It's a little bit late, but it's time for Mike D's annual Birthday Bylaw! And this time around, he decided to go way back and make us talk about Howard Hawks' seminal 1939 classic drama, ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS!
[00:00:02] Let's get together, talk about the movies that we saw this week. We'll have discussions, talk film news, we'll laugh a lot and act like geeks. Sometimes we'll have a guest or two, sometimes it's just the two of us. Let's crack some jokes and tell some folks to come along and hang with us! Mike and...
[00:00:28] Hello and welcome to the podcast that braves harsh conditions and risks death every single time we record. It's Mike and Mike Go to the Movies. I'm Mike Smith and joining me as always is someone finally celebrating his birthday a full month and a half after it happened.
[00:00:41] Mike D'Cruccio. How are you doing today, Mike? I'm doing great. Wow, it's my birthday. Woo! Yay!
[00:00:46] Woo! Yeah, no, it is that time of year once again for your birthday bylaw episode.
[00:00:53] Yes. So for those unfamiliar, we do this for each of us every year where it's basically like a Mike's Makes Mike watch, but instead it's we're just talking about the one movie that we're kind of watching for our birthday.
[00:01:03] Right. And it's a real like it can be anything. If we want it to be something we've seen before, great. If we want it to be something that neither of us have seen, great.
[00:01:10] And that's the case for today's episode, I think. And if it wants to just be an old favorite, whatever it is, I mean, past birthday bylaws, you know, I think this started because Mike D really wanted to talk about Twister.
[00:01:20] Correct.
[00:01:21] A few years ago before it was back in the zeitgeist with Twisters.
[00:01:24] Yeah, we were first.
[00:01:25] Yes. Yeah, we were the first that really kind of set some debauchery upon the world.
[00:01:34] Uh, or we, yeah, we did a Twister and Speed episode for Mike's birthday a few years back.
[00:01:38] Uh, I did a MacGruber one for my birthday a while back.
[00:01:41] Yeah.
[00:01:41] I think it was my birthday where we did the In the Line of Duty three and four because we both got the box set from 88 films.
[00:01:47] Yep.
[00:01:47] It was your birthday where we talked about martial law one and two.
[00:01:50] Uh, one of those double features was not like the other.
[00:01:53] Yeah.
[00:01:54] But we did both get that Blu-ray set too.
[00:01:56] Yeah.
[00:01:56] So, yeah, no, we've done these birthday bylaws for the last few years and mine is usually timed about right.
[00:02:02] Uh, and yours, we just keep messing it up.
[00:02:07] Well, this year we really don't even have.
[00:02:09] Officially, yeah, this year I think officially you're technically like the episode that came out like the week of your birthday was Joker Filet Outdo.
[00:02:15] I fucking, I swear to God.
[00:02:17] Uh, yeah, that released on my birthday so that was devastating.
[00:02:20] Yes.
[00:02:21] But, yeah, normally we're doing in the past, we would do like, you know, uh, guest makes Mike scream or whatever we called it where we'd have a guest on every week of October.
[00:02:29] Uh, right.
[00:02:30] And so we didn't have time to do your birthday bylaw because your birthday's in October.
[00:02:33] Right.
[00:02:33] So we would just push it back to November.
[00:02:35] Uh, but now that we're in this wacky, crazy podcast time travel schedule, uh, who knows when things are happening.
[00:02:41] So we just haven't gotten around to it.
[00:02:43] Uh, here we are mid November, really back half of November to do my early October birthday movie episode.
[00:02:50] Yes.
[00:02:51] Uh, but that is okay.
[00:02:52] So yeah, Mike, you, it's your birthday bylaw.
[00:02:54] You were the one who chose today's movie.
[00:02:56] Yes.
[00:02:57] I'm really curious about why you ended up choosing this movie.
[00:03:00] Uh, you know, we, we talked a little bit about it.
[00:03:01] We've been talking about doing your birthday episode for a few weeks and when I brought it up last week, uh, you were like, oh, you know, uh, screen drafts is doing Hitchcock to over right now.
[00:03:10] They're doing like, or I think they're calling it Hitchcock to over Hitchcock true foe.
[00:03:14] So Hitchcock true foe.
[00:03:15] So they were doing like a Hitchcock and Francois true foe drafts kind of back and forth.
[00:03:18] Right.
[00:03:18] Um, but you were like, oh, you know, I, I've been listening to this podcast about Alfred Hitchcock movies a lot.
[00:03:24] So like, uh, there's a lot of these Hitchcocks that I haven't seen.
[00:03:27] I think I'm going to pick a Hitchcock movie.
[00:03:28] Yeah.
[00:03:29] And I was like, yeah, I've, I've seen most of the big Hitchcock stuff, but I'm down to rewatch whatever.
[00:03:33] It's been a long time.
[00:03:34] So I've seen any like major Hitchcock things in a while.
[00:03:36] And so I was totally down and I was just kind of waiting on you to, uh, decide which Hitchcock movie it was going to be.
[00:03:42] And then you swerved on me.
[00:03:45] Just like a Hitchcock protagonist.
[00:03:47] I pivoted.
[00:03:48] No, I don't know.
[00:03:48] I can't, I can't think of anything.
[00:03:50] Um, right.
[00:03:50] Well, you haven't seen any of the movies.
[00:03:51] Exactly.
[00:03:52] Yeah.
[00:03:52] No, I've seen the, yeah, that's that, that discussion started with, you know, I've seen the big ones like, um, Psycho and North by Northwest and Vertigo and Rear Window and stuff like that.
[00:04:01] But yeah, I realized that like I had never seen, you know, he's got a lot of movies, but like the other big ones, like I had never seen Rebecca or Rope or 39 Steps or, um, Dial M for Murder.
[00:04:12] Right.
[00:04:12] I'd never seen any of those movies.
[00:04:13] Which is my favorite, by the way.
[00:04:14] Right.
[00:04:15] So I was like, oh, baby, maybe I'll, maybe I'll cross off one of those lists.
[00:04:17] And I was literally just looking in my letterbox watch list at those like five movies or whatever it was.
[00:04:24] Then I just was like, well, I don't really, maybe I don't know.
[00:04:27] Let me just scroll down and see what else I got on here.
[00:04:29] And I scrolled down a little bit and boom, there it was angels singing of a halo, uh, appeared around my phone on Howard Hawks is only angels have wings.
[00:04:39] And I was like, you know what?
[00:04:40] This is the one.
[00:04:41] Okay.
[00:04:42] Like, you know what?
[00:04:42] Actually, this is the one, um, which is also from a screen drafts episode.
[00:04:46] Uh, see the thing about that podcast is their episodes are like four to five hours long.
[00:04:50] So you listen to a lot of movie discussions.
[00:04:53] So you're like watch list, watch list, watch list.
[00:04:56] It's just, uh, I got a lot of movie wrecks from that pod.
[00:04:59] Um, as if you're a fan of this show, you'll know cause I talk about it all the time.
[00:05:03] Sure.
[00:05:04] And, and I, I think I've may have talked about this before, but I also listen to the podcast, but I'm way behind, like I'm way further behind than you are.
[00:05:11] Yeah.
[00:05:11] Because I've been trying to listen from the beginning and right now I'm in like mid 2021 of the podcast.
[00:05:16] So I still got like two or three years worth of podcasts to catch up to before I'm at you, uh, or until it catches up to the rest of my podcast, in which case I'll perpetually be 10 months behind.
[00:05:24] Right.
[00:05:24] Yeah.
[00:05:25] Yeah.
[00:05:26] Um, and yeah, they're, uh, so right now they're doing the Truffaut Hitchcock Truffaut.
[00:05:30] So they're alternating those drafts, but a couple of months ago earlier in the year, they did a best of 1939 draft.
[00:05:36] Okay.
[00:05:37] And, uh, you know, widely regarded as one of the big, the best years ever.
[00:05:40] It's like, you know, 39.
[00:05:42] Uh, I mean, that's, that's the wizard of Oz.
[00:05:44] That's gone with the wind.
[00:05:45] Those are kind of the two really big ones, right?
[00:05:47] It was a 74 or whatever the jaw, the not jaws, uh, uh, but 74 has Godfather two and, uh, the conversation.
