Review of Only Angels Have Wings (1939) by Roberto U — 04 Jul 2004

(DVD) (First Viewing, 7th Hawks film).

Just when I was becoming disillusioned with "cinema's greatest year," this gem from Howard Hawks surfaces. Very reminiscent of [b]To Have and Have Not[/b] which he made several years later, it brings together some of the greatest Hollywood stars of all time (including Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Thomas Mitchell and Rita Hayworth at the dawn of her career), gorgeous black and white photography, some surprisingly sophisticated airplane footage, and of course, the patented Hawksian banter that makes his films so memorable.

Granted, it's a rather messy film. But part of the problem is that there's [i]too[/i] many interesting characters thrown into the mix- I was always disappointed to see a storyline dropped, but forgot about it minutes later as I found myself just as involved with the next. I was also struck at how wonderfully atmospheric the film is- it's hard to believe that it would have been filmed almost entirely on a sound stage.

Thomas Mitchell gives the best performance of the film- and it's probably my favorite of the ones I've seen him give, including his two other highly regarding performances from 1939 ([b]Gone with the Wind[/b] and [b]Stagecoach[/b], the later which won him his only Oscar). It's a beautifully measured and developed. The other performances are all quite good (though Hayworth's amateur status is obvious)- I particularly liked Richard Barthelmess' no-nonsense performance as the "villian" that doesn't beg for our sympathy.

It doesn't seem to rate very high in many people's Hawks' list, but I loved it. I consider it an early masterpiece, and an interesting and worthy companion piece to [b]To Have and Have Not[/b].