A Guy Named Joe

United States

1943

120 Min

Black and White

1.37:1

English

Currently 3.1/5 Stars.
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SCR Chandler Sprague, David Boehm, Frederick Hazlitt Brennan, Dalton Trumbo

DP George J. Folsey, Karl Freund

CAST Spencer Tracy, Irene Dunne, Van Johnson, Ward Bond, James Gleason, Lionel Barrymore, Barry Nelson, Esther Williams, Henry O'Neill, Don DeFore, Charles Smith, Addison Richards

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. —Wikipedia

Director

Victor Fleming

Victor Fleming entered motion pictures as a combination driver and stunt man at the Flying A studio in Santa Barbara, California, in 1912, following a series of jobs that included bicycle mechanic, taxi driver, auto mechanic (He also did a little racing on the side), chauffeur and auto salesman. Allan Dwan took credit for hiring him after he repaired Dwan’s car, but Fleming’s real conduit was his actor pal Marshall Neilan, whom he had met as a chauffeur.

After two years with Flying A, Fleming joined Neilan at Kalem, making the early Ham and Bud comedies, and in 1915, he joined the Douglas Fairbanks unit at Triangle, where he worked under Dwan and John Emerson. His first picture there was The Habit of Happiness, and he was one of several cameramen who worked on D.W. Griffith’s Intolerance in 1916. By the outbreak of World War I, Fleming was Fairbanks’ supervisory cameraman at ArtCraft Pictures. After Signal Corps service that included serving as President Woodrow Wilson’s personal… read more

Victor Fleming entered motion pictures as a combination driver and stunt man at the Flying A studio in Santa Barbara, California, in 1912, following a series of jobs that included bicycle mechanic, taxi driver, auto mechanic (He also did a little racing on the side), chauffeur and auto salesman. Allan Dwan took credit for hiring him after he repaired Dwan’s car, but Fleming’s real conduit was his actor pal Marshall Neilan, whom he had met as a chauffeur.

After two years with Flying A, Fleming joined Neilan at Kalem, making the early Ham and Bud comedies, and in 1915, he joined the Douglas Fairbanks unit at Triangle, where he worked under Dwan and John Emerson. His first picture there was The Habit of Happiness, and he was one of several cameramen who worked on D.W. Griffith’s Intolerance in 1916. By the outbreak of World War I, Fleming was Fairbanks’ supervisory cameraman at ArtCraft Pictures. After Signal Corps service that included serving as President Woodrow Wilson’s personal cameraman at the Versailles Peace Conference, Fleming rejoined Fairbanks at the newly formed United Artists, where in 1919, he directed his first picture, When the Clouds Roll By.

Later at Paramount, Fleming’s first major success was Lord Jim (1925). The following year, he brought Clara Bow to fame in Mantrap, filmed the now-lost Spanish-American War epic The Rough Riders, and in 1927 he was Emil Jannings’ first American director with The Way of All Flesh. Fleming’s first all-sound film, The Virginian, established Gary Cooper’s laconic character.

At MGM, Fleming vaulted Clark Gable to stardom with Red Dust (1932) and began a string of fast-paced hits with Bombshell (1933), Treasure Island (1934), Captains Courageous (1937) and Test Pilot (1938). He also remade a large portion of The Great Waltz (1938) after the studio fired original director Julien Duvivier.

Fleming took over The Wizard of Oz from Richard Thorpe in October 1938, but before he finished that picture, was asked to take over David Selznick’s troubled production of Gone With the Wind from George Cukor.

In the following decade, all but Fleming’s last picture, Joan of Arc (1948) were box office successes, particularly A Guy Named Joe with Spencer Tracy and Irene Dunne, one of MGM’s top grossers for 1944. At the time of his death in January 1949, Fleming was planning to film The Robe, later made at 20th Century Fox in 1952. —IMDb

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