Dalton Trumbo Archives

A Guy Named Joe (1943)

Rating: ★★★★

Jan 7, 2000Man Becomes Guardian Angel

Classic 1940s afterlife fantasy with Spencer Tracy as a pilot killed in action who is sent back as a guardian angel. This works fantastically well due to a great character arc and a sharp Dalton Trumbo script

Director: Victor Fleming

Actors: Spencer Tracy, Van Johnson, Irene Dunne, Barry Nelson, …

Category: Fantasy

7 January 200015 February 2026 by Roog

Johnny Got His Gun (1971)

Rating: ★★★½

Jul 28, 2026Limbless Soldier Hallucinates

Classic anti-war film with Timothy Bottoms as a limbless, sightless soldier in a hospital bed as his mind wanders between hallucinations, visions of the afterlife and attempts to communicate with the medical staff

Director: Dalton Trumbo

Actors: Timothy Bottoms, Jason Robards, Donald Sutherland, Diane Varsi, …

Category: Fantasy

28 July 202628 July 2026 by Roog

Always (1989)

Rating: ★★★

Apr 9, 2000Man Becomes a Guardian Angel

One of Steven Spielberg's more overlooked and quieter films, a remake of the 1940s guardian angel fantasy A Guy Named Joe. Spielberg never much ignites the love story but the film has some magical moments and a scene-stealing John Goodman

Director: Steven Spielberg

Actors: Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, John Goodman, Brad Johnson, …

Category: Fantasy

9 April 20003 August 2019 by Roog