Only Angels Have Wings
Composite Score: 85
Starring: Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Rita Hayworth, Richard Barthelmess, Thomas Mitchell, Allyn Joslyn, Sig Ruman, Victor Kilian, John Carroll, Don “Red” Barry, and Noah Beery Jr.
Director: Howard Hawks
Writer: Jules Furthman
Genres: Adventure, Drama, Romance
MPAA Rating: Passed
Box Office: $8,554 worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
Only Angels Have Wings is Howard Hawks’s adventure romance film about an air freight company in the South American port of Barranca. The film follows the company’s manager and head pilot – Geoff Carter, played by Cary Grant – as he works to keep the company afloat in the face of difficult weather, headstrong pilots, and the allure of an American girl who stops over from a cruise. Grant is joined by Jean Arthur as said American tourist, Bonnie Lee, as well as Rita Hayworth as Judy, a woman from Geoff’s mysterious past, Thomas Mitchell as Geoff’s aging pilot friend Kid, Richard Barthelmess as Judy’s new man and notorious pilot Bat MacPherson, and Sig Ruman as the actual owner of the freight business, “Dutchy”. It was among the first group of nominees for the Academy Award for Best Special Effects, and it has also been celebrated for its exciting action sequences, Hawks’s strong direction, and the solid performances from its ensemble of players.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
As a 1930s adventure romance, Only Angels Have Wings doesn’t quite hold up in either category, offering minimal adventure (though groundbreaking for the time period) and a fairly one-note romance. The character development and performances are what truly set this film apart. Without them, it ends up being a fairly underwhelming montage of plane stunts and crashes and an underdeveloped romance between a world-weary man unwilling to change much in his ways and a bright-eyed woman with some knowledge of the world who is willing to try and make him. Even the complication of Geoff’s former lover showing up at the outpost doesn’t do much to actually spice up the romance plot, since the story to that point hasn’t given the audience much to root for between Geoff and Bonnie. Though Hayworth’s other woman proves alluring enough, there never ends up being quite enough tension to make the romance hold up on its own.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
The glue that holds Only Angels Have Wings together and that elevates the film to greatness is its ensemble of dynamic characters and the actors that portray them. Barthelmess brings a lot more than just cowardice and hardness to his portrayal of the notorious Bat. He showcases the ways that men can change over the years, and his determination to give Judy a good life makes him one of the most interesting “other men” of any early Hollywood romance. Hayworth, likewise, plays Judy not like a minx or femme fatale, but simply as a woman who wants to know love and who sets out to receive it by any means necessary. Her drunken tirade in particular sets her apart as a more complex character than you’d typically expect in such a film. Grant plays his leading man with all the jaded world-weariness of any meme vendor on the modern internet, living by a code just slightly more optimistic and less problematic than “we live in a society…” It’s an interesting deviation from his typical cocky bad boy roles with more nuance and humanity than some modern examples, making it a defining performance for him. Arthur goes above and beyond as Bonnie Lee, providing the film with its comedic and emotional backbone as the outsider/newcomer to the film’s harsh setting. Her hope that turns to acceptance before turning back to hope mirrors the journey of the audience, and Arthur is the perfect actress to carry that burden – charismatic and fun enough to feel like the everywoman she’s asked to be. The film’s true scene-stealer, though, is Thomas Mitchell’s Kid Dabb, the aging flyer who can’t quite give it up. Mitchell’s portrayal feels less like the wizened sages that are so often seen in this character archetype and more like a wistful hanger-on, reminiscent of some of Clint Eastwood’s 90s and 2000s characters in its depth and humanity.
Howard Hawks achieves greatness in Only Angels Have Wings thanks in large part to the originality of its broad cast of characters and the honest portrayals delivered by his stellar cast, earning the film its spot among the greats. While its effects and romance story might underwhelm most modern audiences, the film’s overarching story of finding hope in a place where life has hit you so hard so many times feels more universally resonant than many other films of its era. It is currently available to rent via Apple, Amazon, or Vudu for anyone looking to watch it in the coming days.
