A Guy Named Joe
A Guy Named Joe | |
---|---|
George J. Folsey Karl Freund | |
Edited by | Frank Sullivan |
Music by | Herbert Stothart Alberto Colombo |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Loew's Inc[1] |
Release dates |
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Running time | 122 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $2,627,000[3] |
Box office | $5,363,000[3] |
A Guy Named Joe is a 1943 American
The film is notable for being Van Johnson's first major role. It also features the popular song "
Steven Spielberg's 1989 film Always is a remake of A Guy Named Joe,[5] and stars Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, and John Goodman. Always updates the story for a 1989 setting, exchanging the World War II backdrop to one of aerial firefighting.[6]
Plot
Pete Sandidge is the reckless pilot of a North American B-25 Mitchell bomber flying out of England during World War II.[Note 1] He is in love with Air Transport Auxiliary pilot Dorinda Durston, an American civilian pilot ferrying aircraft all over the United Kingdom. Pete's commanding officer, "Nails" Kilpatrick, first transfers Pete and his crew to a base in Scotland, then offers him a transfer back to the United States to be a flight instructor. Dorinda begs him to accept; Pete agrees, but goes out on one last mission with his best friend Al Yackey to check out a German aircraft carrier.[Note 2] Wounded after an attack by an enemy fighter, Pete has his crew bail out before going on to bomb the carrier and then crash into the sea.
Pete then finds himself walking in clouds, where he first recognizes an old friend, Dick Rumney. Pete suddenly becomes uneasy, remembering that Dick went down with his aircraft in a fiery crash. As Pete processes where he is, Dick ushers him to a meeting with "The General", 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 Ted Randall at flight school, then in the South Pacific, where Ted is a Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter pilot. Ted's commanding officer turns out to be Al Yackey.
The situation becomes complicated when Ted meets the still-grieving Dorinda, now a ferry pilot with the
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
- Spencer Tracy as Pete Sandidge
- Irene Dunne as Dorinda Durston
- Van Johnson as Ted Randall
- Ward Bond as Al Yackey
- James Gleason as "Nails" Kilpatrick
- Lionel Barrymore as The General
- Barry Nelsonas Dick Rumney
- USOhostess
- Henry O'Neill as Colonel Sykes
- Don DeFore as James J. Rourke (as Don De Fore)
- Charles Smith as Sanderson
- Addison Richards as Major Corbett
- Kirk Alyn as Officer in Heaven (uncredited)
- Maurice Murphy as Capt. Robertson (uncredited)
Production
A Guy Named Joe 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. MGM wanted to replace Johnson, but Tracy convinced the studio 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 with the forehead scars he bore from then on.[8]
During Johnson's period of recovery, Spencer Tracy recorded broadcasts for
One of the other reasons Johnson was allowed to stay was because a deal was made that Tracy and director Victor Fleming had to stop making Dunne's life miserable on set. Although she had been excited to work with Tracy, the actor 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 hostility was noticeable.[8]
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 Forces (USAAF) bases throughout the United States was incorporated via an exterior backdrop process.[10] 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.[8] 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).[11]
During the scene where Tracy's character dies, he was shown making a suicidal divebomb run on a German aircraft carrier, despite the fact that Germany never had an operational aircraft carrier in service before or during World War II.[11] This scene was reportedly initially opposed by the War Department as it conflicted with American war propaganda regarding Japanese kamikaze pilots.[12]
One major error in the movie was Irene Dunne's character being shown ferrying a P-38 Lockheed Lightning into the war zone. The Women Airforce Service Pilots did not ferry aircraft overseas; their duties were confined to the continental United States.[13]
After completion of the picture, the
Aircraft used in the film
- Lockheed P-38E Lightning fighter ("static", propellers 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)
- North American P-51A Mustangs as Luftwaffe fighters
- Martin B-26 Marauders as Japanese bombers
- North American Yale trainers (NA 64) at an unnamed BCTAP field in Canada.[10]
- C-36 or C-40 in some scenes, C-47 and C-60 in others
Reception
A Guy Named Joe premiered at the Capitol Theater in New York on December 23, 1943 to generally positive reviews.[8] Life Magazine summed up the critical reaction: "MGM's A Guy Named Joe manages to remain strong and exciting despite such weaknesses as verbosity and a climax that is pure Perils of Pauline."[8][14] Bosley Crowther of The New York Times considered it "a tricky excursion into metaphysical realms." that almost comes off.[15]
The film was eventually released nationally in the United States on March 10, 1944 and became one of the top-grossing movies of that year.[2]
The team of David Boehm and Chandler Sprague were nominated for the Best Story Academy Award in 1944, which was eventually received by Leo McCarey for Going My Way at the 17th Academy Awards.[8][4]
Box office
According to MGM records, the film earned $3,970,000 in the US and Canada, and $1,393,000 overseas, resulting in a profit of $1,066,000.[3]
See also
- List of films about angels
- Always (1989)
References
Notes
Citations
- ^ A Guy Named Joe at the American Film Institute Catalog
- ^ a b James Curtis, Spencer Tracy Random House, 2011
- ^ a b c "The Eddie Mannix Ledger." Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study (Los Angeles).
- ^ a b "The 17th Academy Awards | 1945". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2017-12-15.
- ^ "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved 2017-12-15.
- ^ Ebert, Roger. " 'Always' review" Rogerebert.com, December 22, 1989.
- ^ Breyer 1989, p. 14.
- ^ a b c d e f Orriss 1984, p. 80.
- ^ ISBN 978-0307262899.
- ^ a b Orriss 1984, p. 79.
- ^ a b Hardwick and Schnepf 1989, p. 50.
- ^ ISSN 1752-6272. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
- ^ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_Airforce_Service_Pilots#Duties
- ^ LIFE - Movie of the Week: A Guy Named Joe. Time Inc. January 17, 1944. pp. 39–45.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley. "A Guy Named Joe." The New York Times, January 9, 1944.
Bibliography
- Breyer, Siegfried. The German Aircraft Carrier Graf Zeppelin. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1989. ISBN 978-0-9564790-0-6.
- Dolan Edward F. Jr. Hollywood Goes to War. London: Bison Books, 1985. ISBN 0-86124-229-7.
- Hardwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. "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
- A Guy Named Joe at the American Film Institute Catalog
- A Guy Named Joe at IMDb
- A Guy Named Joe at the TCM Movie Database
- A Guy Named Joe at AllMovie