Always

***Always*** is a 1989 American romantic fantasy drama film directed by Steven Spielberg, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, John Goodman, Brad Johnson and Audrey Hepburn in her final film role.

*Always* is a remake of the 1943 romantic drama *A Guy Named Joe* set during World War II. The main departure from the 1943 film is the changing of the setting from wartime to a modern aerial firefighting operation. The film, however, follows the same basic plot line: the spirit of a recently dead expert pilot mentors a newer pilot, while watching him fall in love with the girlfriend he left behind. The names of the four principal characters of the earlier film are all the same, with the exception of the Ted Randall character, who is called Ted Baker in the remake, and Pete's last name is Sandich instead of Sandidge.

## Storyline

### Plot

Aerial firefighter Pete (Richard Dreyfuss) risks himself and his vintage World War II airplane in a constant and death-defying quest to fight forest wildfires, much to the dismay of his girlfriend, Dorinda (Holly Hunter). His love for Dorinda and the advice of fellow pilot Al (John Goodman) convince Pete to give up his perilous career, but he flies one last mission. Pete heroically saves Al's plane from certain destruction, but with supernatural consequences.

### Genres

* Romance
* Drama
* Fantasy
* Comedy drama

### Motion Picture Rating

* **Atp** (Argentina)
* **PG** (Australia)
* **Livre** (Brazil)
* **14** (Brazil) (2001, DVD)
* **B** (Bulgaria)
* **PG** (Canada) (self-applied)
* **K-12** (Finland)
* **Tous publics** (France)
* **12** (Germany)
* **I** (Hong Kong)
* **L** (Iceland)
* **U** (India)
* **T** (Italy)
* **G** (Japan)
* **U** (Malaysia)
* **6** (Netherlands) (re-rating)
* **M/12** (Portugal) (Q)
* **16+** (Russia)
* **PG** (Singapore)
* **A** (South Africa)
* **15** (South Korea)
* **A** (Spain)
* **11** (Sweden)
* **PG** (UK)
* **PG** (USA)
* **Not Rated** (United Arab Emirates)
* **12** (West Germany)

## Images

UK VHS cover (1991)UK VHS cover (2001)UK DVD cover (2000)UK DVD cover (2003)
## Cast and Crew

### Writing Credits

* Jerry Belson (screenplay)
* Dalton Trumbo (screenplay "A Guy Named Joe")
* Frederick Hazlitt Brennan (screenplay adaptation "A Guy Named Joe")
* Chandler Sprague (story "A Guy Named Joe") and
* David Boehm (story "A Guy Named Joe")

### Cast

* Richard Dreyfuss - Pete Sandich
* Holly Hunter - Dorinda Durston
* Brad Johnson - Ted Baker
* John Goodman - Al Yackey
* Audrey Hepburn - Hap
* Roberts Blossom - Dave
* Keith David - Powerhouse
* Ed Van Nuys - Nails
* Marg Helgenberger - Rachel
* Dale Dye - Don
* Brian Haley - Alex
* James Lashly - Charlie
* Michael Steve Jones - Grey
* Kim Robillard - Air Traffic Controller
* Jim Sparkman - Dispatcher
* Doug McGrath - Bus Driver
* Shereil L. Bowens - Child on Bus
* Ascension Fuentes - Child on Bus (as Acencion Fuentes)
* Todd Jacobson - Child on Bus
* DeMarious T. Morganfield - Child on Bus
* Mike O'Neal - Ground Pounder #1
* Larry Landless - Ground Pounder #2
* Steve Shatnyski - Ground Pounder #3 (as Steve Shatynski)
* James Pruitt - Ground Pounder #4
* Joseph McCrossin - Mechanic #1
* JD Souther - The Singer (as J.D. Souther)
* David Jackson - Band
* David Kitay - Band
* Gene Strimling - Band
* Roy E. Harrison - Fisherman #1 (as Roy Harrison)
* Ted Grossman - Fisherman #2
* Gerry Rothschild - Carl the Barkeep
* Loren Smothers - Bartender
* Taleena Ottwell - Bar Girl

