Only Angels Have Wings (1939)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writer:

Jules Furthman (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 May 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Adventure | Romance

Tagline:

Powerful as a tropical storm!

Plot:

While waiting for her boat, Bonnie Lee stops at a small airport in South America. The pilots there deliver...

Plot Keywords:

Pilot | Old Flame | South America | Port | Based On Story

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Cary Grant	...	Geoff Carter
Jean Arthur	...	Bonnie Lee
Richard Barthelmess	...	Bat Mac Pherson
Rita Hayworth	...	Judy MacPherson
Thomas Mitchell	...	Kid Dabb
Allyn Joslyn	...	Les Peters
Sig Ruman	...	Dutchy (as Sig Rumann)
Victor Kilian	...	Sparks (radioman)
John Carroll	...	Gent Shelton
Don 'Red' Barry	...	Tex (as Donald Barry)
Noah Beery Jr.	...	Joe Souther
Manuel Álvarez Maciste	...	The Singer (as Maciste)
Milisa Sierra	...	Lily - Joe's girl (as Milissa Sierra)
Lucio Villegas	...	Doctor
Pat Flaherty	...	Mike

Also Known As:

Howard Hawks' - Only Angels Have Wings (UK) (complete title) (USA) (complete title)
Howard Hawks' Only Angels Have Wings (USA) (complete title)
Plane No. 4 (USA) (working title)
Paraíso Infernal (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
SOS Feuer an Bord (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Avventurieri dell'aria (Italy) [it]
Endast änglar har vingar (Sweden) [sv]
Feuer an Bord! (Austria) [de]
Flugpioniere in Not (West Germany) [de]
Kun engle har vinger (Denmark) [da]
Monon oi angeloi ehoun ftera (Greece) [el]
Sólo los ángeles tienen alas (Spain) [es]
Seuls les anges ont des ailes (France) [fr]
Vain enkeleillä on siivet (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:U | Finland:K-16 | France:U (re-release) | USA:Approved (PCA #4942) | Germany:6 | Australia:G

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The film was inspired by a true story of a real-life couple Howard Hawks met while scouting Mexican locations for Viva Villa! (1934) (which was eventually directed by Jack Conway).

Goofs:

Factual errors: When McPherson takes off with the patient, the chimney smoke shows he's taking off with the wind instead of against the wind. Taking off against the wind would increase his relative speed and help him take off.

Quotes:

Geoff Carter: Got a match?
Bonnie Lee: Say, don't you ever have any?
Geoff Carter: No - don't believe in laying in a supply of anything.
[she hands him a match]
Geoff Carter: Thanks.
Bonnie Lee: Matches, marbles, money or women, huh?
Geoff Carter: That's right.
Bonnie Lee: No looking ahead; no tomorrows; just today.
Geoff Carter: That's right.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Rita Hayworth: The Columbia Lady (2000) (V)

Soundtrack:

The Arkansas Traveler

Not just another Hawks and Grant film - it's a lot more than meets the eye

This may be an overlooked Howard Hawks film. It's really a thoughtful film with substance under the guise of Hollywood famous stars and lively screenplay banters. Subject touches on death just 20 minutes into the film. Certainly no dull pacing. It has golden segments, like the exchanges between Grant and Barthelmess, Grant and Mitchell, Mitchell and Arthur, Arthur and Grant, and 10 minutes later, we see people gathered round by the piano singing songs and cajoling - not without sorrow beneath. Be not fooled, sentiments are there for friends passed away. It's not, but it is, a way of handling grief.

It's life, matter of fact and not hung up or lingering, simply moving on, devil may care, with boldness, dare, and risk-woe-begotten (or forgotten, for that matter). Men - one track-minded, to fly to deliver no-matter-what. Women - worry, or why worry. To love the man, much of letting go and let him be comes with the territory, even if it's Jean Arthur or Rita Hayworth. The story revolves around not just Cary Grant's Geoff leading the pack in the Andes, but also Thomas Mitchell's brother gone, Richard Barthelmess' past recur, Rita Hayworth's nostalgic fear, and the spunky, sentimental Jean Arthur's Bonnie wraps it all up. The supporting cast aptly contributes from the restaurant-hotel-mailing service owner, the lively South American accents and melody, to the pilots who are green and know not what peril is, and the lone fog-watcher and his donkey. Secrets revealed, conflicts challenged, and there's a growing promotion of trust through it all. Between business partners, colleagues, friendship or marriage - that unquestionable trust, without asking out loud but understood within - is what life and dare all about.

This film grew on me. I first saw it on cable TCM the latter half and couldn't wait to catch it again for the full story. Screenplay by Jules Furthman, music score by Dimitri Tiomkin, directed and produced by Howard Hawks, "Only Angels Have Wings" 1939 (available on DVD) is full of life, humor, drama, adventurous spirits, and non-stop exchange of word deliveries - entertaining, enjoyable, and heart-warming.