Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
Directed by Howard Hawks

Drama / Adventure / Romance
aka: Howard Hawks' Only Angels Have Wings

Film Review

Abstract picture representing Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
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.


Film Credits

  • Director: Howard Hawks
  • Script: Eleanore Griffin, William Rankin, Jules Furthman (play), Howard Hawks (story)
  • Cinematographer: Joseph Walker
  • Music: Dimitri Tiomkin
  • Cast: Cary Grant (Geoff Carter), Jean Arthur (Bonnie Lee), Richard Barthelmess (Bat Mac Pherson), Rita Hayworth (Judy MacPherson), Thomas Mitchell (Kid Dabb), Allyn Joslyn (Les Peters), Sig Ruman (Dutchy), Victor Kilian (Sparks), John Carroll (Gent Shelton), Don 'Red' Barry (Tex), Noah Beery Jr. (Joe Souther), Manuel Álvarez Maciste (The Singer), Milisa Sierra (Lily), Lucio Villegas (Doctor), Pat Flaherty (Mike), Pedro Regas (Pancho), Pat West (Baldy), Enrique Acosta (Tourist), Harry A. Bailey (Tourist), Wilson Benge (Assistant Purser)
  • Country: USA
  • Language: English / Spanish
  • Support: Black and White
  • Runtime: 121 min
  • Aka: Howard Hawks' Only Angels Have Wings

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