Only Angels Have Wings (1939)

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writer:

Jules Furthman (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 May 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Adventure | Romance

Tagline:

Powerful as a tropical storm!

Plot:

While waiting for her boat, Bonnie Lee stops at a small airport in South America. The pilots there deliver...

Plot Keywords:

American Expatriate | American Abroad | Beautiful Woman | Airmail | Aviation

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Cary Grant	...	Geoff Carter
Jean Arthur	...	Bonnie Lee
Richard Barthelmess	...	Bat Kilgallen - Mac Pherson
Rita Hayworth	...	Judith 'Judy' MacPherson
Thomas Mitchell	...	Kid Dabb
Allyn Joslyn	...	Les Peters
Sig Ruman	...	John 'Dutchy' Van Reiter (as Sig Rumann)
Victor Kilian	...	Sparks (radioman)
John Carroll	...	Gent Shelton
Don 'Red' Barry	...	Tex Gordon (as Donald Barry)
Noah Beery Jr.	...	Joe Souther
Manuel Álvarez Maciste	...	The singer (as Maciste)
Milisa Sierra	...	Lily - Joe's girl (as Milissa Sierra)
Lucio Villegas	...	Doctor Lagorio
Pat Flaherty	...	Mike

Also Known As:

'- Only Angels Have Wings' (USA) (alternative spelling)
Howard Hawks' Only Angels Have Wings (USA) (complete title)
Plane No. 4 (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

UK:U | UK:A (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | France:U (re-release) | USA:Approved (PCA #4942) | Germany:6 | Australia:G

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

This is the movie that spawned the oft-misquoted Cary Grant line: "Judy, Judy, Judy" (his co-star's character's name). The misquote is attributed to impressionist Larry Storch who, when in the middle of one of his nightclub acts, saw Judy Garland walk in as he was impersonating Grant. Apparently this is how he addressed her.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Toward the beginning of the movie, when Tex the lookout radio guy says, "OK, it's open," you can see the whole mountain range in the background slightly shift to the right. (Apparently, somebody was moving the set backdrop or bumped into it while the scene was being filmed.)

Quotes:

Geoff Carter: You got the job.
Bat Kilgallen - MacPherson: Maybe I ought you pat you on the back.
Geoff Carter: You don't have to. Just do what I tell you to do.
Bat Kilgallen - MacPherson: You mean anything that's a little too tough for somebody else, huh?
Geoff Carter: Yeah, that's about it. Look, fella, I'm knee-deep in friends around here, but you're one guy I can send out in any kind of weather on any kind of job, and only worry about the ship getting back.
Bat Kilgallen - MacPherson: I see.
Geoff Carter: On those terms, you still want the job?
Bat Kilgallen - MacPherson: I don't know any other way I'd want it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Decade Under the Influence (2003)

Soundtrack:

The Arkansas Traveller

A man's gotta do...

This film is relentlessly male and relentlessly American. It functions brilliantly within the Hawksian "system" where male bonding is key, and where Woman is an outsider. Where romance is a minor part of life and where love is expressed through symbols and not through language. The group of professionals and their easy, jocular interaction is the beating heart of this film and all the group scenes are brilliantly directed. I also like the element of screwball comedy (a genre in which Hawks is one of the few masters) which presents itself in Grant and Arthur's "coffee" scene. It shows how much Hawks trusts his actors and his material in that he knows that such changes of tone can strengthen, rather than weaken, the key drama. I love this film even though its presentation of the world is not the one I'm the most sympathetic to. The film is not incredibly strong in psychological nuances - not when compared to directors like Sirk, Fuller, Welles, N. Ray, etc...and the basic tone is that of a stoicism which occasionally cracks (slightly) under pressure, but which almost immediately reestablishes itself. It's an attractive world view, but not one I'm incredibly comfortable with. There is no place here for ambiguity - not on any deep, non - localized level. I've been reading some Hawks interviews, and I now understand why Hawks was uncomfortable with being labeled an "artist". His attitude towards films and film-making is clearly the same as the attitude of the men in this film towards their work and their lives (and deaths). It's simple: you're either good enough or you're not, and you're only as good as your last flight. This identification between the man (Hawks) and his production (Only Angels Have Wings) helps to illuminate the greatness of the film, but it also explains its emotional and aesthetic limitations.