Film Review
Widely regarded as the greatest of Howard Hawks' many cinematic
achievements,
Only Angels Have Wings
is a tense and compelling character study which vividly portrays the
anxieties and conflicts within a tight-knit group of men who try to
cope with the dangers inherent in their profession. The film is
distinguished by Hawks's faultless direction (which is clearly informed
by his previous experience as a professional aviator) and some
remarkable performances from a great cast.
Cary Grant is a long way from the smooth charmer that he would become
in later years. Here, he is a cynical, thick-skinned and
irredeemably jaded action man, seemingly impervious to the charms of
both Jean Arthur and Rita Hayworth, apparently consumed by the work
which may one day ruin or destroy him. Grant was a far more versatile
actor than many now give him credit for, and this film amply bears this
out. He had previously appeared in Hawks's
groundbreaking screwball
Bringing Up Baby (1938) and
would subsequently work with the director on three similar comedies,
including the legendary
His Girl Friday (1940).
In her first substantial purely dramatic role, Rita Hayworth is
convincing and eyecatching as a manipulative vamp, but she is
outclassed and out-performed by Jean Arthur, who is perfectly cast as
the sensitive outsider who is tasked with restoring some humanity to
the man she falls for. Virtually overlooked when it was first
released,
Only Angels Have Wings
is now regarded as one of Hollywood's finest achievements, and rightly
so.
© James Travers 2009
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Howard Hawks film:
His Girl Friday (1940)
Film Synopsis
In the South American port of Barranca, Geoff Carter runs a two-bit air
freight company, employing a small but dedicated team who fly mail over
the treacherous Andes. One day, piano-player Bonnie Lee arrives
in the town, with time to kill before she heads back to her home in the
United States on another boat. She strikes up an immediate
friendship with two of Geoff's employees and is devastated when, a
short while later, one of them is killed when he crashes his
aeroplane. Bonnie finds it hard to understand the apparent lack
of emotion shown by the dead man's friends and employer, and yet she is
strangely drawn to Geoff. Matters are complicated when Geoff's
ex-wife Judy turns up with her husband, Bat Kilgallen, the latter
looking for work as a pilot. Geoff is reluctant to offer
Kilgallen work, since he is known to have once parachuted out of a
distressed plane, leaving his mechanic to die. After a frantic
appeal from Judy, Geoff finally takes Kilgallen on, but on the
understanding that he will undertake the most dangerous missions.
One man who resents the newcomer's arrival is the Kid, one of Geoff's
older employees, who happens to be the brother of the man who Kilgallen
left to die...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.