A Guy Named Joe (1944) Review

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(More customer reviews)A Guy Named Joe is THE classic movie about a cracked up WWII bomber pilot (Spencer Tracy) sent back from Heaven as a ghost to provide guidance, like a guardian angel, to a new pilot trainee who turns out to fall in love with the ghost's girlfriend (Irene Dunne). I think this is the only movie in which Spencer Tracy played opposite Irene Dunne, who was one of the classiest leading ladies of her time (The Awful Truth, Penny Serenade, Life With Father, I Remember Mama, Anna and the King of Siam, The Mudlark, etc.).
The stellar supporting cast includes Van Johnson (Brigadoon, The Pied Piper of Hamlin), James Gleason (Here Comes Mr. Jordan, The Bishop's Wife), Lionel Barrymore (On Borrowed Time, It's A Wonderful Life), Ward Bond (Sgt. York, The Searchers), Don Defore (The Human Comedy, Ramrod), Barry Nelson (Airport, The Shining), and Esther Williams, soon to become a star in a class of her own (Bathing Beauty, Take Me Out To The Ball Game). Unfortunately remade as "Always" - nothing against Richard Dreyfuss, but he's no Spencer Tracy, and ditto the rest of the respective casts.
In addition to well-acted fantastic romance, there are some great air combat scenes, some of the best of its time. (Van Johnson also appeared with Spencer Tracy in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo the same year.)
If you like fantasies like Heaven Can Wait, That's The Spirit, The Dust Factory, Beyond Tomorrow, etc., you must see this one. If you're a fan of Spencer Tracy or a movie buff who likes a lot of character actors, you must see this movie. If you're interested in old World War II movies with combat action, you shouldn't miss this one!

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Miracle in the Rain (1956) Review

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(More customer reviews)"I love you as if I'd always known you. I'll be back as if I'd never left you." -- Van JohnsonJane Wyman is wonderful as a lonely woman brought to life by the unexpected attention of soldier Van Johnson in this tender soaper. Though it doesn't have quite the charm of "The Clock" with Garland and Walker, there is something very real and ultimately moving about this bittersweet story of falliing in love during wartime.
Ruthie (Wyman) lives in New York where she takes care of her heartbroken mother, still shell-shocked years after Ruthie's father called one night to say he was leaving. It has not allowed the sweet Ruthie much of a life outside her job and mother. When she meets a soldier in an elevator named Art (Val Johnson), his warm and friendly manner is just the right medicine for Ruthie, who's never really been noticed.
Johnson really shines in a role tailor-made for his boyish charm. He is lonely too, and masks his need with constant chatter so that Ruthie can't tell him to go away. Art sort of invites himself to dinner and over the next two days they paint a picture of love's transforming magic, which does not always take huge amounts of time. It is a picture painted on a canvas of fresh grass in Central Park, boat races, and a city made for falling in love.
When Art's 153rd is slated to pull out, however, their happiness is interrupted. It is the small touches, such as Ruthie's pride in a story Art gets publised in the paper, and a truck full of soldiers yelling goodbye to Ruthie when Art leaves that make this film rise above its soap opera origins. Ben Hecht's script, based on his own story, doesn't hurt either. A lovely and subtle score by Franz Waxman adds just the right mood to this special film.
Writing Art every day until he can write her back, a letter finally arrives for a lonely Ruthie, waiting for the voice and words which will make her heart live again. To reveal more would be unforgivable to anyone with a romantic heart who hasn't seen this yet. I can only say that a scene in the rain is a poignant moment never forgotten by those who have seen it, either recently or years ago.
A great cast gives Johnson and Wyman the room they need for two lost souls to find each other. Those with a romantic heart will find much to enjoy with this film, finally available on DVD.

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