### Other Cast

* Dan Aykroyd - Julia Child (archive footage) (uncredited)
* Michael Braveheart - Fire Fighter (uncredited)
* Jim Dunkin - Fire Crew (uncredited)
* Douglas 'Hurricane' Hall - Ground Hound (uncredited)
* Tim Hiser - Pilot (uncredited)
* Jaclyn Nagata - Child on Bus (uncredited)
* Joseph Michael Roth - Fireman (uncredited)

### Producers

* Kathleen Kennedy (producer)
* Frank Marshall (producer)
* Steven Spielberg (producer)
* Richard Vane (co-producer)

## Details

### Release Dates

* December 22, 1989 (Canada)
* December 22, 1989 (USA)
* March 9, 1990 (Finland)
* March 14, 1990 (France)
* March 16, 1990 (Sweden)
* March 23, 1990 (UK)
* March 30, 1990 (Denmark)
* March 30, 1990 (Ireland)
* April 5, 1990 (Argentina)
* April 5, 1990 (West Germany)
* April 6, 1990 (Spain)
* April 6, 1990 (Netherlands)
* April 6, 1990 (Portugal)
* April 12, 1990 (Australia)
* April 14, 1990 (Japan)
* June 22, 1990 (Peru)
* June 30, 1990 (Taiwan)
* September 6, 1990 (Philippines)
* September 18, 1990 (Philippines) (Davao)
* September 28, 1990 (Turkey)
* November 1, 1990 (Uruguay)
* January 15, 2001 (Greece) (DVD premiere)
* May 7, 2003 (Italy) (DVD premiere)
* April 20, 2004 (Hungary) (DVD premiere)
* May 5, 2015 (Brazil) (DVD premiere)
* November 16, 2019 (Portugal) (RTP 1)

### Home Media Release Dates

* 1990 (UK) (VHS)
* 1991 (UK) (VHS)
* 1994 (UK) (VHS)
* February 5, 2001 (UK) (VHS) (re-release)

## Production

Spielberg confided that while making *Jaws* in 1974, he and Dreyfuss had traded quips from *A Guy Named Joe*, considered a "classic" war film, that they both wanted to remake. As an "inside joke," a clip from *A Guy Named Joe* is included in a scene in *Poltergeist*, which Spielberg had produced. Dreyfuss had seen the 1943 melodrama "at least 35 times." For Spielberg, who recalled seeing it as a child late at night, "it was one of the films that inspired him to become a movie director," creating an emotional connection to the times that his father, a wartime air force veteran had lived through. The two friends quoted individual shots from the film to each other and when the opportunity arose, years later, were resolved to recreate the wartime fantasy.

Principal photography began on May 15, 1989; production took place in northwestern Montana in the Kootenai National Forest, with some scenes filmed in and around Libby. Some 500 of its residents were recruited for the film as extras to act as wildland firefighters. The scenes where the plane flies over the lake at the beginning and lands in the lake at the end of the movie were filmed at Bull Lake, south of Troy. The scenes set in "Flat Rock, Colorado," were filmed at and around the Ephrata airport in eastern Washington. The scene where Pete and Hap are walking through the wheat field was filmed at Sprague, southwest of Spokane, where they spent two weeks filming in June. Footage of Yellowstone National Park's 1988 fires was used for the fire sequences. Production wrapped in August 1989. Hepburn retired from acting and died in 1993.

### Aircraft used

Two Douglas A-26 Invader fire bombers (Douglas B-26C Invader No. 57] and Douglas TB-26C Invader No. 59) were prominently featured in *Always*. The flying for the film was performed by well-known film pilot Steve Hinton and Dennis Lynch, the owner of the A-26s.

A number of other aircraft also appeared in *Always*: Aeronca 7AC Champion, Bellanca 8KCAB Super Decathlon, Beechcraft Model 18, Cessna 337 Super Skymaster, Cessna 340, Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina, de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter, Douglas C-54 Skymaster, Fairchild C-119C Flying Boxcar, McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and North American B-25J Mitchell. Two helicopters were also seen: Bell 206 JetRanger and Bell UH-1B Iroquois.

## Release

*Always* opened at #5 at that week's box office, grossing $3,713,480, competing with *Christmas Vacation*, *Tango & Cash* (opening the same weekend), *The War of the Roses* and *Back to the Future Part II*. Although now considered only a modest financial success when compared to other Spielberg ventures, the film brought back returns grossing $43,858,790 in the U.S. and $30,276,000 on foreign territories, for a $74,134,790 worldwide total.

