Beautiful Dreamer

Soon after childhood sweethearts Joe Kelly and Claire marry, Joe—a former cropduster who becomes a Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber pilot for the United States Army Air Force—crashes his bomber over Germany and is captured. After a head wound, he is given a fallen comrade’s dog tags and assumes that identity, leaving Claire to believe he is dead.

Back home in Boone City, California, Claire and Grandpa Kelly struggle to make a new life at “Kelly’s Field,” a small aerial maintenance operation. At lunch with one of Joe’s crew members and his wife, Claire learns that Joe did not die in the crash. A year later, he is seen in the back of a truck, surrounded by German guards.

Claire pledges to find Joe and digs through army records and veterans hospitals, determined to bring him home. Her search leads to Martin-Warner Aviation in Harris, where she meets with William Martin; the trail runs cold until her car breaks down in the town and she spots Joe at Ruby’s, the local cafe.

Claire is stunned to discover that he does not recognize her and is living under the name Tommy. Tommy is conflicted, trying to understand who this woman is to him. On advice from Dr. Kessler, Grandpa Kelly counsels Claire not to reveal the truth, since an amnesiac would be overwhelmed by such a revelation. Claire takes a job as a waitress at Ruby’s, and William Martin flirts with her, though she keeps her distance while visiting the shop.

Claire also encounters Rachael Thompson, who is in love with Tommy. After a falling out with William, Tommy worries that a botched contract to ship goods could ruin the operation, so Claire helps by arranging a deal with Grandpa Kelly to obtain parts to convert a derelict B-24 into a cargo aircraft.

Tommy’s memory begins to return, but Claire fears that Rachael might be vying for Tommy’s heart. At Ruby’s dance night, William and Rachael dance together while Tommy dances with Claire; flashbacks intensify, and when he sits in the old B-24, he recalls the crash and the moment he pulled a crewmate from the wreckage. Claire tries to intervene, but he pushes her away, and she expenseingly removes her wedding ring to fund a return home.

Back at the shop, Tommy and William complete a successful test flight of the restored B-24, watched by Claire and many townspeople. She leaves soon after. In the air, Tommy relives the wartime crash and collapses, and William guides the aircraft to a safe landing before rushing Tommy to the hospital.

Tommy recovers and confronts the truth: he is Joe Kelly and has a life he barely remembers. At home, as Claire walks toward the pond where Joe had proposed, she spots a B-24 flying overhead and chases after it. They reunite aboard the aircraft, and he returns her wedding ring, signaling a hard-won second chance at their life together.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 15:13