[00:05:54] Um, yeah.
[00:05:55] Like 99 is considered a really big year in movies.
[00:05:57] You know, I, I think when we look back, 2019 will be considered a pretty big year as well.
[00:06:01] Interesting.
[00:06:01] I was throwing that out there.
[00:06:02] Um, I also think 2023 was a really fucking great year as well.
[00:06:05] 2007 is one of those years that we talk about too, where it's like, that's Zoniak and there will be blood and no country for old men and all that stuff.
[00:06:12] But yeah, 39 has some heavy hitters for sure.
[00:06:14] Yeah.
[00:06:15] And so, uh, only angels have wings was discussed on that episode and I was like, wow, that sounds cool.
[00:06:19] Watch list.
[00:06:19] And, uh, yeah, when I was looking at it, I feel like it was more interesting to me to, for, to, to watch a Hawks movie, Howard Hawks movie.
[00:06:27] Cause he's a director that I've barely seen any movies of that, uh, you know, his girl Friday.
[00:06:31] And I think that's maybe the only one I could think of off the top of my head that I've seen, but one of those early journeyman, you know, pre auteur move, movie directors that now we look back and like, oh, this guy absolutely had a style.
[00:06:42] Uh, one of that just didn't matter.
[00:06:44] Right.
[00:06:44] Yes.
[00:06:44] Well, I will say Mike, uh, and I actually, I just put this together now.
[00:06:48] Uh, but we act, you have seen another Howard Hawks film because my birthday bylaw earlier this year was the big sleep.
[00:06:55] That's right.
[00:06:56] Exactly.
[00:06:58] And yeah, it's what, and that's what I'm saying.
[00:07:00] So like I've seen two or three of his movies, uh, whereas I'm way less, so I'm way less familiar with the Hawks oeuvre, obviously, uh, than the broader Hitchcock cultural impact kind of thing.
[00:07:11] Um, so I was like, let's watch one of these.
[00:07:12] Uh, and if this was considered by the people on that screen dress episode to be one of the best movies of one of the best years of movies of all time, that's gotta be good.
[00:07:22] Right.
[00:07:22] Um, so yeah, that was why, that was why that was all the thought process.
[00:07:25] As soon as I saw, saw the title and I scrolled down a little bit on my watch list on letterboxd and heard the angels, those, those thoughts all came to me.
[00:07:32] Nice.
[00:07:32] Yeah.
[00:07:32] And, uh, when you texted me that, uh, only angels have wings was your pick.
[00:07:35] Obviously I was a little bit thrown because I was expecting a Hitchcock title, especially cause I think the week before I was like, yeah, it's going to be Hitchcock.
[00:07:41] It's gotta be Hitchcock.
[00:07:42] Uh, yeah.
[00:07:43] And it did not end up being Hitchcock, but, uh, I was pretty excited about this because, uh, I, I have seen a lot more Howard Hawks films than you have.
[00:07:50] Obviously I've seen, I've seen his girl Friday, uh, bringing up baby, the original Scarface to have and have knots big sleep, obviously, uh, Rio Bravo.
[00:07:58] Oh, okay.
[00:07:58] I've seen Rio Bravo too.
[00:07:59] Yeah.
[00:07:59] Yeah.
[00:08:00] There you go.
[00:08:00] Gentleman for blondes, uh, is a great one too.
[00:08:02] Yeah.
[00:08:02] There's, I mean, there's a ton of those like kind of screwball comedies and Westerns and all that kind of stuff.
[00:08:06] Uh, but I had not seen only angels have wings.
[00:08:09] This was kind of a big blind spot for me.
[00:08:10] And it wasn't one that I had even like, I don't know.
[00:08:12] It wasn't like I had heard of it, but it wasn't really on my radar as much for a second.
[00:08:16] I thought it was the movie wings, like the, uh, Howard Hughes movie.
[00:08:20] Oh, interesting.
[00:08:21] Right.
[00:08:21] That's the one that Howard Hughes did right.
[00:08:24] Wings.
[00:08:24] I don't know.
[00:08:25] Did he produce that?
[00:08:26] But, but that's also about, you know, pilots.
[00:08:29] Uh, it's a silent film.
[00:08:31] Yeah.
[00:08:31] Uh, no, not for you.
[00:08:32] So Howard Hughes, what's the one I'm thinking of?
[00:08:33] What was the aviator?
[00:08:36] But wings is also about pilots.
[00:08:38] Uh, but I, I was thinking of, I think hell's angels was the one that, uh, Howard Hughes made.
[00:08:42] Okay.
[00:08:43] In any case, the, the, the pilot movie industry was, was booming in the thirties.
[00:08:48] Yeah.
[00:08:48] It's new technology, baby.
[00:08:49] As, as I've discovered.
[00:08:50] Yeah.
[00:08:51] No, I mean, yeah.
[00:08:51] Hell's angels is the one that Howard Hughes directed.
[00:08:53] And yes, it's also about pilots.
[00:08:54] Yeah.
[00:08:55] No, I had not seen all the angels have wings.
[00:08:57] And so this was definitely like when I saw your text, it's like, oh, cool.
[00:09:00] Like I get to watch, uh, uh, you know, a classic that I haven't seen yet.
[00:09:03] And, uh, man, we watched it.
[00:09:05] What a fucking picture.
[00:09:06] What a movie.
[00:09:07] All like instant perfect movie, all time or favorite.
[00:09:10] Like, wow.
[00:09:11] Holy shit.
[00:09:11] Yes.
[00:09:12] Uh, so yeah.
[00:09:13] Now, since we, uh, went into the backstory of how we got there, what was your take on
[00:09:17] only angels have wings?
[00:09:18] Um, this movie feels like the epitome of the never forget what they took from us ethos.
[00:09:25] Um, where you watch a movie and you're just like, holy shit.
[00:09:30] They used to know how to do this.
[00:09:32] Um, which is crazy.
[00:09:33] I, yeah, I mean, it's just, it's the, the story basically is, uh, Cary Grant runs this,
[00:09:39] uh, post office, I guess, right?
[00:09:42] It's, it's this kind of, uh, like South American outpost where he is in charge of all these
[00:09:47] pilots that have to deliver the mail for in inland somewhere.
[00:09:51] Right.
[00:09:51] Um, and it's just about this outpost and these, these, uh, this woman who comes off of like
[00:09:56] a steamer ship or whatever, a barge into the country or into the outpost and gets sort
[00:10:01] of enthralled and wrapped up in all these kind of hunky dudes and all this stuff and
[00:10:04] the excitement of this life, uh, and decides to, uh, miss her boat basically in the morning
[00:10:09] and stay and see what's going on here in this outpost.
[00:10:11] Uh, and just gets wrapped up in this whole thing with all these men and their, their,
[00:10:15] um, ethos, I don't know, pathos and everything.
[00:10:18] It's a, it's a, it's everything you can want.
[00:10:20] Right.
[00:10:20] Um, and it's just incredible with, uh, what's her name?
[00:10:23] What's the lead actress's name?
[00:10:25] Jean Arthur.
[00:10:25] Jean Arthur.
[00:10:26] And, uh, Mr. Smith goes to Washington and she's fucking amazing.
[00:10:29] Um, yeah.
[00:10:30] And I mean, everybody's amazing in this movie and that's the thing.
[00:10:32] Just, that's the thing.
[00:10:33] Even guys, even the guy that plays Dutchie, the like kind of dopey bartender guy that on
[00:10:37] paper owns this place is incredible.
[00:10:41] Everybody's incredible in this movie.
[00:10:42] And, uh, yeah, within the first five minutes where it's, it's Jean Arthur's character, uh,
[00:10:47] is walking through this town, uh, and it's kind of grimy and she's being followed by these
[00:10:51] two guys and you think something nefarious is up and really they ultimately just want to have
[00:10:55] dinner with her.
[00:10:56] Uh, yeah.
[00:10:56] Like it's, it's been so long since they've like seen a woman.
[00:10:59] Right.
[00:10:59] Yeah, exactly.
