Only Angels Have Wings (1939)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writer:

Jules Furthman (screenplay)
(more)

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
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)
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)
Rafael Storm	...	Rafael - Purser with the Scar (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)

Art Department
Chesley Bonestell	....	background paintings (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Roy Davidson	....	special effects
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 adviser

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) (theatrical)
• Columbia Films (????) (France) (all media) (16 mm)
• 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:

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)

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:

This film was supposed to be among the 12 American titles selected for the first ever Cannes Film Festival, set for September 1, 1939. Sadly, the war would delay the inauguration of the festival by seven years.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Noah Beery's plane clips the tree and loses the right wing, the plane rolls to the left. In fact, asymmetric lift would roll the aircraft to the right due to greater remaining airfoil surface on the left side.

Quotes:

Les Peters: [the other fliers won't drink with McPherson] Do you mind, Elena? We're going to move. Coming Geoff?
Geoff Carter: No, this is good enough for me.
Bat Kilgallen - MacPherson: Not so particular, huh?
Geoff Carter: I don't think even *you* can spoil good liquor.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Honey West: Whatever Lola Wants.... (#1.6)" (1965)

Soundtrack:

Gwine to Rune All Night

Airplane Wings Are More Brittle Than Angel's

The best film that Howard Hawks's Only Angels Have Wings can be compared to is Hawks's own Ceiling Zero. The former was adapted from the stage play by Spig Wead and for whatever reason Warner Brothers did not put in the kind of production values the A list cast from that film should have warranted. In my review for IMDb I said it was a photographed stage play.

Hawks seems to have made the corrections for the deficiencies of Ceiling Zero in this film. First of all he wrote the story for Only Angels Have Wings and made sure to put in enough action and he took the action away from the control room of that small airline in an unnamed South American country. He also cast the leads against type, Cary Grant as a cynical, existential Bogart like hero and Jean Arthur as the wise cracking show girl stranded in the tropics. A part that Rita Hayworth would play to perfection later on.

Rita's in this one as well, in the first substantial part in an A picture. She plays the wife of disgraced flier Richard Barthelmess and one of Cary Grant's old flames. According to a recent biography of Jean Arthur, she and Rita did not get along so well. Both of them are retiring types and each thought the other was being snooty to her. Arthur found that out later on and was far more cordial as was Rita. Arthur was also upset that the future glamor queen of America would get all the notice. Rita sure got enough of it.

But there were plaudits all around. Howard Hawks got great performances out of Grant and Arthur, expanding the range of both these talented people. Only Angels Have Wings is both a good character study and has a lot of drama as well.

And Cary Grant was far more successful at a Bogart type role than Bogey was in doing Sabrina.