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I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

It was once said that too many cooks spoil the broth. That little saying is also applicable to movies. Here we have a top-budget picture with such leads like Spencer Tracy, Irene Dunne, Van Johnson, Ward Bond and James Gleason that Lionel Barrymore has to be content with sixth billing and Esther Williams with eighth! M-G-M's top director, Victor Fleming, was in charge – and when I say in charge, I mean in charge. The nominal producer, Everett Riskin, was Fleming's servant rather than his master, and just to drive this point home, Fleming insisted that in addition to his director credit, he receive another credit on both the movie itself and on all its advertising, namely, "A Victor Fleming Production." But alas, the screenplay by Dalton Trumbo lets us all down badly. Admittedly there are two or three fairish action sequences, but the climax is tame. Worse still, the scenario and its dialog could justly be described as high grade soap opera – and like most soap operas, it is expensively mounted. The lavish sets are worthy of much better things, but the players – with the notable exception of Esther Williams (I can't remember who was the jealous rival who said she couldn't act) – display as little ability as Mr. Trumbo.

A Guy Named Joe is a popcorn movie entertainment in the most classic sense. We are suckered by the maven charm of the inherently self-assured never-miss talent of Irene Dunne, the cocksure wiseguy swagger of Spencer Tracy, the brazen spectacle of the airborne war effort, a creative high-concept plot device and just the romanticism of the whole thing. Victor Fleming---hot off the helm of the two most celebrated and remembered films in American history, The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind, which he directed both in the same year---was proved a highly capable director to say the least, particularly within the vein of such idealistic Americana as A Guy Named Joe. He was like Mervyn LeRoy, who made greatly satisfying escapist pictures like Random Harvest, but Fleming was notorious for his uber-masculine edge, which comes to life here much more than in either of his 1939 epics. It is this treatment of his surrounding talents that is designed to excite the 1943 viewer.This drippy film uses premonitions, the afterlife and spiritual counseling to drive the story, and we tend to have some premonitions of our own in terms of cogitating the next step ahead after awhile. Legendary screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, though his script feels rushed to conclude, sketches characterizations that the actors bring to formidable life, and not just the two fiery leads but peripheral characters whose functions in the narrative formula are self-evident, like Ward Bond and Van Johnson. It is a lavishly verbose script as well, with positive and negative results. It is, nevertheless, a melodrama, but likewise, it is not entirely such a clearly constructed world of connotations: There is no unambiguous villain posing a threat, save the unseen dogfight opponents, but a humbling test for a wealthy heroic ego. The hero does not escape, nor does he rescue the heroine. He learns to accept the hand he's dealt and the heroine is a whole other character of her own with a quest of her own.A Guy Named Joe is still a pathos-filled tale that appeals to the heightened emotions of the audience, but done with a great deal of industry talent, and an implacable, abstract sense of wonder and novelty as a classic American studio picture. It makes me think of a strip of celluloid whirring from one reel to another between my fingertips.

Guy Named Joe, A (1943) *** (out of 4) Well-acted drama has a hot shot pilot (Spencer Tracy) getting killed during a WW2 battle leaving his fiancé (Irene Dunne) all alone. The dead pilot eventually comes back as a ghost to help a young pilot (Van Johnson) but soon his morals come into question when the young man starts dating his fiancé. This here seems to remain a popular movie considering how many times Turner Classic Movies plays it a year. The same can't be said for the Steven Spielberg remake, Always, which seems to have already been forgotten as one of the director's minor works. This film here is certainly sappy and predictable but the wonderful cast makes it very entertaining to watch even though the running time is a tad bit long. Tracy leads the way with a very touching performance that lets the actor show off various emotions ranging from anger to sweetness to even some nice comic tones. Tracy was also great at playing the tough guy with a heart and this here is no exception. Dunne is good in her role but I was surprised to see how blandly written it was. She basically just sits around (or stands) waiting for one of the men to come up to her and considering how star level at the time it's rather shocking to see her role not juiced up a bit. Johnson steals the film as the new pilot who mirrors Tracy's character too much. The naive innocence Johnson brings to the role is quite memorable. Lionel Barrymore, James Gleason and Ward Bond all offer up nice support. Barry Nelson and Esther Williams have small roles as well. The are a few battle scenes, which look extremely well including the main battle at the middle of the film when Tracy gets killed. The aerial footage was well shot and manages to be quite dramatic as well. The cinematography is another plus as is the music score. Again, the main problem tends to be in the screenplay, which really doesn't allow for too many surprises and that includes the ending, which isn't believable and really comes off rather silly. The great cast makes it worth watching though.

"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.