[00:11:00] And like not in a necessarily creepy way, which I think is like the relief, uh, like
[00:11:05] the reveal of that, but they bring her to their bar where Dutchie, the guy that, like I said,
[00:11:11] that, that where they all kind of operate out of that has an airfield in the back basically.
[00:11:15] Um, and there's this one moment where it's the two guys and, and Jean Arthur sitting at
[00:11:20] the table and they give their dinner order to order steaks and they're like, no, I'm paying
[00:11:25] for this.
[00:11:26] And if you don't take my money, I'm going to, I'm never coming back here.
[00:11:28] And Dutch is like, well, if you don't come eat here, you're going to starve to death
[00:11:31] because you don't eat anywhere else.
[00:11:32] Uh, and the other guy's like, you know what?
[00:11:34] Same for me.
[00:11:35] If you don't take my money, I'm never coming back here.
[00:11:36] And it's this whole thing.
[00:11:37] Uh, and he just kind of, they, you know, scam their way into a Dutch saying, forget it.
[00:11:42] It's on the house and walking away.
[00:11:44] And I'm just like ripping the chair, like ripping the sofa apart.
[00:11:47] Cause like, this is the best thing I've ever seen.
[00:11:49] Like, it's just incredible.
[00:11:50] Uh, it's like the same way when I watched triple R is how I felt watching only angels
[00:11:55] have wings when people were sitting around a table talking.
[00:11:58] Um, cause it is just the, the, you know, rat-a-tat whip smart, uh, dialogue, which I guess is
[00:12:04] the Hoxian thing, you know, his girl Friday, right?
[00:12:06] Uh, all that stuff.
[00:12:07] Um, and yeah, it's just amazing.
[00:12:09] Just, just like people that are interesting to look at giving incredible performances
[00:12:13] in what is basically a pretty mundane story.
[00:12:16] It's just these guys at this outpost and sometimes they die, right?
[00:12:19] Like it's basically it, but it's just, just, just, uh, wrapped the whole time.
[00:12:24] Yes.
[00:12:25] I think what, part of what I like about it is that they are so, they're so ingrained
[00:12:29] in this life.
[00:12:30] Uh, and they're sort of like, this is how I get to fly.
[00:12:34] Um, that, you know, it's, it's the only thing, like for everybody who's a pilot in this outpost,
[00:12:39] like the only thing they care about is like getting to fly a plane.
[00:12:42] Like that's the only thing they love.
[00:12:43] It's what they, it's what they know how to do.
[00:12:44] And so this is the place where they can do it.
[00:12:47] Uh, and they, they are willing to risk their life to deliver mail.
[00:12:50] Right.
[00:12:51] Um, that, that, that to me was like, this is interesting.
[00:12:54] It's entirely too much trouble to be delivering the mail.
[00:12:56] Like, like you could, you can wait out the storm and then do it after.
[00:13:00] Neither rain nor sleet or snow.
[00:13:02] I know, I know your, your dad was a postal office, a post office guy.
[00:13:06] I know, but, uh, yeah, but he didn't have to fly.
[00:13:09] He didn't have to fly a plane in 1930s South America or wherever they are.
[00:13:13] But then, yeah, you think about it, especially at the time period and it's like, yeah, no,
[00:13:16] this is a very new flying is a very new thing that exists.
[00:13:20] Um, you know, this is 1939.
[00:13:23] World War II hasn't even started yet.
[00:13:25] Just like, yeah, I mean, at, at this point, like it's, it's about to start, but like it's,
[00:13:29] but you know, and there, there was like biplanes in world war one, but like, you know, there's
[00:13:33] no like commercial flights yet.
[00:13:35] There's nothing like that.
[00:13:36] It's all, it's all like, you know, single person planes.
[00:13:38] Right.
[00:13:38] Uh, and they are so dangerous.
[00:13:41] Yeah.
[00:13:41] Yeah.
[00:13:41] I mean, that's the thing.
[00:13:42] Uh, I'm sort of failing my American history to, to remember when the Wright brothers were,
[00:13:46] but, um, I believe that's 1903.
[00:13:49] I want to say, well, I mean, something like that.
[00:13:52] Great pull, but I'm saying that because I went to the Wright brothers museum in North
[00:13:55] Carolina when I was 10.
[00:13:56] Okay.
[00:13:57] Uh, so I, I think I know a thing or two.
[00:13:59] Yeah.
[00:14:01] So check yourself before you say, um, but I'm saying that because kid, one of the characters
[00:14:05] keeps talking about how he's been flying for 22 years.
[00:14:08] Right.
[00:14:08] And then his eyesight goes, right.
[00:14:10] And that's part of the thing.
[00:14:11] So like, he's gotta be one of the first guys if it's been 22 years that it's the thirties,
[00:14:15] right?
[00:14:15] Like, yeah, absolutely.
[00:14:17] Uh, Mike, you ready for this?
[00:14:18] The Wright brothers made the first controlled sustained flight of an engine powered heavier
[00:14:22] than air aircraft with the Wright flyer on December 17th, 1903.
[00:14:26] Baby, let's go.
[00:14:28] Got it.
[00:14:29] Incredible.
[00:14:29] Good job.
[00:14:31] But yeah, no, it is still a very new technology and actually weirdly, uh,
[00:14:35] I was talking to you about this movie, uh, for a little bit before we started recording,
[00:14:38] uh, over the weekend, I saw the new Robert Zemeckis film here, uh, which also, uh, so
[00:14:45] if you're unfamiliar with here, basically it's like, you know, the entire movie takes place
[00:14:49] from like one fixed perspective of a corner of a room.
[00:14:51] Right.
[00:14:52] Uh, and it's just showing you like all the various people that have kind of come in and
[00:14:55] out of that house over the course of like, you know, hundreds if not thousands of years.
[00:14:59] But there's a second segment of the movie where that keeps coming back to, uh, that takes
[00:15:02] place in like the late 1990, like 1918, 1919, like early twenties.
[00:15:08] And it's one guy who's obsessed with being a pilot and like loves flying.
[00:15:12] Yeah.
[00:15:12] And his wife is terrified.
[00:15:13] Like she hates that he's so into it.
[00:15:15] And it's like a recurring thing throughout the movie where like, she's convinced he's
[00:15:19] going to die because he's flying.
[00:15:21] And he, she gets mad that like, you know, he takes his daughter out on the flight with
[00:15:24] her because he wants her to experience this and all that stuff.
[00:15:27] And then spoilers for here.
[00:15:29] He does eventually die, but not from that.
[00:15:31] Uh, he died from the Spanish flu.
[00:15:32] Okay.
[00:15:33] Sure.
[00:15:33] Yeah.
[00:15:34] But it is, uh, yeah, yeah.
[00:15:36] It is a weird thing where it's like, I watched that and then I watched only angels have wings.
[00:15:39] It's like, oh yeah, no, it's like, it's pretty similar timeline wise.
[00:15:42] And like, you know, at, at this point flying is so new, uh, that even though, yeah, it is
[00:15:47] incredibly dangerous, like we've already kind of established an industry where it has to
[00:15:51] be done.
[00:15:52] Right.
[00:15:52] And so people are risking their lives to deliver the mail, uh, as a result of it.
[00:15:56] Mm-hmm.
[00:15:57] Yeah.
[00:15:58] It's, it's got such a, uh, like men on a mission vibe to it too, right?
[00:16:02] It's just these guys and all that matters is get delivering this mail.
[00:16:05] Well, like you said, it's just the excuse for them to fly necessarily, but they're the
[00:16:08] best there is.
[00:16:09] And they didn't like, they're going to do it anyway.
[00:16:11] Uh, it's just fascinating.
[00:16:12] I don't know.
[00:16:12] Uh, I had just, just everything, just everything about it.
[00:16:16] Everyone's sweaty and gross and drinking constantly and smoke.
[00:16:19] Everybody smokes, chain smokes the entire movie.
[00:16:21] And so what a picture we used to have, we used to be a country is all I'm saying.
[00:16:26] Yeah.
[00:16:27] Yeah.
[00:16:27] And I mean, I love the, uh, the vibe of just, it's a lot of it is sort of a hangout movie
[00:16:30] where you're kind of hanging out with these guys like at this bar that Dutchie owns and,
[00:16:34] uh, you know, you're hanging out with them and you're like seeing kind of the romance
[00:16:37] blossom between Cary Grant and Jean Arthur.
