No Comparison
Added 6/11/2009
Please, can we stop comparing "ALWAYS" to "A GUY NAMED JOE"? They are two different movies!
"A Guy Named Joe" was made while we were at war, fighting for our freedom and our lives. No other war quite like it before or since. Thousands upon thousands of men died in that war, many in one battle. The families of that day knew loss on a massive scale (suggest you watch "The Fighting Sullivans").
I think most people who watch older films already know the storyline of the Spencer Tracy film - and as I watched it for the umpteenth time a few days ago, I realized for the first time what that film must have meant to the viewing audience when it was first released. It is a magnificent film and no one could have done it better than Tracy. Van Johnson was just beginning a great career, and if you are not familiar with him, try watching "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" or "Miracle in the Rain". "Joe" deals with life and death, as we all must at one time or another. For me, it took away some of the fear, as I hope it did for all those who lost sons, husbands, lovers and brothers in WWII.
This is a classic film for all time. Anyone who loves film should see it and own it. It can be watched over and over and it never gets stale.
And how could I forget to comment on Irene Dunne?! Amazing actress who
made one miraculous film after the other in the 30's and 40's. She was a queen of the box office. There's no one like any of these stars around today - and the stars of "Always" were adequate, but I would guess they would agree, it would be tough to find better actors than Tracy and Dunne today. They are a gift and their films should be seen again and again. After all - they set the standard for those who followed.
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Nice Story With Appealing Cast
Added 2/18/2009
This is one of those old-fashioned, nice stories with generally nice people, some good lessons to be learned and some touching scenes. You just have to go with the fantasy-type theologies, in this story dead people coming back as angels-you-can see.
Irene Dunne never looked better, although the soft-focus lens helped her looks. She isn't beautiful but she's wholesomely pretty, and thus appealing. Spencer Tracy gives his normal strong performance but I liked supporting actor Ward Bond in here better. Tracy gives an excellent short speech at the end of this film.
The special-effects in the aviator-war scenes were not good but, hey, this film was made over 65 years ago. You could tell the planes were model airplanes on several shots.
Note: this film was re-made by Steven Spielberg 40 years later under the title "Always." That was a nice film, too, but I think I'd still take this version. I just wish someone would put it out on a Region 1 DVD.
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"Girl clothes! From London! You bought me girl clothes!"
Added 10/8/2008
A GUY NAMED JOE is a wonderful, old-fashioned, patriotic film made in 1944 during WWII. Starring Spencer Tracy, Irene Dunne, Van Johnson, Ward Bond, and Lionel Barrymore, A GUY NAMED JOE is the story of Pete (Tracy), a hot shot bomber pilot, who dies when he purposefully crashes his disabled plane into a German aircraft carrier. Dorinda (Dunne), Pete's girl friend and a pilot with the Women's Air Ferrying Corps, is devastated, especially since she has just convinced Pete to take a safer assignment stateside teaching new recruits how to fly. In Heaven, which looks remarkably like an Army airfield only with soft, fluffy, white clouds on the ground, "The Commanding General" (Barrymore) makes Pete a guardian angel to Ted Randall (Johnson), a young, unsure Army pilot. Pete invisibly helps Ted through flight training and combat. Ted eventually picks of some of Pete's quirks and style, becoming quite a hot shot pilot himself. Of course, he eventually meets and falls in love with Dorinda, making Pete very jealous. Dorinda is still devoted to Pete's memory, but she, too, eventually falls for Ted. In the end, however, Pete lets Dorinda go, saving Dorinda, Ted, and even his own soul.
This sweet, sentimental film combines the war genre with romantic fantasy. Directed by Victor Fleming and written by Dalton Trumbo, the script is wry and witty with both Spencer Tracy and Irene Dunne delivering some great lines (hence the title of this review). Tracy, Dunne, and Johnson are all believable in their respective roles as well as what you expect them to be as actors. Barrymore is classic as "The Commanding General," and I loved Ward Bond as Pete and Dorinda's best friend. Considering this was filmed in 1944, the special effects are admirable and what you would expect from that era. Apparently, there are several inaccuracies in this film (e.g. there weren't any German aircraft carriers in WWII), but I simply did not care.
A GUY NAME JOE is a terrific choice for a pleasant, sappy, nostalgic evening at home. You may need a hanky in a few spots. But watching this classic film, both my husband and I found smiles on our faces for most of the evening.
Side notes: There is no character named Joe in this film. At the beginning some hero-worshipping kids explain that pilots in the Army Air Corps call any "right fellow" Joe. Also, A GUY NAMED JOE was remade in 1989 by Steven Spielberg as the movie ALWAYS.
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This movie was made for 1943, not 1989
Added 7/31/2007
Trying to directly compare this movie, made in 1943, with "Always", made in 1989, is not really fair. In 1943 we were at war and movies were often designed to support our war efforts, as well as entertain. Both are love stories, but written and directed for different times and different audiences. For those of us around in 1943, it is easy to understand and appreciate movies from that era, while also enjoying pictures of a more recent making, from the perspective the time they are made. My advice to younger viewers, is to think of "A Guy Named Joe" as a well acted and emotional, love and war story, as well as an insight into entertainment during the war years
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What airplae stuff
Added 7/30/2006
I thought the P-38s were great. I know the special effects were not up to current par, but the moview was made ove sixty years ago. I thought the acting was very good.
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Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
Added 10/30/2009
A true story is always more fun to watch. This is one of the best.
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More than a war movie
Added 8/29/2009
The DVD transfer of this 1944 BW release is very good to excellent.
This is the depiction of America's first response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Filmed during the war in 1943, 'Thirty Seconds over Tokyo' gives the viewer not only the action sequences one expects from the raid on Japan but the stories of the men that flew the mission. The movie is based on the book by the film's protagonist, Ted Lawson (Van Johnson). Director Mervyn LeRoy and screenwriter Dalton Trumbo changed little from that first hand account. The training, bombing run and subsequent escape in China are all as they actually happened.
The story also portrays the emotions and sentiment of the period. Scenes which may seem overly sentimental or dramatic are not Hollywood hype but the real feelings of people caught up in WW2. The flying scenes of B25s are also authentic as is the interior of the bomber when we are inside the plane. I would go into a story synopsis but it isn't necessary. Just know that this is a true story told by a man that took part in the raid.
Highly recommended for: WW2 movie fans, all movie fans. Good for the whole family but young children won't get much from it.
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World War II Movie Based on a Book of the Same Name
Added 8/3/2009
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
This a great movie based on a book written by Ted Dawson who participated in the famous Doolittle raid over Tokyo in World War II. Van Johnson plays Dawson and Jimmy Doolittle is enacted by Spencer Tracy. Robert Mitchum has a minor role as Dawson's friend in what may have been one of his first featured roles.
The movie follows Dawson and the crew of the "Ruptured Duck" from volunteering for a secret mission, through the training required for an aircraft carrier take-off, into the brief bombing raid itself followed by the crash landing in Japanese occupied China. The rescue of the crew by the Chinese and the eventual reunion of Dawson and his wife in the States makes up about half of the movie.
Although this is a war movie the crux of the story is about the people involved and the interactions of a group of the "greatest generation". It is a great story.
An article in Air Force Magazine (April 2009) about the Doolittle Raid can be found on the internet and is recommended reading. As of April 2009 there are nine surviving members of the raid. The article includes details of the yearly reunion and the goblets used in a toast.
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