
    • (uncredited)
    Bill Arthur
    • Cadet
    • (uncredited)
    Martin Ashe
    Martin Ashe
    • Sergeant in Chinese Restaurant
    • (uncredited)
    George Atkinson
    • Waiter
    • (uncredited)
    Irving Bacon
    Irving Bacon
    • Cpl. Henderson
    • (uncredited)
    Dora Baker
    • Charwoman
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Victor Fleming
    • Writers
      • Chandler Sprague(story)
      • David Boehm(story)
      • Frederick Hazlitt Brennan(adaptation)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Reportedly Steven Spielberg's favorite movie, he remade it in 1989 as Always (1989). The remake included the three main characters (Pete Sandich, Durinda Durston and Al Yackey), plus the characters of "Ted" and "Nails."
    • Goofs
      Late in the movie Dorinda (Irene Dunne) is wearing the uniform of a Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP), apparently still ferrying airplanes. However, WASPs never ferried planes to overseas locations, especially combat areas such as New Guinea, which is in the Southwest Pacific. Earlier in the movie she is in England; however, she was wearing a British uniform and women regularly ferried planes there and even encountered combat conditions.
    • Quotes

      The General: No man is really dead unless he breaks faith with the future, and no man is really alive unless he accepts his responsibility to it.

    • Connections
      Featured in MGM Parade: Episode #1.10 (1955)
    • Soundtracks
      The Army Air Corps Song
      (uncredited)

      Written by Robert Crawford

      Played during the opening credits and partially sung by an off-screen male chorus

      Played as background music often and at the end

    User reviews40

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Sweet film about the immortality of love
    "A Guy Named Joe" is a beautiful, sentimental, tear-jerker of a film starring Spencer Tracy, Irene Dunne, Van Johnson, Lionel Barrymore, Ward Bond, James Gleason, and Dom Defore. Tracy is Pete, a fighter pilot in World War II involved with Dorinda (Dunne), a female flier. Apparently pilots whose "number is up" emit some kind of dead man walking spirit, because Dunne recognizes the signs and wants Pete to return to the states with her and teach fledgling pilots. She's so desperate that he agrees, but he's called for one last mission, and the inevitable happens. Before he knows it, no one can see him or hear him, he's escorted around heaven and earth by Barry Nelson, and assigned to be an angel for a young pilot (Johnson).

    For all the warmth of this film, it was fraught with problems behind the scenes. Van Johnson was in a horrid car accident before he finished filming. The actors said they wanted to wait for him rather than see him replaced. That story may or may not be true, as the scar on his forehead is only visible in a couple of scenes; there can't have been much left to film. The second problem was that Spencer Tracy kept coming on to Irene Dunne, which made her furious, and she complained to the front office. She never worked with him again, which is a pity, because they made a charismatic screen couple.

    Spencer Tracy is fantastic as a cocky pilot who comes down to earth only when he dies. His scenes as he stands behind Dunne telling her what he should have said to her while alive are very tender. Dunne is excellent as always - strong yet vulnerable, and she gets to sing "I'll Get By" in her lovely soprano. Johnson, in his breakthrough role, is good-looking, boyish, and likable. One of the nicest thing about "A Guy Named Joe" is some of the lighting effects - the silhouette of Dunne as she says goodbye to Pete; the look of his plane in the distance when she first arrives - these really add to the sense of foreboding.

    Strangely, when viewed today, "A Guy Named Joe" is a feminist movie in more ways than even it knew. Dunne is a female pilot and proves her mettle in a dangerous mission. But more than that, consider the fact that she becomes involved with Johnson in the film and was 18 years his senior! She was 45 when this movie was released, and Johnson was 29. The age difference is obvious. Good for her - playing a lead at that age while employed by Louis B, no less, and having a younger love interest! Mayer is the man who booted out Joan Crawford and didn't make any noise when Garbo and Shearer left.

    If your eyes aren't moist at the end of "A Guy Named Joe," it'll be surprising. Much loved by Steven Spielberg (who remade it), and a lot of other people, it still touches the heart today and reinforced to wartime audiences that the spirit of their deceased ones continues on, with love the tie that binds.
    helpful•12
    3
    • blanche-2
    • Apr 25, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 10, 1944 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Kahraman gölge
    • Filming locations
      • Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas, USA
    • Production company
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $2,627,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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