A quick note about the previous blog, I just wanted to point out that it was written before I was aware of the terrible news out of El Paso, which was unfortunately followed by the other horror in Dayton. I mention this because I published that blog in the wee hours of August 3 (late Friday night), and I didn't want anyone to think I was being callous by running the subject matter of Charles Manson or my own troubles having to do with 1989. I don't know exactly when the news about El Paso was first broadcast, but had I heard about it, I never would have written, on that particular night, about another horrible person like Manson, nor would I have written about '89, because on such a night of horror in the news, I would only have wanted to convey peace and love, which is always my bottom line message anyway. Even when I write about 1989, if I write in what seems a negative way toward people I have known, it is only because I am very frustrated by not knowing what happened to me, nor why it happened. But in the final analysis, I really do love everybody, all the people I have known will always be my friends.
So that's all I wanted to say. Sometimes I write about hardcore stuff, like the Manson case, which I have followed since 1969. It's just that I wanted to explain to you the timing of the blog, which coincided with a horrible incident of violence.
As Ringo would say, "Peace and Love", and I say it too, and please repeat it.
Here then, is a little snippet from last night, followed by tonight's movie :
(this part is from Saturday night, August 3 2019) : This evening I went to Los Encinos State Historic Park to watch a fantastic performance of "Henry V" put on by Shakespeare By The Sea, the troupe from San Pedro that tours the SoCal area every Summer. I've been attending their shows since 2014, and I've seen them at Los Encinos every year since then. They used to play at Warner Center Park too, until 2016, but the attendance was always paltry there compared to Encino, so they no longer schedule that venue. But tonight at Los Encinos, the announced attendance was over 600 people, which is not too shabby. SBTS shows have always been admission free, though they rely on donations and major grant funding to achieve their budget goals. It costs more dough than you might imagine, over 300k to put on all their shows for the summer. Like everything else I do, I've been going alone to the SBTS shows for the most part. Grimsley went a couple of times, but I don't think Shakespeare is really his thing. If it's your thing, maybe I'll see you there next August.
(and this part is from Sunday night August 4 2019) : I didn't write more about Shakespeare because by the time I began writing, the news about Dayton was just breaking and I was worn out. We are all sickened by the violence in this country, but here at the blog we try to keep going and we focus generally on movies and the arts. For the most part, I take my cue from radio station Classical KUSC, which never diverts from the music, even on the worst news days. The reason being that there are plenty of places to turn to if you need that information, and hundreds of pundits and bloggers who will input their opinions on tv and on the Internet. I don't want to put my opinion forth anymore, so far as the news is concerned, because I am not sure I even have an opinion about a solution to the current state of affairs. I know what I would do if I were President, and it would be a gradual, military-enforced, door-to-door removal of all guns from this country, followed by a ban on gun manufacturing. My solution would be very radical, and likely not feasible. But I don't have an opinion other than that one, and I basically don't care for most politicians, and I think Trump should be in prison.
So now we will switch to tonight's movie, which was "A Guy Named Joe" (1943). Spencer Tracy stars in a role tailor made for him, that of an Air Force fighter pilot stationed in England during the war. He is the best pilot on the base, known for taking risks, which his boss the Colonel doesn't like but overlooks, because Tracy gets results. Tracy has a girlfriend (Irene Dunne), who is also a skilled pilot. She flies supply transports between bases and is herself a daredevil. They plan to marry, but then Tracy receives orders for a dangerous mission over Germany. The Colonel offers him a chance to opt out, because Dunne has had a premonition that "this is his time". She knows he is going to die on this flight. He assures her that everything will be okay, and then.......of course he dies on the flight.
Now the movie switches to it's main plot (with a patriotic script written by Dalton Trumbo, proving he wasn't a Commie, haha). We are now in fantasy mode. Victor Fleming, who also directed both "Gone With The Wind" and "The Wizard Of Oz" (I didn't know that until just now!) is a natural for this kind of material. Newly deceased Spencer Tracy has become an Angel in a sort of Air Force Heaven. God is a kindly General, played by Lionel Barrymore. He has a new mission for Tracy, to watch over the new pilot who has replaced him in his squadron. This will prove to be difficult, because the new guy (Van Johnson), meets up with the still grieving Irene Dunne, a great actress who was known as "The First Lady Of Hollywood". Though Van Johnson tries to romance her, she cannot let go of the memory of Spencer Tracy. He in turn has been riding invisibly in the back seat of Johnson's P-38, coaching him on the finer points of flying, in a voice Johnson cannot hear. Tracy knows Johnson is hot for his former girl, so he also exhorts him to stay away from her, at the same time as he is helping Johnson to perfect his piloting skills.
This dramatic context will form the basis of the plot for the second half of the movie. Van Johnson has been a washout pilot who only improved when Spencer Tracy became his Guardian Angel instructor, coaching him from the back seat. Now Johnson is a war hero, confident enough to win over Dunne. But near the movie's climax, she confesses that she really doesn't love him. She is still beholden to her dearly departed Spencer Tracy.
Will he maintain his hold over her, which his Angelic Powers enable him to do? Or will he let go? She doesn't seem to love Van Johnson anyway. What will God (aka The General, Lionel Barrymore) have to say about it?
"A Guy Named Joe" is a WW2 fantasy romance catering to the sad fact that wartime couples were faced with the possibility that the soldier might not return. What is beautiful about this movie is that it turns death into a rebirth, in the Christian tradition. In this way, Spencer Tracy is every bit as influential in the life of Irene Dunne as he was when he was alive. The difference is that he cannot be with her anymore. If you as a viewer have a romantic spirit, there are two ways to look at this conundrum. One way is portrayed in the famous movie "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir", in which Mrs. Muir is loyal to her deceased husband and is ready to remain alone until they meet again on the other side.
The other way to look at the question of a love that is broken by death, is to say, as this movie does, that life is for the living, and that it is best for the survivor of a lost loved one to move on from grief, and if possible to remain open to new love. All of this is set very skillfully against a wartime backdrop, with excellent character support provided by Ward Bond, Barry Nelson and, briefly, a young Esther Williams.
How were war brides to carry on if their newlywed husbands or fiancees didn't return home? This is the question the movie poses, and answers, in the form of an Angelic fantasy.
I give "A Guy Named Joe" Two Big Thumbs Up, for all the main reasons : great acting, direction and script. As usual in a movie from this era, there is a ton of stuff going on, in an amazing Hollywood-style story. Bonus points are awarded for some very exciting footage of dogfights between American P-38s and German Messerschmitts. A must see for the WW2 Film Fan. ////
Well, that's all I know for tonight. I should be back with regular movies all week long. I've gotta order a new batch from The Libe, and I may be looking to score some more 80s Horror Classics. I really enjoyed watching those we saw last week (even "The Hitcher", lol).
We had good singing in church this morning. I hope you had a good day too.
Peace and Love always, and don't forget to repeat those words. See you in the morning.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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