## Reception

This film has a 6.4 rating on IMDb and a 65% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

## Company Credits

### Production Companies

* Universal Pictures (presents)
* United Artists (presents)
* Amblin Entertainment
* U-Drive Productions

### Distributors

* United Artists (1989) (USA) (theatrical)
* Universal Pictures (1989) (USA) (theatrical)
* United International Pictures (UIP) (1990) (Australia) (theatrical)
* United International Pictures (UIP) (1989) (UK) (theatrical)
* Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI) (1990) (Sweden) (theatrical)
* United International Pictures (UIP) (1990) (Argentina) (theatrical)
* United International Pictures (UIP) (1990) (Finland) (theatrical)
* United International Pictures (UIP) (1990) (France) (theatrical)
* United International Pictures (UIP) (1990) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
* United International Pictures (UIP) (1990) (Sweden) (theatrical)
* Argentina Video Home (1990) (Argentina) (VHS)
* CIC Video (1990) (Germany) (VHS)
* Universal Films of India (1991) (India) (theatrical)
* Egmont Entertainment (2001) (Finland) (DVD)
* Esselte Video (1991) (Finland) (VHS)
* MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (VHS)
* MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (all media) (laserdisc)
* Universal Pictures Finland (2009) (Finland) (DVD)
* Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (2015) (Germany) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
* Universal Pictures Video (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
* Universal Studios Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD)

### Special Effects

* Animal Makers (animatronic animals)
* Industrial Light & Magic (ILM)

## Technical Specs

### Sound Mix

* 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)
* Dolby Stereo (35 mm prints)

### Aspect Ratio

* 1.85:1
* 1.33:1 (4:3 full-screen prints, along with the film itself in open matte)

