Only Angels Have Wings (1939)

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writer:

Jules Furthman (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

15 May 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Adventure | Romance

Tagline:

Thrilling As Love Born Amid A Thousand Fabulous Adventures!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

American Expatriate | American Abroad | Beautiful Woman | Airmail | Aviation

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Cary Grant	...	Geoff Carter
Jean Arthur	...	Bonnie Lee
Richard Barthelmess	...	Bat Kilgallen - Mac Pherson
Rita Hayworth	...	Judith 'Judy' MacPherson
Thomas Mitchell	...	Kid Dabb
Allyn Joslyn	...	Les Peters
Sig Ruman	...	John 'Dutchy' Van Reiter (as Sig Rumann)
Victor Kilian	...	Sparks (radioman)
John Carroll	...	Gent Shelton
Don 'Red' Barry	...	Tex Gordon (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 Lagorio
Pat Flaherty	...	Mike
Pedro Regas	...	Pancho
Pat West	...	Baldy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Enrique Acosta	...	Tourist (uncredited)
Harry A. Bailey	...	Tourist (uncredited)
Wilson Benge	...	Assistant purser (uncredited)
Dick Botiller	...	Tourist (uncredited)
Stanley Brown	...	Harkwright Jr. (uncredited)
Cecilia Callejo	...	Felice Torras, Geoff's lady friend (uncredited)
Candy Candido	...	Bass player (uncredited)
Rafael Corio	...	Rafael - Purser with the Scar (uncredited)
Lew Davis	...	Shorty, mechanic (uncredited)
Vernon Dent	...	Ship's captain (uncredited)
Curley Dresden	...	Mechanic (uncredited)
Elena Durán	...	Elena Silva, Geoff's lady friend (uncredited)
Budd Fine	...	First mate on the ship's bridge (uncredited)
Eddie Foster	...	Mechanic (uncredited)
Tex Higginson	...	Foreman #2 (uncredited)
Raúl Lechuga	...	Tourist (uncredited)
Jack Low	...	Banana foreman (uncredited)
Francisco Marán	...	Plantation overseer on trolley (uncredited)
James Millican	...	Mechanic (uncredited)
Charles R. Moore	...	Charlie, waiter (uncredited)
Forbes Murray	...	Mr. Harkwright, mine operator (uncredited)
Tessie Murray	...	Tourist (uncredited)
Aurora Navarro	...	Tourist (uncredited)
Inez Palange	...	Lily's aunt (uncredited)
Ed Randolph	...	Mechanic (uncredited)
Al Rhein	...	Mechanic (uncredited)
Ky Robinson	...	Mechanic (uncredited)
Robert Sterling	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Sammee Tong	...	Sam, the cook (uncredited)
Victor Travers	...	Plantation overseer (uncredited)
Marion Wolfe	...	Mechanic (uncredited)

Directed by
Howard Hawks

Writing credits
Howard Hawks		(story "Plane From Barranca") uncredited
Jules Furthman		(screenplay)
William Rankin		(contributor to treatment) uncredited and
Eleanore Griffin		(contributor to treatment) uncredited

Produced by
Howard Hawks	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Dimitri Tiomkin

Cinematography by
Joseph Walker		(photography)

Film Editing by
Viola Lawrence

Art Direction by
Lionel Banks

Costume Design by
Robert Kalloch		(gowns) (as Kalloch)

Makeup Department
Robert J. Schiffer	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Arthur S. Black Jr.	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Sam Nelson	....	second unit director (uncredited)
Richard Rosson	....	second unit director (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Roy Davidson	....	special effects
Chesley Bonestell	....	background paintings (uncredited)
Edwin C. Hahn	....	special effects (uncredited)
Harry Redmond Jr.	....	special effects (uncredited)
Harry Redmond Sr.	....	special effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Paul Mantz	....	chief stunt pilot (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Elmer Dyer	....	aerial photographer

Music Department
Morris Stoloff	....	musical director (as M.W. Stoloff)
Howard Jackson	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Alfred Newman	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Ben Oakland	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
George Parrish	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Louis Silvers	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
Paul Mantz	....	chief pilot
Paul Mantz	....	technical advisor

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation (presents)

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1939) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures (1949) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Action Gitanes (????) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Columbia Films (????) (France) (all media) (16 mm)
• Columbia Films (????) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar (2000) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

'- Only Angels Have Wings' (USA) (alternative spelling)
Howard Hawks' Only Angels Have Wings (USA) (complete title)
Plane No. 4 (USA) (working title)

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

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Howard Hawks remembers: "[When the movie was released] a certain critic said 'It's the only picture Hawks ever made that didn't have any truth in it.' I wrote him a letter and said, 'Every blooming thing in that movie was true.' I knew the men that were in it and everything about it. But it was just where truth was stranger than fiction."

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Toward the beginning of the movie, when Tex the lookout radio guy says, "OK, it's open," you can see the whole mountain range in the background slightly shift to the right. (Apparently, somebody was moving the set backdrop or bumped into it while the scene was being filmed.)

Quotes:

Kid Dabb: [watching Geoff try to land a damaged plane] He's gonna try to land!
Mike: He can't make it.
Les Peters: Not with that tail all smashed up. Not in a million years.
Kid Dabb: Get set for the crash, Mike!
Bonnie Lee: Why doesn't he jump?
Kid Dabb: Why? Why should he? He's made of rubber, he is. He wants to hit the ground to see how high he can bounce!

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

The Arkansas Traveller

This film flies on Hawks' wings

For a remarkably compelling story about a fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants airmail service in South America, director Howard Hawks has assembled a cast that includes Cary Grant as the airline's owner and Jean Arthur as a tourist stranded between boats who catches his eye. While the performances are all superb (especially Thomas Mitchell as the veteran pilot Kid), it is Hawks who turns a rather ordinary plot into an extraordinary film. Watch this movie for its visual style and atmospheric mood (note especially how Hawks fills the frame with actors while Arthur and Grant are sitting at the barroom piano), and be prepared for the ride of your life!