Hawks’ action films are typically centred around an all male group, such as Only Angels Have Wings (Hawks, 1938) or an independent and resourceful male protagonist, as seen in The Big Sleep (Hawks, 1946) and To Have and Have Not (Hawks, 1944). This male individual or group is consistently threatened by female independence or presence; noted in The Big Sleep when Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart) is required to ask Vivian (Lauren Bacall) to set him free from his captors (he is left at her mercy) and in Only Angels Have Wings, where the all male group of pilots are threatened by the female outsider, Bonnie (Jean Arthur). This female threat has been attributed to a certain kind of character within Hawks films, created in the 1930s and informally dubbed the “Hawksian woman” by Haskell.
Haskell describes this type of character’s ‘need to initiate, act, dominate.’[1] Often driven to action, this draws them into conflict with the male protagonist of the film, notable in Red River, where the character of Tess Millay (Joanne Dru) is introduced during a raid on the caravan with which she is travelling. Tess demonstrates her independence and resolve, by shooting and arguing with Matt Garth (Montgomery Cliff). Her actions affect the narrative as she actively instigates her romance with Matt, demonstrating her determination to pursue what she wants. She also directly influences both Matt and his father figure, Dunson (John Wayne) and ends their feud with the threat that she will shoot them both if they continue, therefore affirming her ability to initiate, act and dominate as a “Hawksian woman”.
The Hawksian woman has also been inspected by Haskall in relation to Bonnie and her presence within Only Angels Have Wings, as Haskall claims that this reflects upon Hawks and his ideology within his films, stating: ‘[Hawks was like] the young boy who, recoiling from his mother’s kiss, refuses to acknowledge his debt of birth to her and who simultaneously fears revealing his own feelings of love and dependency.’[2] Haskall claims that Hawks is transposing his ideology, or fear of female independence onto his all male groups. This statement is corroborated by an analysis of Bonnie’s interaction with the group of pilots; she is (indirectly) responsible for the death of Joe (Noah Beery Jr.) who fails to focus on his task and is preoccupied by his upcoming date with Bonnie. Bonnie also, towards the end of the film, inadvertently shoots and injures Geoff Carter (Cary Grant), the lead pilot and prevents him from flying. Despite this, within these films the threat of female independence or presence is often resolved through a relationship with the male protagonist, notably in the conclusion of films such as: To Have and Have Not, The Big Sleep and Only Angels Have Wings. The Big Sleep, for example, ends with an exchange between Marlow and Vivian, when Marlowe asks ‘What’s wrong with you’ Vivian replies ‘Nothing you can’t fix’, indicating that her independence and the threat of her presence would be eliminated through a relationship with the protagonist. The male protagonist within these films overcomes the threat of female independence and sexuality and assumes a more dominant position within the relationship.
Despite this, I contend that the “Hawksian woman” is one of the more modern attributes of Hawks’ films within the context of Classical Hollywood cinema. His representation of women provide an independent alternative to the more usual domesticated female characters within Hollywood films, such as It’s a Wonderful Life (Capra, 1946). Here, the female lead, Donna Reed (Mary Bailey) is confined within her domestic sphere and does not actively drive the narrative. Donna does not show the same ability or power as Tess Millay, does not initiate, dominate or act upon her desires and is, instead, a passive presence within the film. Possibly Donna is not capable of becoming a threat to the patriarchal order, unlike the characters of Tess, Vivian or Bonnie, but this argument is undermined by Tess’ and Vivian’s actions being affirmed within Hawks’ films. An example of this is found in Red River, when Dunson tells Matt: ‘you need to marry that girl’. They are impressed by her display of strength and her domination of the situation. Although marriage or a heterosexual relationship is treated as symbolically relinquishing the Hawksian woman’s position as a threat, this is also represented as being something that Tess desires and has actively sought out, by her pursuit of Matt. Tess rejects the terms of Thomas’s contract, which would make her subordinate to him in a concubine-esque position, relegating her to the domestic sphere. This is where the modernity of the Hawksian woman is established; they display desires and independence which not only make them become a threat to the male characters, but affirms them.
[1] Molly Haskell, ‘Howard Hawks: Masculine Feminine’ in Film Comment, Vol. 10, No. 2 (March – April, 1974) p. 35
[2] Richard Maltby, Hollywood Cinema, 2nd edition (Malden: Blackwell, 2003) p. 516
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