A Guy Named Joe

A Guy Named Joe is a 1943 American supernatural romantic drama film directed by Victor Fleming. The film was produced by Everett Riskin and stars Spencer Tracy, Irene Dunne and Van Johnson. The screenplay, written by Dalton Trumbo and Frederick Hazlitt Brennan, was adapted from a story by Chandler Sprague and David Boehm, for which they were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Story. The film follows dead World War II bomber pilot Pete Sandidge as he becomes the guardian angel of pilot Ted Randall, and helps him romance his old girlfriend. The film was Johnson's first major role, and also the production during which he sustained serious head injuries in an automobile accident. It features the popular song "I'll Get By (As Long as I Have You)" by Fred Ahlert and Roy Turk, performed by Irene Dunne. Despite the film's title, it contains no characters named Joe. The use of the generic name to symbolize any military pilot is attributed to military aviator Claire Lee Chennault. Steven Spielberg's 1989 film Always is a remake of A Guy Named Joe and exchanges the World War II backdrop to one of aerial firefighting.