"A Guy Named Joe" is probably more recognizable nowadays as the inspiration for Steven Spielberg's ethereal "Always" (and for a screenplay by the soon-to-be blacklisted Dalton Trumbo). Beyond these, it addresses the issues of what's the right thing to do in wartime, as well as the need to let go of the past. Spencer Tracy's bombardier returns to Earth with the aim of helping people do what they must, but he eventually realizes that he - as a ghost - cannot cling to the past.
World War II was probably the last war during which such a story could've gotten set. Not only was it the last war declared by Congress (how many people remember that according to Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, Congress has the authority to declare war?), but it was the last war against a defined enemy, as opposed to wars on abstract nouns. It was a "good" war from which we learned the wrong lessons.
Anyway, it's not a great movie, but OK. The rest of the cast includes Irene Dunne, Van Johnson, Esther Williams, and Barry Nelson (the hotel owner in "The Shining"). The story by Chandler Sprague and David Boehm received an Academy Award nomination.
World War II was probably the last war during which such a story could've gotten set. Not only was it the last war declared by Congress (how many people remember that according to Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, Congress has the authority to declare war?), but it was the last war against a defined enemy, as opposed to wars on abstract nouns. It was a "good" war from which we learned the wrong lessons.
Anyway, it's not a great movie, but OK. The rest of the cast includes Irene Dunne, Van Johnson, Esther Williams, and Barry Nelson (the hotel owner in "The Shining"). The story by Chandler Sprague and David Boehm received an Academy Award nomination.