Only Angels Have Wings
Directed by Howard Hawks
Written by Jules Furthman
1939/USA
Columbia Pictures Corporation
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental
#131 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
[box] Bonnie Lee: I’m hard to get, Geoff. All you have to do is ask me.[/box]
This is another 1939 example of the Hollywood studio system at its height.
Piano player Bonnie Lee (Jean Arthur) gets off the ship during a port call in a South American town. There she becomes fascinated by the pilots who make dangerous mail runs over the Andes. She rapidly falls for no-nonsense Geoff Carter (Cary Grant) who manages the fledging airline. He has been wounded in love and now “wouldn’t ask any woman” for anything. For her part, Bonnie has problems coping with Geoff’s ultra-dangerous test flights.
Into this mileu comes pilot Bat MacPherson (Richard Barthelmess) and his wife Judy (Rita Hayworth). It turns out that Bat bailed out of a plane and left his co-pilot to die. This co-pilot was the brother of Geoff’s loyal sidekick Kid (Thomas Mitchell) and the other pilots want nothing to do with Bat. Judy is the woman who broke Geoff’s heart. The rest of the story is taken up with some dynamite flying sequences, Bat’s attempted redemption, Kid’s problems, and the central love story. With Sig Ruman as a bar owner and Noah Beery, Jr. as a doomed pilot.
I love this film though on this repeat viewing the plot seemed to be all over the place. Not so the crackling dialogue by To Have and Have Not co-writer Furthman. The cinematography is just luscious.
I never thought I would say this but I kept envisioning Clark Gable in the lead and how he would have been better suited to the role than Grant (whom I generally adore). Thomas Mitchell is so outstanding in this movie it is difficult to believe that he didn’t win his Oscar for this part. Richard Barthelmess gives an excellent understated performance as the disgraced pilot.
Only Angels Have Wings was nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of Best Black and White Cinematography and Best Special Effects.
Clip – Cary Grant and Jean Arthur at the piano
I love, love, love this film but you will never guess why I like it so much. Because it has Richard Barthelmess, one of the great silent stars, in a supporting role!!. He didn’t make very many films after he “retired” from the screen and it is a joy to see him here……he plays it low-key which is perfect for the part and is still very attractive. Of course, I like the film for more than that but I like him so well that it is an extra treat to have him as part of the cast. Jean Arthur can sometimes get on my nerves but she is OK here and the rest of the players are well cast. A film worth watching more than once, even if you have never heard of Richard Barthelmess!!!!!
I love Richard Barthelmess as well. The trivia says that by this time his face was scarred from botched plastic surgery. Hawks had him play it without too much make up as it fit the role so well. This has some surprisingly sexy dialogue about going to Grant’s room but Arthur’s persona keeps it all very safe. Hawks apparently had something more in the line of Lauren Bacall’s character in To Have and Have Not in mind and was reportedly not well pleased.
I too am a fan of this one. In any other year it might have swept the table at the Oscars, but alas, 39 was a great year. I think we are really spoiled on the acting side. It is juicy, hard, gritty, but also a bit sentimental. Just a perfect cocktail. And yes, those planes are awesome!
It’s unbelievable that this didn’t even get nominated for the Best Picture Oscar! But when you see the 10 films that did get nominated you can almost understand why.
Oh, I don’t remember hearing that about Richard Barthelmess’s face. Another perfect 1939 movie.
Apparently Barthelmess had surgery to remove bags under his eyes. He was only 44 in 1939. Shame he didn’t have a better sound film career.
Nobody can top Wilder in my book.
I didn’t know about the plastic surgery either……well, he still looked good to me. He should have had a better sound career but I read somewhere that he had made a fortune in real estate and didn’t stay in film.
I liked this one quite a bit, far more than I expected to. The idea of Clark Gable in the lead role is an interesting one, and as much as I tend to love Grant and am ambivalent to Gable, it would be a pretty good switch.
1939 was such a great year.
I’m more of a Grant fan myself. In this film, though, I thought Gable had more of the macho quality demanded by the part.