07 Mar A Guy Named Joe
A Guy Named Joe, WWII Movie starring Spencer Tracy
(1943) After an American WWII pilot dies during a dangerous mission, he becomes a guardian angel for young pilots just getting started.
No one else could have played the lead as well as Spencer Tracy. It was Van Johnson’s first major role, and Esther Williams was beautiful in one of her first films, non-swimming.
I loved this movie. My favorite 1940’s film critic, Bosley Crowther with the NYT, didn’t. BUT, read what Roger Ebert wrote about Steven Spielberg and Richard Dreyfuss. They liked it so much they did a remake in 1989, Always, which never did measure up.
I’ll bet there wasn’t a parent, a wife, a friend, a widow who walked out of A Guy Named Joe with a dry eye. And if my son had been a new pilot in training, I’d feel pretty good that he could have a guardian angel looking out for him.
A Guy Named Joe [VHS] at amazon.com
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