[00:16:40] And you know what, what I liked, you know, one thing that I thought was really funny is
[00:16:43] like it's, it takes a little bit before Cary Grant actually shows up.
[00:16:46] It's like maybe 15 minutes or so.
[00:16:48] And so when the movie starts, you're following those two pilots who then meet Jean Arthur and
[00:16:52] are hanging out with her.
[00:16:53] And it makes you think for a minute, like, Oh, these two guys are the main characters of
[00:16:57] the movie.
[00:16:58] Yeah.
[00:16:58] You know, they're, they're the ones that we're following.
[00:17:00] And then Cary Grant walks in and you're like, Nope, this is the guy.
[00:17:04] Look at that guy's head.
[00:17:04] He's the main character.
[00:17:05] Just the immediate like movie star quality that like enters the room when he, when he comes
[00:17:09] in.
[00:17:09] Uh, and then he sends one of those guys out on a mission.
[00:17:11] Uh, and then that guy ends up dying on the mission.
[00:17:13] Um, partially as a result of his enthusiasm, enthusiasm to get back for his date with the
[00:17:17] girl, with Jean Arthur.
[00:17:18] With Jean Arthur.
[00:17:19] Yeah.
[00:17:20] Yeah.
[00:17:20] I mean, there's the, the, a really intense moment right after that, actually, where he
[00:17:24] died after he dies and there's this kind of refusal to acknowledge that he's dead.
[00:17:28] And she's like, but Joe died.
[00:17:29] And they're like, who's Joe?
[00:17:30] I don't know a Joe.
[00:17:31] Do you know what you're like?
[00:17:31] Cause if they acknowledge that they're going to die, they'll never do this.
[00:17:34] Right.
[00:17:34] Like kind of thing.
[00:17:35] If they like, uh, openly admit that this is the most dangerous thing in the on earth, um, kind
[00:17:39] of thing.
[00:17:41] And Jean Arthur just, he says like, well, it's my fault.
[00:17:43] Like he wanted to come back to eat dinner with me.
[00:17:46] Right.
[00:17:46] Uh, and I forget exactly what he said, but Gary Grant like lists like, oh yeah, well,
[00:17:50] I'm the Dutch.
[00:17:51] He's the one that owns the plane.
[00:17:51] I'm the one that sent him on the mission.
[00:17:53] He's the one that went flying.
[00:17:53] Like, and he like lists all the other reasons.
[00:17:55] And he's like, but sure, if you want all the blame, take it, babe.
[00:17:58] Or whatever, you know, like, cause it's 1939.
[00:18:00] Get out of here.
[00:18:01] Um, pretty much.
[00:18:03] But it's just like, it's just, uh, intense, but like also charming and funny and beautiful
[00:18:09] and everything like that, but also sad, you know?
[00:18:11] Yes.
[00:18:12] Yeah, absolutely.
[00:18:12] And I will say every scene that involves a plane flying, pretty amazing.
[00:18:17] Like the, uh, rocks better than anything they make now.
[00:18:20] Yeah.
[00:18:20] No, like there, there's a few like plane crash sequences in this movie, uh, where, I mean,
[00:18:25] when, when Joe dies and you see like the, just the wing come off of the plane as he,
[00:18:29] as he kind of lands, that's scary.
[00:18:31] It's really terrifying.
[00:18:32] Uh, and I got to imagine that was like a model or something they used, but it looked like some
[00:18:35] model work going on.
[00:18:36] Yeah.
[00:18:37] Yeah.
[00:18:37] It's really effective.
[00:18:38] It like really works.
[00:18:39] And there's this whole scene, uh, there's a scene where Cary Grant is like testing out
[00:18:42] a plane that somebody else has like kind of, uh, modified or whatever.
[00:18:46] And so he's up in the air and he like loses control and the plane starts to spin out in
[00:18:50] the air and you're watching that happen.
[00:18:51] And it's like, Oh my God, like you're, it's, it's really like a white knuckle.
[00:18:54] Like you're terrified for those characters.
[00:18:56] Yeah.
[00:18:56] For some of it is, is real footage of people flying.
[00:19:00] Um, yeah.
[00:19:01] My friend, I watched it with some friends and we were like, Oh, do you know, Tom Cruise learned
[00:19:03] how to fly so they could film stuff like that?
[00:19:07] We kept joking about.
[00:19:08] Um, but the scene at the end, uh, sequence towards the end or, or the first, is it the
[00:19:13] first time they send kill gallon out or McPherson when he has to go to like the mining camp and
[00:19:17] like pick up the injured kid.
[00:19:18] Um, okay.
[00:19:19] Like real footage of the plane.
[00:19:21] And then like, there's the runway is short.
[00:19:23] So he has to like go off the end of the runway to pick up airspeed, like off the edge of
[00:19:26] the cliff and then pull up out of the nose dive.
[00:19:28] I was like, Whoa, shit, this is awesome.
[00:19:30] Um, but it does every now and then just cut to the funniest thing where it's like, uh,
[00:19:35] for some reason, the like runway at the outpost is like, has like just standing water on it.
[00:19:40] So there's always like lots of splashing and stuff.
[00:19:42] And so it's a model of a plane landing, like, you know, on a string basically.
[00:19:46] And then it just cuts to Cary Grant in a plane, getting a bucket of water dumped on
[00:19:50] it.
[00:19:50] Like from like, it looks like they're just clearly throwing water on Cary Grant.
[00:19:53] Yeah.
[00:19:54] Uh, and it cuts back to the model, um, which is very funny.
[00:19:57] But anyway, I forgot that you were talking about the scene when he goes into the tailspin
[00:20:00] and yeah, holy shit, that seems crazy.
[00:20:02] It's crazy.
[00:20:02] And he gets like knocked out, right?
[00:20:04] Cause it's like a plane that's like been like reconstructed or something.
[00:20:07] So something falls off and hits him in the head and that's why he loses control until
[00:20:10] he comes to, uh, it's just intense.
[00:20:12] It's good stuff.
[00:20:12] Yes, absolutely.
[00:20:13] Uh, we should talk about McPherson, uh, slash Kilgallen.
[00:20:16] Yeah.
[00:20:17] In this movie.
[00:20:17] I think his arc is maybe one of my favorite bits in the movie.
[00:20:20] Yeah.
[00:20:21] Um, yeah, he, he, he returns, he comes back.
[00:20:23] He's somebody who used to work there or I think maybe it doesn't work there, but like
[00:20:28] he has a reputation.
[00:20:29] Was our pilot elsewhere.
[00:20:30] Yeah.
[00:20:31] Yeah.
[00:20:31] It was a pilot elsewhere.
[00:20:32] And as they're under like a false name and Cary Grant like knows who he is, uh, like almost
[00:20:36] immediately because, uh, yeah, he's going under a false name because he has a reputation
[00:20:39] because, uh, there was a moment when he, uh, like bailed out of his plane and like left
[00:20:44] the other guy to die.
[00:20:45] Yeah.
[00:20:45] And so he's like, kind of has lived with that shame like ever since.
[00:20:49] Uh, and it's like been like outcast from these kinds of jobs, uh, since then.
[00:20:54] And when he shows up at the outpost, Cary Grant does give him the job, but he's only going
[00:20:58] to like use him for like the most dangerous missions like that.
[00:21:00] Like no one else is going to want to do.
[00:21:02] Right.
[00:21:03] Like that's, that's like your punishment.
[00:21:04] And yeah.
[00:21:05] And then he ultimately, uh, he's there at the end when Cary Grant can't do the mission,
[00:21:09] he does it and he takes the guy and he doesn't ditch him when the plane like starts to, you
[00:21:12] know, crash land and all that stuff.
[00:21:14] And everybody, everybody like accepting it at the, at the end and buying them a drink, man,
[00:21:18] the movies, the movies, the movies, baby, the movies, baby, the best, the real, the real,
[00:21:24] the movies is, uh, when, uh, Jean Arthur and him doing the, doing the dialogue thing.
[00:21:30] And he's like, Hey, sure.
