125. Only Angels Have Wings (1939)

Running Time: 121 minutes
Directed By: Howard Hawks
Written By: Jules Furthman, Howard Hawks
Main Cast: Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Richard Barthelmess, Rita Hayworth, Thomas Mitchell

PROBABLY THE BEST FILM ABOUT PILOTS/FLYING I'VE EVER SEEN

I actually wasn't expecting a whole lot out of this one going in, but Howard Hawks continues to impress me and doesn't fall short with "Only Angels Have Wings".

Cary Grant plays Geoff Carter, the manager and chief pilot of a rundown airfield that carries mail in Barranca, Colombia, over the Andes Mountains. His crew is comprised of a bunch of ragtag old veterans, including The Kid (Mitchell) and a group of young upstart pilots. One evening Bonnie Lee (Arthur) arrives by boat and makes a stopover in Barranca and is quickly swept off her feet by a couple of the pilots. When one of them is called away to make a delivery, she sticks around and winds up witnessing the pilot make a crash landing and end up dead. She sticks around with the rest of the crew, as they toast drinks and sing songs and celebrate the life of their fallen comrade. Later that night, Bonnie and Geoff exchange words and we're given a bit more details about the character of Geoff Carter and that is, that he doesn't get involved with women anymore, as they've burned him too many times in the past, especially one unnamed woman. With her infatuation for Geoff in full force, Bonnie decides to intentionally miss her boat and stick around the airfield.

Having to replace the fallen pilot, Geoff enlists the services of a man named Bat Kilgallen, a man trying to live down the cowardice that he was branded with, when he aborted a falling plane, leaving a man (the brother of The Kid) to die. He is welcomed as such, with the other men not wanting to work with him, but Geoff has his hands tied and being in need of a new pilot he takes Kilgallen on. His first assignment is to land a plane on a narrow slope of the Andes and take a doctor to see a man who has fallen ill. It's a dangerous assignment, and that's why Geoff sticks it with Kilgallen. He continues to stick him with the dangerous assignments, seemingly as payback for his act of cowardice. Meanwhile, The Kid, a twenty-two year veteran at flying planes is going blind and Geoff is forced to ground him. It also turns out that Kilgallen's wife is the same, previously unnamed woman who broke Geoff's heart, played by Hayworth.

This is probably the most dialogue driven adventure flick that I've ever seen. While the stunts and action scenes are so gripping; including the opening plane crash, the delivery of a crate full of nitro-glycerin and the climax with The Kid and Kilgallen flying through a storm, the dialogue and banter between characters is just as entertaining as what's going on in the sky. Jean Arthur is great and she's quickly becoming one of my favorite actresses. She was really a great actress, but also a great beauty and she really possessed a subtle beauty, unlike Hayworth who was an obvious beauty, although I prefer Arthur here. And while I'm on the subject of actors/actresses, I'm really beginning to love Thomas Mitchell too, as he makes for a really great supporting man, whether he's playing a blind pilot, newspaperman or town drunk. On the other hand, I'd have to say that after all the Cary Grant films I've watched thus far, I'd have to label him as a tad bit overrated, as he's really not doing anything to strengthen my opinion of him. He was okay in this, but nowhere as good as many people make him out to be. And what about Hawks, was he not one of the most versatile directors going in the 30s. He goes from good gangster flick (Scarface), to fantastic screwball comedy (Bringing Up Baby), to great action, adventure film with this picture. All in all, good to great performances all around and fantastic direction, gives "Only Angels with Wings" my seal of approval.

RATING: 8/10 Unfortunately I think this was my last Jean Arthur film for quite some time, and let me reiterate...she was GORGEOUS!

NEXT UP: Gone with the Wind...For those following the blog, you had to know that this one was on its way. My wife has agreed to watch this one with me and I believe we're going to do it tomorrow.

March 2, 2010 4:28am