Ángel de fuego

Motorcycles, tough kids, tight sweaters, it's a sure drive-in hit for 1957, so break out the beer. Actually most screen time is taken up with Piper Cubs flying here, there, and everywhere, almost to a fault. Still, framing those little planes against majestic backdrop of the Grand Canyon does make for striking visuals, maybe the flick's centerpiece. Plot-wise there're two threads. Air Force vet Chuck returns to find his girl's brother Joe hooked up with a bad jd crowd. Since Chuck's got a moral debt to Joe's brother, he works to wean Joe from the bad crowd. This is a lively thread as everyone thinks they have something to prove to the others. (The cycle contest over rough terrain is a goody.) The other thread--staking uranium claims by air-- seems almost unnecessary but does create moments of climactic suspense.

There's not much talk, mainly a lot of guys pushing each other around, while, the girls stand-by and giggle in good 50's fashion. Except for Loughery, that is, who does figure in the plot. And I really like the seedy real-life locales surrounding the youngsters. No Hollywood or cheap sets here. Overall, it's a rather oddball combo of jd's on the ground and planes in the air, and a 'must' for drive-in retro's like me.