[00:21:31] Like saying goodbye, baby.
[00:21:31] And he like gives her a second kiss and all that stuff.
[00:21:33] Um, but later on when he, uh, kind of confides in her that he's was almost married once,
[00:21:39] but she wanted him to stop flying.
[00:21:41] Uh, and he'll never do that again.
[00:21:43] He'll never ask a woman to do anything because he'll get burned.
[00:21:47] I never get burned twice in the same place or whatever he says.
[00:21:49] Yeah.
[00:21:50] And that's another thing I loved about this movie too, is although like a recurring dialogue
[00:21:53] and like the callbacks each time it happens, it's like a deeper and deeper meeting, which
[00:21:58] is, you know, we used to know how to make movies.
[00:22:00] Um, and he's telling that story, right?
[00:22:03] And he, they broke up and it destroyed him.
[00:22:05] This previous woman, because she wanted him to stop flying.
[00:22:08] And then here she comes, baby.
[00:22:10] Yes.
[00:22:10] Turns out she's married to McPherson now.
[00:22:13] And, uh, yeah, the reveal that that, that McPherson's wife is, is also Judy, uh, is fantastic.
[00:22:19] And it's Rita Hayworth.
[00:22:20] Rita Hayworth.
[00:22:21] Yeah.
[00:22:21] Is killing it.
[00:22:21] She's an unbelievable in this movie.
[00:22:23] She's so good.
[00:22:23] Oh my God.
[00:22:24] Movie.
[00:22:25] Yeah.
[00:22:25] It's just beautiful.
[00:22:26] Amazing.
[00:22:26] Beautiful.
[00:22:27] Most, all the most beautiful humans you've ever seen, including Dutch.
[00:22:29] She's a beautiful human.
[00:22:30] Uh, in one movie.
[00:22:32] Uh, and it's just a delight, you know?
[00:22:34] Yes.
[00:22:35] Uh, absolutely.
[00:22:36] Yeah.
[00:22:36] No.
[00:22:37] And yeah, Rita, the, the kind of love triangle that sort of starts to form between Cary Grant,
[00:22:42] Rita Hayworth and Gene Arthur, um, is, is really fascinating and really cool.
[00:22:46] And I, I love towards the end.
[00:22:48] Uh, it's, um, there, there's the guy, I think kid is the, uh, the guy who is like sort of
[00:22:52] Cary Grant's like sidekick throughout the movie.
[00:22:54] And there is like a weird, like there's an undertone there, I think between kid and,
[00:22:58] uh, Cary Grant.
[00:22:59] Right.
[00:23:00] Okay.
[00:23:00] Yeah.
[00:23:01] Where Gene Arthur is like kind of talking about you, you love him, right?
[00:23:03] Like you love him, like maybe in a different way than I do, but you love him.
[00:23:06] And yeah, you know, he's there, they are truly like, you know, he's, he's been with
[00:23:09] them since the beginning.
[00:23:10] They like, he understands him.
[00:23:11] And like, you know, she talks, he talks about how like whenever Cary Grant's out flying,
[00:23:15] like he's worried the same way that she is, uh, for him to come back.
[00:23:19] And then kid ultimately dies at the end of the movie.
[00:23:21] And, uh, but like his death scene and everybody kind of surrounding him is man, it's so powerful.
[00:23:26] It's so good.
[00:23:26] It is.
[00:23:27] Okay.
[00:23:27] Wait though.
[00:23:28] So yeah, uh, kid is that actor who's in a bunch of stuff.
[00:23:31] I recognize him from things.
[00:23:32] I just don't know the name off the top of my head.
[00:23:34] Uh, Thomas Mitchell, who's also in like a stage coach.
[00:23:37] He's in gone with the wind.
[00:23:38] He's in high noon.
[00:23:39] Yeah.
[00:23:40] Just like guy, just guys and stuff, you know?
[00:23:42] Yeah.
[00:23:42] Guys used to be in things.
[00:23:44] Um, he's great.
[00:23:46] Yeah.
[00:23:46] And when, when Jeff Cary Grant's character has to ground him because his eyes have gone,
[00:23:52] right?
[00:23:52] Uh, he like is memorized in the chart and he's trying to get him to do the depth perception,
[00:23:56] line up these two things and you can't do it.
[00:23:58] And just like, damn, just most devastating, quietly devastating moment.
[00:24:02] Um, and that's when kid is talking about, uh, yeah, like I've been doing this for 22
[00:24:05] years and I've got nothing to show for it.
[00:24:07] And what am I going to do if I can't fly?
[00:24:10] Right.
[00:24:10] And that whole thing is just intense as hell.
[00:24:11] And yeah, and then he volunteers to, uh, or is the only one that hurt or something?
[00:24:16] Cause they kind of all end up getting shot or their arms broke.
[00:24:19] Cary Grant is going to do like that dangerous mission at the end of the movie.
[00:24:22] Um, but, uh, Jean Arthur shoots by accident, which is the funniest thing.
[00:24:26] She's like holds a gun and like, you know, she's like trying to confront him and like,
[00:24:30] she's not actually going to shoot him, but then she like puts the gun on the table and
[00:24:32] then she shoots.
[00:24:33] Yeah.
[00:24:33] She's like, damn it, Jeff.
[00:24:34] And slams the gun down.
[00:24:35] It goes off and shoots him, which is very funny.
[00:24:37] So he can't fly.
[00:24:38] So McPherson has to do it.
[00:24:39] And he's, it was kid's brother was the guy he, he bailed on.
[00:24:43] He was the mechanic he bailed on and killed.
[00:24:46] Uh, and so they've got to bury the hatchet to do this last job.
[00:24:49] That'll guarantee them the contract.
[00:24:50] That'll get them all out of the, out of the, out of the red, uh, basically.
[00:24:53] Right.
[00:24:54] And yeah, devastating.
[00:24:55] They hit the, they hit the birds.
[00:24:57] That was intense as hell when the bird comes through the windshield.
[00:24:59] Yeah.
[00:25:00] It's a really silly situation.
[00:25:01] Real silly situation.
[00:25:02] Bird strikes always been a problem.
[00:25:04] Uh, and, um, yeah, paralyzes kid, right.
[00:25:08] And he breaks his neck and he has that really intense death scene that was deeply undercut
[00:25:12] in a 2024 viewing because it connects to Hubie Halloween.
[00:25:17] And it all made sense to me because so when he's dying, right, it's this really powerful
[00:25:22] moment.
[00:25:23] And he asked, he asked Jeff to clear the room, right.
[00:25:26] And tells everybody to leave like, so that he can, it's just between the two of them.
[00:25:30] And I forget exactly the context, but he says, I'd hate to pull a boner in front of you
[00:25:34] just before he dies.
[00:25:35] And my friend and I were like, okay, we know that it's 1939.
[00:25:38] That has to have meant something else.
[00:25:40] Yeah.
[00:25:40] And my friend Googled it and boner was slang for mistake.
[00:25:45] Sure.
[00:25:45] Yeah.
[00:25:46] And that whole, like it all clicked.
[00:25:47] Like I, I just, the, the Thelma, not Thelma, that's the movie.
[00:25:51] June Squibb.
[00:25:52] June Squibb.
[00:25:52] The Boner Donor t-shirt.
[00:25:54] It all came, it all came rushing back to me from Hubie Halloween.
[00:25:58] And, uh, I was cursing Vin.
[00:26:00] Boner Donor is where I'm getting.
[00:26:01] June Squibb Boner Donor t-shirts.
[00:26:02] That's all I'm saying.
[00:26:03] Sure.
[00:26:04] So what you're saying is that when that happened, you can only picture the kid wearing a t-shirt
[00:26:07] that said Boner Donor.
[00:26:08] Correct.
[00:26:09] Yes.
[00:26:10] And it was wild.
[00:26:11] It was a crazy time.
[00:26:12] Yeah.
[00:26:13] In the middle of this really powerful and emotional death scene.
[00:26:16] Uh, yeah, I, I did not make the connection to Hubie Halloween.
[00:26:19] Uh, and I was immediately like, oh yes, Boner in 1939 terms must have meant mistake.
[00:26:24] Just in my.