## Trivia

* This was Audrey Hepburn's final film before her death on January 20, 1993 at the age of 63. She accepted the role of Hap because she wanted to work with Steven Spielberg.
* Audrey Hepburn was paid $1 million for her role. She donated her entire salary to UNICEF.
* Audrey Hepburn had to be carried on a stretcher by crew members when shooting her scenes in the burned-out forest so that the dirt and ashes wouldn't smudge her white costume. The sweater and slacks Hepburn wears were from her own personal wardrobe.
* The incident where Dorinda mistakes Ted's John Wayne imitation for Henry Fonda actually occurred between Holly Hunter and Brad Johnson during filming. Steven Spielberg found the incident so comical that he reproduced it in the film.
* Steven Spielberg originally wanted Sean Connery for the role of Hap. Because Connery was unavailable, Spielberg decided to cast Hap as a woman instead and went with Audrey Hepburn.
* Steven Spielberg wanted to cast either Paul Newman or Robert Redford in the leading roles, one as Pete Sandich and the other as Ted Baker. However, both men wanted to play Pete and Spielberg was unable to work it out between them.
* Although the training base in the movie was supposedly in Colorado, actual filming occurred at the Ephrata, WA Municipal Airport which is a former WWII B-17 training base. Many of the hangars at the airport are original from that era, and evidence of the base is still visible - foundations for buildings, plumbing, the roads and even rock lined walks to the foundations still exist unchanged in the desert. When John Goodman was doused with fire retardant, he was sitting on top of one of a series of earthen bunkers, and walking around the airport you can still see the red retardant stains on the earth. Dorinda's house was a shell built for the movie and sits abandoned at the airport edge. Overall a very interesting place to visit as everything is very well preserved in the desert.
* Richard Dreyfuss tells the story about how Steven Spielberg was trying to figure out who to cast as "God" or "an angel of God." After a moment, only one person came to his mind: Audrey Hepburn.
* During production, Steven Spielberg confided that while making *Jaws* (1975), he and Richard Dreyfuss had traded quips from *A Guy Named Joe* (1943), which they both wanted to remake. As an "inside joke," a clip from the film is included in a scene in Poltergeist (1982), which Spielberg had produced. Dreyfuss had seen the 1943 melodrama "at least 35 times." For Spielberg, who recalled seeing it as a child late at night, "it was one of the films that inspired him to become a movie director," creating an emotional connection to the times that his father, a wartime air force veteran had lived through. The two friends quoted individual shots from the film to each other and when the opportunity arose, years later, were resolved to recreate the wartime fantasy.
* Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter and John Goodman each received a Mazda Miata as a gift from Steven Spielberg upon completing the film.
* The scene where Holly Hunter plays an air traffic controller was filmed at Los Angeles Air Traffic Control Center in the desert north of L.A. When she's talking to Goodman's character he was actually on a small TV screen sitting next to her.
* Whilst filming this, Steven Spielberg told John Goodman that he would make the perfect Fred Flintstone. Five years later, Goodman played Fred Flintstone in *The Flintstones* (1994).
* Some 500 people from nearby Libby, Montana were recruited for the film as extras to act as wildland firefighters.
* Steven Spielberg wanted to use the song "Always" in the film but could not get permission from Irving Berlin.
* This film is a remake of *A Guy Named Joe* (1943). A clip from that film was featured in *Poltergeist* (1982), which was co-written by director Steven Spielberg.
* Marg Helgenberger, playing the lovestruck mechanic Rachel, teamed back up with Brad Johnson in 2001 on CBS's CSI. He played Paul Newsome, The District Engineer and new love interest for Helgenberger's character Katherine.
* When the movie was released on VHS cassette, Spielberg insisted that it be in letterbox/widescreen format to preserve the visual integrity of the film. At the time, it was traditional to release movies on VHS in "pan and scan".
* Tom Cruise was offered the role of Ted Baker but he turned it down.
* Pete's angel's name is Hap. An early military aviation pioneer, trained at the Wright Brother's flying school, and the only five star general of the US Air Force, was "Hap" Arnold. In the film this movie was based on, *A Guy Named Joe* (1943), Joe's angel was also a former pilot. This makes Hap's name more than a coincidence. Originally, the character was supposed to be male.
* The film cast includes three Oscar winners: Audrey Hepburn, Holly Hunter and Richard Dreyfuss.
* When Pete is first strolling through the charred woods, the song that he is whistling is the theme song from *Leave It to Beaver* (1957).
* The song that Pete whistles when almost crashing at the start of the movie is the Garryowen. This was the theme of the 7th cavalry and was the music played by the musicians that sometimes accompanied George Custer, whose fate was to die because of his impetuous nature, which is reflected in Pete's behavior.
* "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" by The Platters is also featured in another Richard Dreyfuss film: *American Graffiti* (1973)
* When Dorinda returns home in the plane, she is dressed like Ripley from *Aliens* (1986), and similarly, she has a ginger cat. The cat, however, is named Linda Blair.
* Portions of John Williams' music are derived from Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis."
* Brad Johnson, who plays the rookie pilot, also played a naval aviator in " Flight of the intruder".
