I love to hear Rita Hayworth get her well-deserved props as a capable and wonderful actress.
She was a newbie (pretty much) when she appeared as Judith, the wife of the hated flier MacPherson, in Only Angels Have Wings, but she’s terrific in the part. The part is deceptively simple, but once you analyze it in terms of the script and how it is written, you can see that there are pitfalls everywhere, none of which Hayworth falls into. You totally believe that she would be “the one” who came closest to winning Geoff’s heart (played by Cary Grant at his cranky best) – not because she’s gorgeous and bodacious – or not only because of that – but because she treats him with an egalitarian calmness that I imagine he would find relaxing and suitable for his particular temperament. No girlie histrionics for him.
And then, in the scene when she does lose it – and she’s staggering around behind the bar looking for the corkscrew – and he finally lets her have it, about how selfish she is being with her husband – finally dunking her head in the water to sober her up
– she finally realizes: Yes, he’s right – I AM only thinking of myself …
She plays a good woman in that film, a woman who would be a good mate, a perfect wife and partner, and she is also capable of critical thinking – even when it involves her own faults – and in that scene she is able to take a step back and realize: “Wait a second. The problem here is ME.” How often do movie goddesses ever get to have a moment of realization like that?
Imagine how that role could have been played, the cliche it could have been. Hayworth, new to dramatic parts at that time in her career, is more than up for the task.
Apparently, she had a hard time bringing herself to tears in her final scene, so Hawks, ever the practical man, made her come in from the rain for that final confrontation, so her face would be all wet – which basically gives the impression of tears, and lets Hayworth off the hook of having to bring tears to her eyes. Producing tears is obviously something actors may worry about, and she certainly did – but if you have the Impression of tears, then what does it matter if they come organically or not? Hawks got that, and he helped Hayworth to get that too – and it’s a very effective scene, and I couldn’t care less if she the actress was actually crying or not.
Highly under-rated actress. Yes, beloved as a sex bomb and babe – but under-rated indeed as an actress with some CHOPS.
Clip from Only Angels Have Wings below – when Cary Grant gives her a dousing of water and a harsh talking-to. The scene comes at the 8 minute mark.
I absolutely love her delivery of that line in your title. I’m still thanking my lucky stars that all your wonderful writing about this movie got me to see it. It’s one of my favourites now.
Every time I see a still from that movie I want to watch it again. There should be a national monument to Howard Hawks.
I hope you never tire of writing about Cary Grant in general, and this movie in particular, because I love reading what you have to say about both. I’ve been visiting your blog for a while now, and my first thought when going through your CG archives was “WOW, there’s somebody out there who loves Cary even more than I do!” I didn’t think that was possible.
As much as I love him, though, I had never seen “Only Angels Have Wings” until your many blog posts convinced me to give it a try last month. I don’t know why I’d skipped it — I’ve seen almost every other Grant movie. I guess I just didn’t think a movie about pilots and plane crashes would be my cup of tea.
I was incredibly wrong! It’s truly the most exciting, romantic, funny, and heartbreaking movie I’ve seen in a long time. Jean Arthur and Thomas Mitchell are fantastic in it. Hayworth too, as your post points out. And Cary Grant’s performance completely blew me away. He makes Geoff so cynical, macho and even nasty at times, but he’s also fundamentally decent. He’s a complex character, and CG absolutely nails it.
Also, well, he’s just plain hot in the role. That’s not something I’d usually say about Grant, as much as I adore him. Perfectly handsome, witty, dreamy and droll, sure, but as Geoff Carter he’s just plain sexy as hell. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve watched the scene with Geoff and Bonnie alone in the bar. “After your boat sails.” And even more than that, the way he looks at her when inviting her to his room to look at baby pictures. (Yeah right.) “I don’t remember. Want to go and look?” Excuse me while I swoon a little.
His performance was a revelation! The whole movie was, really. Thanks for talking me into watching it — you’ve made another “Only Angels Have Wings” convert. As for the video clip you posted here, it’s another of my favorite parts of the movie. I love the look on Geoff’s face when he tells Dutchy to clear the field and says “Nitro?” I don’t know, it just cracks me up. Gah, he’s so wonderful.
Your comment nails pretty much everything I wanted to say. Please continue your blogs, Sheila. They are like a lifeline for this newly-minted-CG-obessessed-woman. Have watched most of CG’s movies, cannot name one favorite but ‘notorious’ , ‘Only angels have wings’ and ‘Mr Lucky’ remain my top 3. He is so hot and adorable and .. well, you describe him better everytime so all I can say is keep writing…