[00:26:27] Maybe, maybe I liked that movie more than I let on when we did the Hubie Halloween episode.
[00:26:31] Could be.
[00:26:32] Could be.
[00:26:32] It's pretty good.
[00:26:33] Uh, yeah.
[00:26:35] But yeah, I, I do think the death scene is really terrific.
[00:26:37] It is.
[00:26:38] Yeah.
[00:26:38] And then the, uh, those last moments where, um, you know, he has the, uh, like kids, like
[00:26:42] kind of trick coin, the two headed coin.
[00:26:44] Yeah.
[00:26:45] Uh, and, uh, you know, she's, she's getting so angry at him because he's leaving again.
[00:26:49] He's going to go fly on another stupid mission.
[00:26:51] Right.
[00:26:51] And she's like, she's trying to, you know, be sincere with him and like be romantic.
[00:26:55] And like, you know, I guess, I guess I'm going to go now.
[00:26:57] I'll leave, I'll leave you behind.
[00:26:58] And he's like, all right, well, whatever, baby.
[00:27:01] Let's, let's say heads, you stay, tails, you go.
[00:27:03] All right.
[00:27:03] And the flips the coin and hands it to her.
[00:27:05] It's like, ah, heads, you stay.
[00:27:06] It's like, I'm not staying.
[00:27:07] But then she realizes that's the double headed coin and he actually wants her to stay.
[00:27:10] Uh, right.
[00:27:11] Yeah.
[00:27:12] Yeah.
[00:27:13] He's the, the recurring thing of, I'll never ask, never ask a woman to do anything.
[00:27:16] Right.
[00:27:17] Thing.
[00:27:17] Uh, and she's saying, you know, like, well, I can go catch my boat unless you want me to
[00:27:21] say, you know, you'll have to ask me.
[00:27:23] Like she's trying to get him to acknowledge that.
[00:27:25] Yes, I love you.
[00:27:25] Please stay.
[00:27:26] Yeah.
[00:27:26] Uh, and he just won't do it.
[00:27:28] And he's saying, he does the, well, gee, baby, I like that, uh, saying goodbye thing.
[00:27:32] Let's do that again.
[00:27:32] And he gives her another kiss and all that stuff.
[00:27:34] And then he says, yeah, how about heads you stay?
[00:27:36] And he flips her the coin and she, and he walks out or runs out to go fly this mission
[00:27:40] with his broken arm or his shot arm and the other guy's broken arm.
[00:27:45] Yes.
[00:27:45] They got two good arms between them.
[00:27:47] Exactly.
[00:27:47] They can do it.
[00:27:48] Yeah.
[00:27:48] Uh, and she's like crying and all upset.
[00:27:50] And she looks down at the coin and turns it over and sees it's a double sided, you know,
[00:27:54] two headed coin.
[00:27:55] Yeah.
[00:27:56] In his own way, he's asked her to stay.
[00:27:58] Yes.
[00:27:59] She holds the coin to her chest, uh, you know, white, wiped to black.
[00:28:02] Roll credits.
[00:28:03] Basically.
[00:28:05] It's a grand romantic moments.
[00:28:07] Yeah.
[00:28:07] And yeah, movies over.
[00:28:09] It's, it's, it's really beautiful.
[00:28:10] This movie rules.
[00:28:11] It's so fucking good.
[00:28:12] It's just a bunch of dudes in an outpost flying planes.
[00:28:15] And it's awesome.
[00:28:17] Yeah.
[00:28:18] Uh, yeah.
[00:28:18] And I, and I was surprised, like, you know, I, I, I, that's not totally surprised.
[00:28:22] I've loved a lot of Howard Hawks movies, but like how immediately I was just on the movie's
[00:28:26] wavelength, like from like moment one where like a second it started, I was like, yeah,
[00:28:30] this rules.
[00:28:31] I'm, I'm into this.
[00:28:32] Yeah.
[00:28:33] You know what?
[00:28:33] Like as soon as they, they show, cause part of the thing is, um, the only way they can,
[00:28:38] they can get inland, uh, with these planes is to fly through a pass in the mountains.
[00:28:42] Uh, right.
[00:28:43] Like as soon as they get air worn, basically you have to go up to whatever, 10,000 feet
[00:28:47] and get through this pass.
[00:28:48] And it's so important that they've built an outpost out there.
[00:28:51] So a guy can radio in with the weather reports from the top of the mountains, whether
[00:28:54] or not the pass is clear.
[00:28:55] And I just, the whole time I was watching, I was like, I found my calling.
[00:28:59] I know what I want to do.
[00:29:01] I want to, I want to be the guy in the mountain pass shack with the, with the, with the donkey
[00:29:08] that's just in there.
[00:29:09] That's not there in the beginning of the movie.
[00:29:11] And then it's suddenly inside with him.
[00:29:12] Yeah.
[00:29:13] Uh, radioing down to my boys, uh, that all have fun nicknames like Sparks and kid and
[00:29:18] Dutch, whether or not the mountain pass is clear.
[00:29:23] Uh, and I think this is your dream job.
[00:29:24] This is what you want to be doing.
[00:29:26] Yes.
[00:29:27] Men used to have jobs.
[00:29:28] That's what I'm saying.
[00:29:29] We used to have movies and men used to have jobs and it's a job that I want.
[00:29:33] Yes.
[00:29:34] Is that mostly because you're just isolated in the mountains?
[00:29:37] Me and my burrow and my blue rays.
[00:29:40] I'll be fine.
[00:29:43] Uh, nice.
[00:29:44] All right.
[00:29:44] Any, uh, any other thing else in, um, only angels have wings that you wanted to talk
[00:29:47] about, Mike, Anthony, you wanted to mention?
[00:29:49] Um, there is one, there is a couple of scenes or one more scene that I want to mention.
[00:29:52] And then there's a letterbox review that I want to talk about.
[00:29:54] Oh, sure.
[00:29:54] Yeah.
[00:29:54] But the scene, um, I think it's, I think it's after Joe has died.
[00:29:59] Um, and Gina Arthur goes out, sorry.
[00:30:01] He, she has that moment where he, she's like, it's my fault or whatever.
[00:30:03] And Jeff Cary Grant, like kind of kicks her out of the bar and he's like, go outside until
[00:30:07] you've grown up or whatever.
[00:30:08] Right.
[00:30:08] And she like goes outside and talks to sparks, I think, uh, and has this conversation about
[00:30:13] like, well, nobody can explain why these guys do this.
[00:30:15] No, they don't even know.
[00:30:16] And all this stuff.
[00:30:17] Uh, and she kind of pulls herself together and they come back inside and, and they've
[00:30:20] like, they're all sitting around a piano and they're like trying to play some music and
[00:30:23] Cary Grant doesn't, can't get the tune.
[00:30:24] And she's like, get out, get out of the way.
[00:30:26] You idiot.
[00:30:27] Basically.
[00:30:27] Uh, and like knows the tune and it's just like immediately like, Oh, follow me.
[00:30:31] And like, they just like the band just like, okay.
[00:30:34] Right.
[00:30:34] And they just like do the whole thing.
[00:30:36] Um, yes.
[00:30:36] A delight.
[00:30:37] So good.
[00:30:37] Delightful.
[00:30:38] Amazing.
[00:30:38] And like right away, uh, she goes from being that sort of the, the potential to be like
[00:30:43] just sort of like the emotional woman that can't handle this life, um, type thing to
[00:30:47] like, Oh no, she is fully equipped to be able to do like it.
[00:30:50] She can do it.
[00:30:50] Yeah.
[00:30:51] She can kind of compartmentalize and like kind of get past things.
[00:30:54] But yeah, she, she got there.
[00:30:56] Yeah.
[00:30:56] And that she was like a, she's a circus performer or a vaudeville act or something.
[00:31:00] And her, her, her father was a performer, a trapeze artist guy.
[00:31:03] And that's how he died because he always, uh, performed without a net.
[00:31:05] Right.
[00:31:06] Right.
[00:31:06] Refused to use a net.
[00:31:07] Yeah.
[00:31:07] Um, so she, she understands this, the psychotic pilot, this like mentality that all these guys
[00:31:13] have.
