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Only Angels Have Wings | Year: 1939 Directed: - Howard Hawks Actors/Actresses: - Cary Grant - Jean Arthur - Rita Hayworth Bat's Redeeption Only Angels Have Wings is a powerful character study of several courageous, hard living, slightly crazy pilots. Their job is to defy death by flying cargo in decrepit planes out of the banana republic of Barranca. Howard Hawks has assembled an impressive cast: Cary Grant plays Jeff Carter, the group's leader; Jean Arthur is Bonnie Lee, a stranded New York showgirl; Rita Hayworth is Grant's ex-girlfriend; and Richard Barthelmess is a guilt-ridden ace pilot who once bailed out of a plane leaving his mechanic to die in the crash. The film's most complex character is Barthelmess's Bat MacPherson. He knows he must redeem himself to win the fliers' respect: so he accepts assignments, most of them dangerous, without complaining. One time, while flying through a mountain pass during a violent thunderstorm, it appears the plane will crash. This time, though, Bat doesn't abandon it or the man with whom he's flying, Kid Dabb, the brother of the mechanic he let die in the crash years ago. Instead, he lands the plane."Could have jumped but didn't," Dabb tells Jeff and the others. "Buy him a drink, will ya?" Jeff buys Bat a drink. That the other pilots ask Bat to drink with them proves that he has won their respect and redeemed himself. This movie has it all.... Only Angels Have Wings is a perfect example of an often ignored, but excellent, classic movie. Directed by Howard Hawks, and with a great cast, Only Angels Have Wings is half exciting adventure movie and half romantic comedy. The sense of setting and atmosphere is very good as well - you almost feel as though the movie transports you to the imaginary South American port town of Barranca. The movie describes the adventures of a group of pilots working in a very dangerous location - they are hemmed in by mountains, and constantly face bad weather conditions. More specifically, it focuses on Bonnie Lee (Jean Arthur), a chorus girl staying in the town, and her encounters with the tough boss of the business, Jeff Carter (Cary Grant). The cast is very good. Cary Grant, though not playing his usual role, is excellent as the tough boss, who only flys when it is too tough for anyone else. Jean Arthur is sweet and believable as the stranded chorus girl, and the supporting cast, including a very young Rita Hayworth (in her first A-movie) is perfect. Anyhow, if you haven't seen this hidden classic from 1939, what are you waiting for? The DVD is very good - the movie is very clear and sharp, and there are a few interesting special features as well (previews for other movies and old advertisement posters, for instance). But the movie alone is worth getting - it is a must have! Dated Hollywood Heroics I wanted to like this movie, but I thought it was so dated as to just about cancel out the strong story line and how the story was crafted into a movie. I like Cary Grant a lot, but here he was the no-nonsense, grim, man-among-men leader that, to my mind, played to none of his strengths. Richard Dix could have done almost as well up to the last three minutes. (Okay, I'm exagerating.) Jean Arthur was a strong, strange actress who could hold her own with any lead actor. Here she's reduced to waiting anxiously for Grant to glance at her and to holding back the tears while she stands by her man. The subplot involving Rita Hayworth and Richard Barthelmess becomes tedious after a while. Thomas Mitchell, who seems to be in every movie made between 1935 and 1945, played Thomas Mitchell again. (Sometimes he could be great.) It seemed to me that the tensions were self-evident; nothing was unexpected given the premise of the movie...unlike a movie with a similar premise, Wages of Fear, where your socks were scared off every time a truck approached a pot hole. Most people seem to love this film. I dunno. There are a number of older movies that have held up well over the years. Even many which, while dated, still retain a great deal of charm. I can see how this movie would have been a hit when it came out. For me, it just seems dated. Buy Only Angels Have Wings at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Only Angels Have Wings Search with the Priority Search Engine on Only Angels Have Wings This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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