According to a June 22, 1943, Hollywood Reporter news item, Lee was the first actor cast for the film. The script was criticized for making Joe "too stereotypical". Lee testified that he attempted to round out the character by revising dialogue, primarily eliminating repeated "yessir"s and "nossir"s that sounded subservient,Sklaroff, Lauren Rebecca (2009). Black Culture and the New Deal: The Quest for Civil Rights in the Roosevelt Era. University of North Carolina Press, , p. 231 and cutting some actions.TCM Notes An NAACP critique of the film condemned the role of Joe and praised Lee’s performance. The Baltimore Afro-Americans review, while commenting on the character's shortcomings, praised Lee's portrayal. Historian Rebecca Sklaroff, while writing in 2009 that Joe's role was more "tokenistic" than black roles in the wartime films Sahara and Bataan, wrote that Joe was depicted as compassionate, dependable and heroic.Sklaroff (2009), p. 230 He is the only one who resists the impulse of mob fury that leads the other characters to kill the German. He is the only character who steps forward to disarm the wounded German sailor rescued at the end of the film.
