NFR Project: 'Only Angels Have Wings' (1939)

 

NFR Project: ‘Only Angels Have Wings’

Dir: Howard Hawks

Scr: Jules Furthman, Howard Hawks

Pho: Joseph Walker

Ed: Viola Lawrence

Premiere: May 15, 1939

121 min.

This film, one of cinema’s great adventure dramas, is considered the epitome of the Howard Hawks style. Director Hawks left a distinctive fingerprint on many of his films – so much so that this particular kind of film is regularly referred to as “Hawksian.”

The Hawksian world is inhabited by cynical, tough-talking men. They face danger bravely and with a dismissive humor. A man is what he does, or in the worst case, what he cannot do. The Hawksian woman is independent, tough-talking, gifted with the ability to trade wisecracks with the guys. Together they create a miniature society of daredevils, people who inhabit the dangerous margins of life to fulfill tasks that ordinary people would balk at.

In this case, the scene is set in an imaginary South American country, in the town of Barranca. Here Geoff Carter (Cary Grant) leads a ragtag bunch of flyers whose job it is to fly mail and supplies up and over an intimidating range of Andean mountains inland. The company must make its deliveries in order to win a lucrative contract, despite hazards such as fog, storm, and bird strikes.

Into this milieu falls Bonnie Lee (perky Jean Arthur), an entertainer off the boat with a minimum of baggage and a maximum of curiosity. Naturally, she falls for Geoff, but Geoff was spurned by a woman over his risk-taking, so he’s sour on the idea of women, and emotion in general.

Onto the scene steps MacPherson (the great silent star Richard Barthlemess), a flyer with a checkered past who wants to get back into the game. It turns out that he bailed out of a burning plane, leaving his mechanic to die. That mechanic was the brother of The Kid (Thomas Mitchell), Geoff’s right-hand man. Despite everyone’s prejudice against him, Geoff takes him on.

It also turns out that MacPherson is married to Judy (Rita Hayworth, in her star-making turn) – the woman who broke Geoff’s heart. Their reconnection is bitter.

The Kid’s eyesight is failing, so Geoff must ban him from flying. Another dangerous mission comes up, and Geoff is all set to fly it when Bonnie accidentally shoots him. MacPherson must go, and the Kid volunteers to go with him in a new plane designed to fly over the high peaks.

The plane stalls out in the thin atmosphere, and the flying duo are forced to turn back. They run into a flock of buzzards, some of which crash through the windscreen, crippling the Kid and setting the engines on fire. MacPherson, struggling mightily, brings the plane back safely.

The Kid dies of his injuries. MacPherson, having redeemed himself, is welcomed by the other pilots. Geoff finally lets Bonnie know that he wants her to stay. Can she stand the uncertainty of not knowing whether he’ll come back alive from his job or not? The answer is a pretty confident yes.

The movie is filled with distinct characters, all cracking wise. Sig Rumann, who normally played pompous leaders or villains, actually gets a sympathetic part here and plays it well. The film, crowded with action, moves along at a dizzying pace. Add plenty of flying shots, supplemented by some good model work, and you have a strikingly engaging story on your hands.

Paradoxically, the gruff gents who work for the ragtag airline are actually sentimental fools. Their feelings of loss when one of their number crashes and dies are palpable. There are guys who care deeply about each other, and about their mission. It is their determination to be tough that makes them seem so abrasive, callous even. Hawks is careful to show us this aspect of their emotional lives, sublimated into anger and alcohol abuse.

Joseph Walker’s cinematography is top-notch; the settings are shrouded in fog and most of the action takes place at night. The noirish cast of the images perfectly suits the story of men gambling with their lives.

The NFR is one writer’s attempt to review all the films listed in the National Film Registry in chronological order. Next time: The City.