A GUY NAMED JOE (1943)

At a British air base during World War II, Spencer Tracy is a cocky pilot who disregards safety standards and good team behavior. His commanding officer (James Gleason), having had enough, sets in motion a plan to get Tracy to a different base in Scotland on reconnaissance flights and out of harm’s way, and eventually back to the States as a flight instructor. His cargo pilot girlfriend (Irene Dunne) is also unhappy, calling him a "dime store hero," but she melts when he gives her a lovely new dress from London. After a few weeks in Scotland, Dunne visits Tracy and his flying buddy (Ward Bond), and Tracy tries to talk her into going back to the States with him and taking a desk job. One night, before a routine flying assignment, Dunne gets a shiver when she looks at his plane then tells Bond that she's had a premonition that Tracy's number is up and he shouldn’t fly. Sure enough, while attacking a German aircraft carrier, his plane is hit. On Tracy's orders, his other crew members bail out but he makes one last dive toward the carrier, blowing it up but also crashing into the ocean. The next thing he knows, he's walking around in the clouds. A young pilot (Barry Nelson) takes him to see The General (Lionel Barrymore), and Tracy realizes he is in Air Corps heaven. The General assigns him to be a guardian angel to a rookie pilot down on Earth. The trick is that, though he'll be able to influence the pilot with his thoughts, no one will be able to see or hear him. He and Nelson are sent to Phoenix and Tracy works with a rich boy rookie (Van Johnson) to give him skill and confidence. Coincidentally, Johnson is sent to a base in Australia where both Dunne and Bond are stationed. Though it's been a year, Dunne has still not gotten over Tracy's death. But soon, Dunne hits it off with Johnson, and Tracy, jealous, starts to encourage Johnson to engage in hot-dogging feats. Dunne also seems to sense Tracy's presence. Eventually, Dunne agrees to marry Johnson, but when he gets a particularly dangerous mission that she thinks he's not ready for, she sneaks into the plane and flies it. Tracy joins her in an attempt to guide her like he guides Johnson, even though he knows that if she survives, he will lose her forever to Johnson.

When I first got interested in classic films back in the 1990's, this wartime romantic fantasy had a solid reputation and was shown frequently on TCM. I think over the years, it's lost some of its sheen. I had a VHS copy of this in the 90s, but it wasn't released on DVD until 2013 and has not yet made it to Blu-ray. Part of it might be due to the very MGM sentiment and gloss that made it popular in the 40s and kept it watchable for years after. Other movie afterlife fantasies of the era, such as It's a Wonderful Life, The Bishop's Wife, and A Matter of Life and Death, are still in vogue, partly because they are a bit rougher, a bit messier emotionally. Tracy and Dunne are great together, they have a strong supporting cast, and Dunne's character is a strong and independent woman, but the plot feels much more predictable than that of the other films mentioned. From the moment Tracy starts guiding Johnson, there was never a doubt in my mind what was coming next and what the outcome would be. (Spoiler alert: Dunne survives, goes off with Johnson, and Tracy leaves satisfied that she's in good hands. Oddly, the original script called for Dunne to be killed in her last flight and reunited in Heaven with Tracy, but I imagine the studio thought that might send the wrong message to grieving families, not to mention that the Production Code might see her death as a suicide.) There is use of overlapping dialogue in an early conversation scene between Tracy and Dunne which gives a nice sense of casual intimacy to their relationship. I didn't find the low energy Barrymore effective as the God figure, though he certainly returned to fine form a few years later in Wonderful Life. Miniatures used for flight scenes are pulled off pretty well, though modern audiences may not agree. At two hours, it does drag a bit in the middle, but it’s still watchable thanks to the actors, and some small grace notes, especially a sweet scene in which Johnson intercedes to help a lonely nerdy boy get in touch with his mother. There is no one named Joe in the movie; the title comes from the belief of some British children that all Americans call anyone who is a "right chap" Joe. Pictured are Dunne, Tracy and Johnson. [TCM]