05/02/2024
Join us next Monday, May 6, at 6pm, at the Bear Tooth Theatrepub & Grill, for a special screening of the classic ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS (1939), recently restored in 4K.
ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS is a story of the pilots who flew the first cargo routes through the high altitude passes of South America—a story that parallels the life of “Glacier Pilot” Bob Reeve, later of Reeve Aleutian Airways fame, who pioneered a route flying mail from Peru to Chile in 1928.
Directed by the great Howard Hawks (TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT, THE BIG SLEEP, RED RIVER), who was himself an accomplished flyer--having trained pilots in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during WWI. Hawks made use of his flying experience to produce several notable aviation features in the 1930s--culminating in the masterpiece, ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS, featuring Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, and Rita Hayworth (in her breakout role).
The film was nominated for the first Academy Award for special effects--making use of a combination of technically challenging aerial sequences, and practical effects (i.e., models and miniatures). The attached photo shows Director Hawks and starring actor Cary Grant inspecting one of the models used in the production--the sort of practical effect that contemporary filmmakers like Wes Anderson (THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, ISLE OF DOGS, ASTEROID CITY) have returned to.
Speaking of contemporary filmmakers--last December, the great German director Wim Wenders (PARIS, TEXIS, WINGS OF DESIRE, PINA) was talking to A.frame (the Academy's electronic magazine) as his new film PERFECT DAYS was being released. They asked him to name 5 films that had influenced him, and amongst the 5 was: ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS, "[...] it's one of the greatest adventure stories. And so funny. I love it."
ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS is an undersung beauty--don't miss the chance to see it on the big screen, in its restored glory. If you don't believe us--or Wim Wenders--maybe you'll believe Rotten Tomatoes--where it has a 100% score (!) on the Tomatometer (critics ratings), and an 82% audience rating.
This is a fundraising event--AMIPA's proceeds go to the AMIPA Endowment Fund at the Alaska Community Foundation. Tickets available at the Bear Tooth Theatrepub box office & website.:
https://beartooththeatre.filmbot.com/movies/only-angels-have-wings-1939-a-fundraiser-for-amipa/
