Only Angels Have Wings

For other uses, see Only Angels Have Wings (disambiguation).

Only Angels Have Wings
theatrical poster
Directed by	Howard Hawks
Produced by	Howard Hawks
Written by	Story: Howard Hawks Screenplay: Jules Furthman
Starring	Cary Grant Jean Arthur
Music by	Dimitri Tiomkin
Cinematography	Joseph Walker
Editing by	Viola Lawrence
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	May 15, 1939 (US)
Running time	121 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Only Angels Have Wings (1939) is a movie directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant and Jean Arthur. It is generally regarded as being among Hawks' finest films, particularly in its portrayal of the professionalism of the pilots, its atmosphere, and the flying sequences.

It inspired the 1983 television series Tales of the Gold Monkey.

Plot

Jean Arthur as Bonnie Lee

Geoff Carter (Grant) is a pilot and the manager of a small, barely solvent air service owned by "Dutchy" Van Reiter (Sig Ruman) carrying mail from the South American port town of Barranca over the Andes Mountains. Bonnie Lee (Arthur), a piano-playing entertainer, arrives one day and becomes infatuated with Carter, despite his fatalistic attitude about the dangerous mountain flying, and stays on in Barranca (not at Carter's invitation, as he insists on telling her).

The situation is complicated by the appearance of Bat MacPherson (Richard Barthelmess) and his wife Judy (Rita Hayworth). MacPherson is a pilot shunned by other fliers because he once bailed out of a plane, leaving his mechanic — the brother of 'Kid' Dabb (Thomas Mitchell), Carter's best friend — to be killed in the resulting crash. Carter needs pilots badly, but he is unwilling to hire MacPherson even so. However, when Judy begs him to give her husband a chance, he gives in, with the understanding that MacPherson will get the most dangerous flights.

Dutchy will secure a lucrative government mail contract if he can provide reliable service during a trial period. On the last day of the trial, bad weather closes a mountain pass. Bat and Kid try flying over the mountains in a new Ford Trimotor instead. However, they are unable to climb high enough. On the way back, a bird crashes through the windshield, paralyzing Kid. Bat refuses to bail out and manages to land the burning plane. Kid dies, but not before telling Geoff of Bat's heroism.

Bonnie finally gives up on Geoff and bids him goodbye. He offers to toss a coin to decide: heads, she stays; tails, she leaves. Then the weather clears; Geoff rushes out to secure the all-important contract. Bonnie is unwilling to decide her life so haphazardly, until she sees that the coin has heads on both sides.

Cast

• Cary Grant as Geoff Carter
• Jean Arthur as Bonnie Lee
• Richard Barthelmess as Bat MacPherson
• Rita Hayworth as Judy MacPherson
• Thomas Mitchell as 'Kid' Dabb
• Allyn Joslyn as Les Peters
• Sig Ruman as John "Dutchy" Van Reiter
• Victor Kilian as 'Sparks' Reynolds
• John Carroll as 'Gent' Shelton
• Don Barry as 'Tex' Gordon
• Noah Beery, Jr. as Joe Souther

Awards and honors

The film was nominated for two Academy Awards: Joseph Walker for Best Cinematography, Black-and-white, Roy Davidson and Edwin C. Hahn for the first-time Best Effects, Special Effects.

Radio adaptation

Only Angels Have Wings was adapted as a radio play on the May 29, 1939 broadcast of Lux Radio Theater, with Cary Grant, Jean Arthur and Rita Hayworth reprising their film roles.

See also

• List of misquotations - In one scene, Cary Grant calls after Hayworth's character by saying, "Judy, Judy"; this is the closest he ever came in film to the misquotation associated with him: "Judy, Judy, Judy".

External links

• Only Angels Have Wings at the Internet Movie Database
• Only Angels Have Wings at the TCM Movie Database
• Only Angels Have Wings at AllRovi
• "Judy, Judy, Judy" FAQ