Only Angels Have Wings

Howard Hawks directed this entertaining drama that stars Cary Grant as Geoff Carter, manager of an air freight service stationed in a remote trading post in South America, where his pilots routinely deliver the mail in dangerous and often foggy conditions between the mountains. Jean Arthur plays Bonnie Lee, a woman who finds herself stranded at his airport, and strangely attracted to the brash and aloof Geoff, whose life is further complicated by the arrival of an old flame(played by Rita Hayworth) and her unpopular flier husband. Thomas Mitchell plays Kid Dabb, an old friend who tries his best to keep Geoff happy and sober. Good film has exciting aerial scenes and amusing dialogue, even if the script has too many complications. Good cast and direction make it work well.

Cary Grant & Jean Arthur star in this Howard Hawks adventure film from 1939. Arthur is between cities finding herself in Peru where Grant runs a ragtag band of pilots ferreting mail from one dangerous locale to another. When one of his pilots buy it, a new one (who actually caused the death of a co-worker some time before) along w/his wife (an early turn by Rita Hayworth) enter the mix livening the atmosphere for the worse as suspicions mount & the increasing perils of the flight trade begin to take their toll on Grant & the men who look up to him. Now don't get me wrong, this is a good film but it could've been better if the obvious love triangle of Grant, Hayworth & Arthur were better delineated (Arthur sometimes disappears for stretches at a time) but even lesser Hawks is still Hawks. Look for Noah Beery Jr. as the first doomed pilot who would later gain fame as James Garner's dad on the Rockford Files.

In the South American banana port of Barranca, Bonnie Lee (Jean Arthur) arrives to be befriended by a couple of hound dogs local pilots Les Peters and Joe Souther. It's a dangerous job and Joe dies in a crash. Geoff Carter (Cary Grant) runs the mail delivery outfit. He's a cold hard man and then his ex Judy MacPherson (Rita Hayworth) shows up with her husband Bat (Richard Barthelmess) who has a checkered past as a pilot. There is no doubt that these are great stars. Director Howard Hawks brings a bit of humor but this suffers from the rambling romance. Jean Arthur starts as a funny bombshell and she's completely overshadowed as soon as Rita Hayworth walks in. All of a sudden, Jean is the frumpy second thought. It breaks up a nice rom-com and the movie struggles to recover the story. It also has too many things going on. There's an action thriller. There's a backstory of conflicts with the second in command. There is just too much going on.