[00:31:13] Yeah.
[00:31:14] And she's in and, and then, and then the movies continues to be good from then on.
[00:31:19] Basically.
[00:31:21] Uh, yes.
[00:31:22] Yeah.
[00:31:22] No, it's really fantastic.
[00:31:23] No, I, I, I was so delighted to, uh, to discover this movie, uh, to finally watch it.
[00:31:28] And, uh, yeah.
[00:31:28] Thank you for making me watch it, Mike.
[00:31:30] But, uh, what, uh, did you have another scene that you want to talk about?
[00:31:32] Um, no, that was the, the last scene, but I did want to mention this letterbox.
[00:31:36] Yes.
[00:31:36] Which is from, uh, Mia Vecino, I think is how you pronounce her last name.
[00:31:40] Who's the West coast editor for letterbox.
[00:31:42] I think, um, if I remember right, she's been on a bunch of podcasts and stuff that I've
[00:31:45] heard.
[00:31:45] Uh, so she's got a review, which is that Cary Grant giving off big Han Solo vibes, risk
[00:31:50] taking pilot.
[00:31:51] Where's cool jacket constantly says kid emotionally unavailable, but tall and devastatingly handsome.
[00:31:56] So the girls still like him, even though he treats them like shit.
[00:32:01] And, uh, yeah, that really unlocked a lot of stuff.
[00:32:03] Yeah, no, totally.
[00:32:04] I think, uh, I mean, this feels like the kind of thing George Lucas would have been obsessed
[00:32:07] with.
[00:32:08] A hundred percent.
[00:32:08] Yeah.
[00:32:09] Back in the day.
[00:32:09] Right.
[00:32:09] Like, I mean, he's somebody who was, uh, very into flying.
[00:32:12] Uh, he's, he's just very into airplanes.
[00:32:14] Yeah.
[00:32:14] Uh, you know, he also, he like did ghost directing on red tails.
[00:32:18] I don't know if you remember that.
[00:32:18] I do remember that.
[00:32:19] Yeah.
[00:32:19] Yeah.
[00:32:20] Yeah.
[00:32:20] He like was the second unit director on that movie or did the reshoots or something.
[00:32:23] Amazing.
[00:32:23] Uh, and so, yeah, that's, that's something that he's always been interested in, but
[00:32:26] that's all, that's a big part of what star Wars is.
[00:32:28] You know, it's, it's a big part of, you know, he's, he's very into flying and like wartime
[00:32:31] flying and all that kind of stuff.
[00:32:33] And so, yeah, no, I, I, I would not be surprised if he had obsessively watched only angels
[00:32:38] have wings as a young film student, uh, back in the day, you know?
[00:32:41] Yeah, definitely.
[00:32:42] Like as soon as somebody points it out and you're like, oh yeah, this has to have been
[00:32:46] an influence on, right.
[00:32:47] On solo.
[00:32:48] Yeah.
[00:32:50] Uh, nice.
[00:32:50] All right.
[00:32:51] Uh, well happy birthday, Mike.
[00:32:52] Uh, you know, a month and a half late, but we got there.
[00:32:55] We did.
[00:32:55] Uh, anything else about only angels have wings that you wanted to say or, or the career
[00:32:59] of Howard Hawks at large?
[00:33:00] Um, well, of the three movies of his, whatever that I've seen.
[00:33:04] Yeah.
[00:33:05] I mean, it's incredible.
[00:33:06] It's, it's interesting to see, to think about in like, um, you know, what Hollywood and just
[00:33:10] filmmaking in general, like in this era, uh, maybe at least if it's the popular consciousness
[00:33:15] version of it that like, yeah, they were the studio machine.
[00:33:17] It didn't really matter.
[00:33:18] They were just, you got assignments or whatever.
[00:33:20] Um, the directors and stuff and they, it didn't matter.
[00:33:23] Uh, the way we consider directors as like the, the auteur, like final authority, the whole,
[00:33:28] you know, creative voice, the new Hollywood stuff we've been talking about with all the,
[00:33:31] um, early Roy Scheider movies.
[00:33:33] Right.
[00:33:33] And with freaking and all those guys.
[00:33:35] Right.
[00:33:36] Um, and here's Howard Hawks.
[00:33:37] He was making a touch, churning out movies.
[00:33:39] Uh, and they've, they've got a stamp, they've got a personal touch on them.
[00:33:42] Uh, and I'm sure most of these guys ended up finding ways to get personal touch, uh,
[00:33:47] into their movies.
[00:33:48] Um, absolutely.
[00:33:49] Yeah.
[00:33:49] You know, people like Howard Hawks, Michael Curtiz, uh, who directed Casablanca.
[00:33:52] Um, you know, there's, there's filmmakers like that throughout this era.
[00:33:55] I mean, Hitchcock was also making movies around this time too.
[00:33:57] Exactly.
[00:33:57] Yeah.
[00:33:58] No, it's, uh, it was a much more studio driven era of filmmaking, but, uh, you know, even
[00:34:03] in spite of that, uh, in spite of like the studio restrictions that were kind of placed
[00:34:06] upon all these movies and the Hays Code was going on and all that stuff.
[00:34:10] Right.
[00:34:10] Yes.
[00:34:10] And a lot of filmmakers did still emerge as like, you know, having their own distinct
[00:34:14] voices and that were maybe not recognized like at the time, but then like kind of in
[00:34:18] retrospect, like people would be like, Oh my God, this guy directed so many of these
[00:34:21] incredible movies and they all have a very similar feel to them.
[00:34:23] Mm hmm.
[00:34:24] Yeah.
[00:34:24] So it's fun to go back in like a, you know, cultural, uh, let's say cultural archeology,
[00:34:29] but there's, I can't think of the word sociology, I guess.
[00:34:32] Sure.
[00:34:32] Uh, go back and, and, and read this, uh, you know, revisit these texts so to speak.
[00:34:37] Yes, absolutely.
[00:34:38] I mean, uh, you've seen his girl Friday, which that movie is fantastic.
[00:34:41] Yeah.
[00:34:41] So funny.
[00:34:42] I would really recommend, uh, of the ones that like you haven't seen yet, uh, to have
[00:34:45] and have not man, what a picture.
[00:34:47] Okay.
[00:34:48] Uh, that's the first, uh, the first time Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall were together
[00:34:51] on screen.
[00:34:52] Interesting.
[00:34:53] And, uh, I think, I think it's Lauren Bacall's very first film.
[00:34:55] She's like 19 in the movie.
[00:34:57] Whoa.
[00:34:57] She's unbelievable.
[00:34:58] She's so good.
[00:34:59] Uh, yeah.
[00:34:59] To have and have not great movie.
[00:35:00] I recommend.
[00:35:01] Okay.
[00:35:02] And it's at the watch list so I could skim through the four or five Hitchcocks and then
[00:35:05] watch that instead.
[00:35:08] Uh, yeah, absolutely.
[00:35:10] All right.
[00:35:10] Only angels have wings.
[00:35:12] It's fantastic.
[00:35:12] If you haven't seen it, you should, uh, because it's really, really great.
[00:35:16] Uh, yeah, I'm really glad that you made us watch this one, Mike, because, uh, while,
[00:35:18] while I would have enjoyed the Hitchcocks, it's very likely that I would have seen it
[00:35:22] already.
[00:35:22] Uh, I, I had the big Hitchcock kick back in like end of college slash like as that ended.
[00:35:28] Like I watched like a lot of Hitchcock movies around then.
[00:35:30] Uh, and I feel like there's like maybe one or two that I still haven't like, like one
[00:35:34] or two major ones I still haven't seen.
[00:35:35] But like for the most part, pretty much got them.
[00:35:38] Um, I was leaning towards Rebecca because that I think was his only Oscar win or something
[00:35:43] they mentioned on the pod.
[00:35:44] Yeah.
[00:35:44] That movie won best picture.
[00:35:46] I'm not sure if he won director for that movie.
[00:35:48] I don't think he ever, I don't think he ever won director.
[00:35:50] Yeah.
[00:35:50] I think that was the only best picture that he won.
