“AIRBORN HAWKS”

By Raymond Benson

Howard Hawks’ 1939 adventure/drama/comedy/musical (yes, it’s all of those) is firmly among the director’s best pictures, made at a time when aviation was glamorous, thrilling, and dangerous. As Hawks himself says in an interview supplement, when people heard a plane flying in the sky in those days, they’d rush outside to take a look at it. The job of an air mail carrier, at the time, was something for only the bravest—or the craziest—of men.

Geoff (Cary Grant, in one of his most memorable performances) runs an air mail operation in a remote corner of South America, and part of the flight routes traverse the Andes mountains. It’s an extremely hazardous occupation for pilots of single prop planes, for there are often rainstorms, fog, and other obstacles to prevent smooth flying. It’s no wonder that his team is a motley crew of ne’er-do-wells, alcoholics, and daredevils. When Bonnie (Jean Arthur), a touring entertainer, shows up en route to her next gig, she provides Geoff with another peril—love. That’s something Geoff doesn’t want any part of. This set up is classic Hawks, for, along with Frank Capra, he was a primary referee for the war between the sexes on screen. Only Angels demonstrates this in spades.

Things get even more complicated when Bat (Richard Barthelmess), a pilot with a dark reputation, shows up with his wife, Judy (Rita Hayworth, in one of her very first screen appearances). Judy happens to be Geoff’s old flame, and Bat was apparently responsible for once bailing out of a plane and leaving his mechanic to die in the crash. That mechanic was the brother of Geoff’s best friend and employee, Kid (Thomas Mitchell).

If that weren’t enough plot, Hawks throws in the exotic foreign setting of a small South American village and its occupants, late night saloon parties complete with pianist (a la Casablanca, three years prior to that film’s release), hair-raising flight sequences, and screwball comedy antics between the leads. It’s pure Hollywood, made in a year that is often called one of the best in the industry’s history.

The Criterion Collection’s new 4K digital restoration looks marvelous, and it has an uncompressed monaural soundtrack that brings the plane engines into your living room. Supplements include excerpts from an audio interview between Hawks and Peter Bogdanovich, in which the director talks about his aviation pictures, his mixed feelings about Jean Arthur, and other topics; a new interview with film critic David Thomson, who makes a strong case for subtle homosexual interpretations of the male camaraderie in the picture; a new documentary about Hawks’ aviation movies featuring film scholars Craig Barron and Ben Burtt; the Lux Radio Theatre adaptation from 1939, starring Grant, Arthur, Hayworth, Barthelmess, and Mitchell, hosted by Cecil B. DeMille; and the trailer. An essay by critic Michael Stragow appears in the booklet.

Only Angels Have Wings is an exhilarating look at an era long time gone, and it’s a heck of a lot of fun. Don’t be late for the flight!

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