Only Angels Have Wings: Amazon.ca: Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Rita Hayworth, Richard Barthelmess, Thomas Mitchell, Allyn Joslyn, Sig Ruman, Victor Kilian, John Carroll, Don 'Red' Barry, Noah Beery Jr., Manuel �lvarez Maciste, Joseph Walker, Howard Hawks, Viola Lawrence, Eleanore Griffin, Jules Furthman, William Rankin: DVD

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Hands down, Only Angels Have Wings is one of the most buoyantly entertaining movies in the American cinema. It is also a razor-sharp example of the action-oriented films of Howard Hawks, the wide-ranging auteur who would go on to make To Have and Have Not and Red River. This one is set in Barranca, a South American port city swathed in perpetual night fog, where a band of mail pilots struggle daily to get their planes through a treacherous mountain pass. They don't care about the mail so much as they live by the rules of adventure, professionalism, and friendly rivalry. Cary Grant is the leader of this daredevil group, a man who won't be pinned down to anything except his own code of stoicism. ("I don't believe in laying in a supply of anything," he says, which may be why he's always asking people for matches to light his cigarettes.) His cool style is tested by the arrival of a wisecracking blonde (Jean Arthur) and an ex-mistress (Rita Hayworth); Rita's now married to a pilot (Richard Barthelmess), disgraced by a single act of cowardice. Hawks always got great mileage from throwing a bunch of colorful characters together in an enclosed space, where death could strike in a moment. The great secret about Hawks is that although his feel for action was crackling, he was really more interested in the way people exchanged sidelong glances or lit each other's cigarettes--there's a lot of both in Only Angels Have Wings. --Robert Horton

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4.4 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars "Only Angels Have Wings (1939) ... Grant/Arthur/Barthelmess/Hayworth/Mitchell ... Howard Hawks (Director) (1999)", Nov 13 2011

By

J. Lovins "Mr. Jim" (Missouri-USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Only Angels Have Wings (DVD)

Columbia Pictures presents "ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS" (1939) (121 min/B&W) -- Starring: Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Richard Barthelmess, Rita Hayworth & Thomas Mitchell

Directed by Howard Hawks

While waiting for her boat, Bonnie Lee (Jean Arthur) stops at a small airport in South America. The pilots there deliver mail over a dangerous and usually foggy mountain pass. Geoff Carter (Cary Grant), the lead flyer, seems distant and cold as Bonnie tries to get closer to him. Things heat up as Judy MacPherson (Rita Hayworth), Geoff's old flame, shows up with her husband Bat MacPherson (Richard Barthelmess) who is an infamous pilot.

Scripted by Jules Furthman from a story by Hawks, 'Only Angels Have Wings' is a treasure trove of terse, pithy dialogue: one favorite scene occurs when, upon discovering that he's about to die, Thomas Mitchell says he's often wondered how he'd react to imminent death-and, now that death is but a few moments away, he'd rather that no one else be around to witness his reaction.

Good score by the great composer Dimitri Tiomkin.

Special footnote: ~ Howard Hawks remembers: "When the movie was released a certain critic said 'It's the only picture Hawks ever made that didn't have any truth in it.' I wrote him a letter and said, 'Every blooming thing in that movie was true.' I knew the men that were in it and everything about it. But it was just where truth was stranger than fiction."

BIOS:
1. Howard Hawks (Director)
Date of Birth: 30 May 1896 - Goshen, Indiana
Date of Death: 26 December 1977 - Palm Springs, California

2. Cary Grant [aka: Archibald Alexander Leach]
Date of Birth: 18 January 1904 - Horfield, Bristol, England, UK
Date of Death: 29 November 1986 - Davenport, Iowa

3. Jean Arthur [aka: Gladys Georgianna Greene]
Date of Birth: 17 October 1900 - Plattsburgh, New York
Date of Death: 19 June 1991 - Carmel, California

4. Richard Barthelmess
Date of Birth: 9 May 1895 - New York City, New York
Date of Death: 17 August 1963 - Southampton, New York

5. Rita Hayworth [aka: Margarita Carmen Cansino]
Date of Birth: 17 October 1918 - Brooklyn, New York
Date of Death: 14 May 1987 - New York City, New York

6. Thomas Mitchell
Date of Birth: 11 July 1892, Elizabeth, New Jersey
Date of Death: 17 December 1962, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 5 Stars
Performance: 5 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 5 Stars
Overall: 5 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 121 min on DVD ~ Columbia Pictures ~ (August 31, 1999)

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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Testosterone poisoning, Feb 7 2000

By

Marc Kloszewski (Indiana, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Only Angels Have Wings (VHS Tape)