[00:35:52] Um, yes, it seems, uh, I, you know, obviously I've heard, I've heard about it forever, but
[00:35:57] it seems very beautiful.
[00:35:58] Like I've seen all the screenshots of it and stuff, but it just seems like this kind of
[00:36:01] like intense Gothic family mystery drama thing.
[00:36:05] And I was like, well, what if it's just Gary Grant looking hot, you know, what if we
[00:36:09] have a fun, I think that's fair.
[00:36:10] And I, and I will say, I, I mean, I like Rebecca well enough.
[00:36:12] It's not even like close to my favorite Hitchcock's.
[00:36:15] Is it in the top 10?
[00:36:16] Uh, probably not.
[00:36:17] Whoa.
[00:36:18] Yeah.
[00:36:18] I think it's good.
[00:36:19] I like it.
[00:36:20] Uh, there was also, there was a remake of Rebecca a few years ago that Ben Wheatley
[00:36:23] directed.
[00:36:23] Just crazy.
[00:36:24] Yeah.
[00:36:24] And that was not very good.
[00:36:26] I remember that that was supposed to be bad.
[00:36:28] Yeah.
[00:36:28] Yeah.
[00:36:28] Rebecca is pretty good, but I mean, if you were going to, if you're going to dive into
[00:36:32] some more Hitchcock stuff, I mean, dial in for murder is my favorite.
[00:36:34] Right.
[00:36:35] That movie rules.
[00:36:36] I think, uh, I mean, obviously there's the big ones vertigo North by Northwest psycho.
[00:36:40] You've seen those.
[00:36:40] Yes.
[00:36:40] Uh, I would say if you're going to go for like the next level, have you seen strangers
[00:36:43] on a train?
[00:36:44] I have seen strangers on a train.
[00:36:45] Okay.
[00:36:46] That's great.
[00:36:46] Dial in for murder.
[00:36:48] Uh, lifeboats is really fun.
[00:36:50] And Marnie is also one that I really, really love.
[00:36:53] That was in the running.
[00:36:54] That's on the watch list too.
[00:36:55] Okay, cool.
[00:36:56] Yeah.
[00:36:56] That's, that's, I think probably like the last really great Hitchcock movie.
[00:36:59] Uh, that's from 64.
[00:37:00] And then there's a few others, like it's torn curtain, Topaz and frenzy, which are all kind
[00:37:04] of like, whatever.
[00:37:04] Uh, I do think his last movie family plot, really fun.
[00:37:08] Interesting.
[00:37:08] Um, it's from 76 that the final Hitchcock movie.
[00:37:11] Uh, if you watch dazed and confused, that's the movie that's playing in the drive-in, uh,
[00:37:15] nice, nice in that movie.
[00:37:17] But yeah, that one's really fun.
[00:37:18] Yeah.
[00:37:18] No, uh, notorious is good.
[00:37:20] I like notorious quite a bit.
[00:37:21] Uh, that's with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman.
[00:37:23] Wow.
[00:37:24] Um, Saboteur, Shadow of a Doubt.
[00:37:26] I was also thinking of Foreign Correspondent too, because I think that's on, uh, HBO Max
[00:37:30] right now.
[00:37:31] Okay.
[00:37:31] Um, and they talked about that a lot too.
[00:37:33] So yeah, I was, they were all kind of in the mix.
[00:37:34] Um, but I'm glad I landed on Only Angels Have Wings because it's like instantly a favorite.
[00:37:39] Yes.
[00:37:40] Like all time favorite.
[00:37:40] Yeah.
[00:37:41] No, this was definitely the right call.
[00:37:42] So, uh, yeah.
[00:37:43] Thank you for making me watch this movie, Mike.
[00:37:45] I'm glad it happened.
[00:37:46] Uh, do you have an idea what your birthday movie will be next year?
[00:37:48] Next year.
[00:37:49] What are you crazy?
[00:37:50] I'm going to wait until three weeks after and pick a different movie than I thought
[00:37:53] I was going to pick.
[00:37:54] Uh, yeah.
[00:37:55] Fair enough.
[00:37:56] All right.
[00:37:56] I don't even have your, the Mike makes Mike watches planned out for next year yet.
[00:37:59] That's a good point.
[00:38:00] Yeah.
[00:38:00] Yeah.
[00:38:01] I got to figure out, uh, I feel like whenever my birthday bylaw comes up, I feel like my
[00:38:04] first two, I was like, all right, we got to do MacGruber or we got to do this.
[00:38:08] And like the last couple have been like, I don't know, I got this Blu-ray box set.
[00:38:13] It's, it started, it definitely started as the, we just sort of need an excuse to watch an
[00:38:18] old favorite, like Twister, like McGruver or whatever.
[00:38:20] But I feel like we've, with the Mike makes Mike watch thing, we've been doing a lot.
[00:38:24] We're kind of crossing a lot of those off anyway.
[00:38:26] Uh, sure.
[00:38:26] You know, those are always like very specifically like one that like I have seen that you haven't.
[00:38:31] Yes, that's right.
[00:38:32] Yeah.
[00:38:32] Whereas, whereas the birthday bylaw can be anything.
[00:38:34] It can be anything.
[00:38:35] Like whatever.
[00:38:35] Yeah.
[00:38:36] Yeah.
[00:38:36] Like if I wanted it to be like, it could be the matrix next year or something.
[00:38:39] True.
[00:38:39] I mean, that's very true.
[00:38:40] But, but we've also talked with the matrix fairly extensively on this podcast.
[00:38:43] That's the thing.
[00:38:44] We've talked a lot about my babysitter movies.
[00:38:46] Do we need to watch Jurassic Park again?
[00:38:47] I don't know.
[00:38:47] Probably not.
[00:38:48] You know, like, uh.
[00:38:50] We have like a two and a half hour Jurassic Park episode.
[00:38:52] Yeah.
[00:38:52] I don't think we need to litigate that one again.
[00:38:54] Exactly.
[00:38:55] So let's watch, uh, stuff I haven't seen yet.
[00:38:57] Yeah, absolutely.
[00:38:58] So yeah, Only Angels Have Wings.
[00:38:59] Uh, it is, uh, awesome.
[00:39:01] And I believe it's, uh, I think I watched it on Prime.
[00:39:03] I think it's streaming on Amazon Prime right now.
[00:39:04] Yes.
[00:39:05] Uh, so yeah, people can watch it right there.
[00:39:06] Uh, and that's going to be the end of this week's episode of Mike's Might Go to the Movies.
[00:39:09] Uh, Mike D, where can we find you online this week?
[00:39:11] You can find me at MDFilmBlog on Blue Sky and Letterboxd.
[00:39:15] And if you would like to donate and support the show, you can do that on our Ko-fi page,
[00:39:19] which is ko-fi.com slash Mike and Mike Pods.
[00:39:22] And if you want merch, we have merch on our Redbubble, which is MikeandMikePods.redbubble.com.
[00:39:26] And I forgot, uh, we do have a Blue Sky for the show.
[00:39:29] I believe it is MikeandMikePods.bsky.social because we're combining them into one feed.
[00:39:34] So yes.
[00:39:34] I was like, let me just grab this URL for now.
[00:39:37] And, uh, if we change it, we'll change it.
[00:39:39] But for now, MikeandMikePods.bsky.social.
[00:39:41] All right.
[00:39:42] There we go.
[00:39:42] You can find me online at MSmithFilmBlog on Twitter, MikeSmithFilm on Letterboxd, and
[00:39:46] Radio Mike's Downing on Instagram.
[00:39:47] Thank you for listening to Mike and Mike Go to the Movies.
[00:39:49] I'm Mike Smith.
[00:39:49] It's my Decree Show.
[00:39:50] Don't forget to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts or any other podcast app.
[00:39:54] And if you want to contact us, you can tweet at us at MikeandMikePod.
[00:39:57] You can find the rest of our podcast and Rapture Press alongside many other podcasts about
[00:40:00] all kinds of comic books and movie news and all that good stuff.
[00:40:02] Check out the main podcast, The Complete Works, to keep up with all of our Roy Scheider movies.
[00:40:06] And that's going to be the end of this week's episode of Mike and Mike Go to the Movies.
[00:40:09] We will see you on the other side.