Only Angels Have Wings

Geronimo1967

Mar 9, 2024

7/10

Jean Arthur gets off to a flying start here as the no-nonsense "Bonnie" who arrives in a remote village in South America. It's a small but lively location where "Carter" (Cary Grant) runs an air-freight business from a runway with more holes and puddles than actual ground upon which to land! The business is being backed by the engaging bar owner "Dutchy" (Sig Ruman) and they are approaching the critical point of their trial period with the mail service - a contract that they need to keep if they are to stay in the air. Problems, like buses, do tend to come along at once and quite quickly "Carter" finds himself employing a new pilot "Bat" (Richard Bathelmess) who comes with a great deal of baggage, a baggage that irks his best pal "Kid" (Thomas Mitchell) who doesn't have his own issues to seek - his eyesight isn't what it was. Their delivery route takes them through a perilous canyon that is prone to bad weather, so with their available number of planes and pilots steadily dwindling, what chance they can keep their business going? This isn't really one of Grant's more stand-out roles - he does just about enough but we can all enjoy the rapport he develops with an on-form Arthur. The story does go for a bit of a wander, though, when his ex "Judy" (Rita Hayworth) turns up, just happening to be married to their newly acquired pariah to boot. Mercifully, though, Howard Hawks keeps this from turning into too much of a romantic mess, it's more of a foggy airborne adventure with the romance kept to a minimum. This film also serves as an interesting reminder of just how perilous some of these early air missions could be, with planes made of little more substantial than balsa wood at the mercy of climatic conditions that could turn hostile in the blink of an eye. It's a solid story with an equally solid cast and I enjoyed it.