I know this review will earn me boos, hisses, and "not helpful" votes, but my wife and I (both lovers of old movies) watched this a few nights back and frankly, we were baffled. Howard Hawks has made his share of movies with "men's men", but these characters are the most opaque and wooden I've ever seen! They are air-freight pilots delivering to the treacherous Andes mountain area, led by the normally charming (or at least interesting) Cary Grant. When the first pilot takes to air in the film (Noah Beery, I believe), you can hear in the inflection of his voice over the intercom that he seems resigned to his fate--the fog's closing in, and he's doomed to crash. Indeed he does, as do a number of the other pilots that follow in the film. The job doesn't seem to have any merits above its risks, and Jules Furthman's turgid script doesn't give us any hint as to why these men would risk their lives doing this job. It's implicit that flying IS their life, and there's this hunger that is satisfied only through this activity. But it's a tenet of the movie and a credo of the men that nothing needs to be explained, it's a man thing, and one just needs to move on. So what we get for "entertainment" almost borders on parody, as mission after mission goes awry, and the tight-lipped toughies muddle through. For romantic interest, there's Jean Arthur as an itinerant showgirl who almost immediately falls in love with Grant, though he "wouldn't force a girl to do anything she didn't want to" and no woman has been able to cope with the stress of living that close to death (though, in the film, Grant never actually gets up in a plane); there's also Rita Hayworth, one of his exes, who's now with McPherson (Richard Barthelmess), a pilot who bailed and let his partner die in a previous air accident. He of course, gets to redeem himself, and at the end gets to nurse a beer with the guys, cradling it in his burnt and bandaged hands. Hayworth also tries to seduce Grant, to no avail. Eventually the girls fall into line (acting appropriately stoic), and Arthur decides to hang around after Grant, in his typical off-handed way lets her know he loves her (via a two-headed coin)--but he loves flying more. I couldn't fathom this movie or this closed society; the story is slow and repetitive and the actors have been directed to suppress every bit of charm or life they have within them (you can see it trying to escape from Jean Arthur)--it's all very morose, banal and a trial to sit through. As a rule, I don't give one-star reviews--but I can honestly say I hated this movie.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Hollywood's Hidden Treasures!, Aug 4 2000

By

Dean Scoby (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Only Angels Have Wings (VHS Tape)

Only Angels Have Wings is one of those many hidden treasures, one that was never really discovered... but will always be remembered. Taking place in a South American port of call for local Bananna Boats-Barranca- in which a Dutchman, John van Rider (The Dutchman) who runs almost everything in town, owns an air mail service that-despite hazardous and blinding weather- always sends its mail (and pilots) out on time, so that new planes can be bought, which will help weather conditions. As I have mentioned, the weather is harmful, and many who are emplyed by the Dutchman are killed at one point or another. Out of the small gang of pilots (including John Carrol as Jent Shelton, in a minor but excellent role), one stands out; Cary Grant, who plays Jeff Carter, a once sensitive and caring man who was turned into a cynical, unhappy chappy after a harsh breakup. Running the airline, Jeff only goes out when he thinks it might be too hard for anyone else. Bonnie Lee (Jean Arthur, in one of her first large roles)has just gotten of a Northbound boat to cool off for a couple of hours before the ship has loaded some bannanas and is ready to set out to sea. On the shore, she is met by two pilots who (after some trouble) manage to "get" her. Heartless Jeff sends one out for a delivery, contrary to a deal made between the two. Bonnie is shocked by Jeff's behavior. After deciding to come back when the fog is too much to bare, the pilot attepts a dangerous landing resulting in his death. Bonnie is shocked by how easily and rudely the bunch takes it. However, she is explained to by two members of the band, including Jeff's veteran flier best friend Kidd (played by Thomas Mitchell in perhaps one of his best roles) that they must do that or te feelings balled up inside them would be too much to bare. So Bonnie cheers up and joins the group. The next day, when Jeff gtes back from a delivery, he is surprised to find that Bonnie purposely missed her boat ride. He informs her in a rather cruel manner that she has to go on the next boat. Just when everything seems perfect, a new pilot, McPherson (a great role for Richard Bartelmess) and his wife Judy arrive, (Rita Hayworth, in her career starting film) and two rather astonsihing revalations are made. After, the pilots try again to lead a happy life, though, as they discover, it may be rather difficult.

ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS is perhaps one of the ten best films to this day, although widely ignored. The performances, direction, and sharp dialougue are equivalent to a solid five of today's so-called best films. Cary Grant is amazing, and as always, was ignored by the Acadamey Awards, as was everything about the film.

Even among other films such as Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Gunga Din, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and other outstanding films, Only Angels Have Wings is this viewers favourite. My Secind Favourite Grant Film, and top ten worthy film of any kind, Only Angels Have Wings is a powerful, sad, hilarious, cynical, and brilliant film.

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