* The bomber flown by Pete and Dorinda is the Douglas A-26 Invader, used by the US Army Air Forces in WWII, and the US Air Force in Korea and Vietnam. Al flies the PBY Catalina, a Navy rescue and transport plane in WWII. Dorinda helps Al ferry a Cessna 337 Skymaster, also known as the O-2 when flown by the Air Force in Vietnam. Ted flies a Super Decathalon, an aerobatic airplane.
* In the opening sequence, Pete refers to Dorinda as "Funny Face" over the radio, an apparent term of endearment. Later in the story, Pete meets Hap, played by Audrey Hepburn, who played the female lead in *Funny Face* (1957).
* The *Saturday Night Live* (1975) clip showing on Dorinda's TV features Dan Aykroyd impersonating Julia Child. Dorinda is later briefly seen using "From Julia Child's Kitchen" cookbook.
* Final theatrical film screenplay written by Jerry Belson.
* Pete spiritually guiding Dorinda in the cockpit at the climax may have been influenced by the Roald Dahl short story "Only This".
* The A26 tanker flown by Pete would have been very rare in the 1980s. While popular for fighting fires in the 1950s, the last US fire service contract for this model was in 1973. The A26 first saw service in 1942 and would be used either as a light bomber or in a ground attack role, eventually being fitted with up to 14 50 caliber machine guns. The plane could switch roles by an easily swappable nose assembly that either housed guns or a bubble nose with Norrden bomb site. Modifications as firefighting tankers began to take place in the 1950s. An advantage of the A26 was the excellent laminar flow of its airfoils - a wing shape that created maximum lift with minimal drag. This made it an excellent choice for ground attack roles, including as fire tankers.
* Richard Dreyfus and Robert Blossom were also in *Close Encounters of the Third Kind* (1977) together.
* Prior to this, Holly Hunter and John Goodman starred in the Coens' film *Raising Arizona* (1987). Later, they appeared in the Coens' *O Brother, Where Art Thou?* (2000).
* This remake began development at MGM, the studio behind "A Guy Named Joe", in the 1970s. It was later picked up by Universal, who ultimately co-distributed the film with United Artists, which MGM acquired in 1981.
* The only film Steven Spielberg got a director's credit for to be released by the MGM/UA Communications company, as it was co-released with Universal Pictures by United Artists, who handled half of the domestic and international distribution. The argument has been made that Spielberg actually directed *Poltergeist* (1982) released by MGM even though Tobe Hooper got the director's credit with Spielberg being listed as the writer and executive producer. Spielberg almost directed the Oscar-winning Rain Man (1988), which was also released by United Artists but he was forced to back out of directing becasue George Lucas needed him to direct *Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade* (1989) which was released seven months before this movie. To date this is the only film Spielberg has directed for MGM/United Artists, unless you believe the stories from others that he did in fact direct *Poltergeist*.
* When first meeting Dorinda again after such a very long time John Goodman is with her watching TV. The show is a *Saturday Night Live* (1975) clip which features Dan Aykroyd impersonating Julia Child. John Goodman would later work with Dan Aykroyd in the 1998 film *Blues Brothers 2000*.
* John Goodman's character tries to avoid paying for 2 beers by evading Richard Dreyfuss' bet that he's going to tell him what the airbase reminds him of. Moments later, he's forced to pay for the beers/bet because he can't stop himself from saying it: the base reminds him of 'the war in Europe'. Similarly, in the movie, The Big Lebowski, Goodman's character can't stop himself from repeatedly referring to the war in 'Nam' (Vietnam).
* Early promotional materials for the film credited the late Diane Thomas as co-writer on the screenplay, but later materials (and the final film) credit Jerry Belson as the sole writer. Thomas had been reportedly working on the script for Steven Spielberg when she was tragically killed in a car accident in 1985.
* Richard Dreyfuss was not known at the time for playing the lead in romantic movies, he was more known for playing frustrated husbands (i.e. Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Down and Out in Beverly Hills) and Steven Spielberg was urged by Universal as a result to cast another actor. However after Paul Newman and Robert Redford both declined Spielberg insisted on Dreyfuss because he was the only actor who was passionate about the source material *A Guy Named Joe* (1943) as he proved to Spielberg during the making of *Jaws* (1975). Many critics and audiences felt this was one of Dreyfuss' weakest performances with Gene Siskel saying his chemistry with Holly Hunter was annoying, and as a result of mixed reviews and lukewarm box office results as of May 2022 Dreyfuss and Spielberg have not worked together again since this film.
* After the sinking of the 59, during the ascent to the surface, Dorinda is seen exhaling air bubbles, but not Pete; this, due to the fact that he does not occupy a living human body, therefore, his need to breathe is no longer required.

## Connections

### References

* *Gone with the Wind* (1939) - Al refers to Dorinda as "Scarlett." Both Gone with the Wind (1939) and A Guy Named Joe (1943) were directed by Victor Fleming.
* *Leave It to Beaver* (1957) (TV Series) - Pete and Ted whistle the theme tune.
* *The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance* (1962) - Ted imitates John Wayne and says, "Well, I'll tell ya somethin', Missy. Ya sure look pretty when you're angry."
* *Star Trek* (1966) (TV Series) - Al gives Ted a Vulcan salute as he enters the operations shack.

## Crazy Credits

* Instead of saying the song "Crazy Love" was "written and performed by Van Morrison," it mistakenly says "written and directed by Van Morrison."
* On the Blu-Ray release, at the very end of the end credits, there is a warning. It reads, in quotation marks: "Caution: Inhaling of helium from balloons is dangerous, and can cause serious injury or death."