Only Angels Have Wings is a 1939 American adventure romantic drama film directed by Howard Hawks. Starring Cary Grant and Jean Arthur, it is based on a story written by Hawks.
The plot follows the manager of an air freight company in a remote South American port town who is forced to risk his pilots' lives while vying for a major contract.
It features supporting performances from Thomas Mitchell, Richard Barthelmess, Noah Beery Jr., and Rita Hayworth in her first major role.
Released by Columbia Pictures in May 1939, the film is generally regarded as being among Hawks' finest films, particularly in its portrayal of the professionalism of the pilots of the film, its atmosphere, and the flying sequences.
In 2017, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Plot
thumb|left|upright|[[Jean Arthur as Bonnie Lee]]
Geoff Carter is the chief pilot and manager of Barranca Airways, a small, barely solvent company owned by "Dutchy" Van Ruyter carrying airmail from the fictional South American port town of Barranca through a high pass in the Andes Mountains. Bonnie Lee, a piano-playing entertainer, arrives on a banana boat one day. After making her acquaintance, Joe Souther crashes and dies trying to land in fog later that day. Bonnie becomes infatuated with Geoff, despite his fatalistic attitude about the dangerous flying, and stays on in Barranca (not at his invitation, as he insists on telling her).
The situation is complicated by the arrival of pilot Bat MacPherson and his wife—Geoff's old flame, Judy. MacPherson cannot find work in the United States because he once bailed out of an airplane, leaving his mechanic—the brother of "Kid" Dabb, Carter's best friend—to die in the ensuing crash. When Geoff is forced to ground the Kid because of failing eyesight, he hires MacPherson with the understanding that he will get the most dangerous assignments.
Dutchy will secure a lucrative government contract if he can provide reliable mail service during a six-month trial. On the last day of the probation period, bad weather closes the mountain pass. Geoff decides to try to fly a new Ford Trimotor over the mountains instead. The Kid asks to go with him as co-pilot. Geoff refuses, but then lets the Kid toss a coin to decide the matter. When it lands on the floor, Geoff discovers that the coin has two heads. Geoff still agrees to take him along. Just before leaving, Bonnie tries to talk Geoff out of going. She takes his gun out of his holster and points it at him. When she realizes that she cannot stop him, she drops the gun on the table, but it accidentally fires, hitting Geoff in the shoulder.
Unable to fly, Geoff lets MacPherson take his place. However, MacPherson and the Kid are unable to climb high enough; the plane stalls and drops thousands of feet before leveling off. Geoff tells them to turn around, but they decide to try to fly through the fogged-in pass. In the pass, they encounter a flock of condors. One crashes through the windshield, paralyzing the Kid, and another hits the No. 1 engine, setting it on fire. Later the No. 2 engine also catches fire. The Kid tells MacPherson to bail out, but he refuses. He turns around and returns to Barranca, managing to crash-land the burning Trimotor. The Kid dies from a broken neck, but not before telling Geoff what MacPherson did. As a result, MacPherson is finally accepted by the other pilots.
Bonnie is torn between leaving and staying, and confronts Geoff in the hope he will ask her to stay. However, with mere hours to spare on the trial period, the weather clears and Geoff has to rush off to secure the all-important contract. Before he goes, he offers to toss a coin to decide: heads, Bonnie stays; tails, she leaves. The coin comes up heads, but Bonnie despairs that this is the result of chance, not love. Geoff leaves her with the coin. She then realizes that it is the Kid's trick double-headed coin, Geoff's way of saying he loves her. She watches as Geoff and another pilot who have just two good arms between them fly a Travel Air high-wing monoplane off the soggy runway.
Cast
Production
thumb|Promotional photo of Richard Barthelmess, Cary Grant and Thomas Mitchell
Pre-production and casting
The film's original script outline was written by Anne Wigton; the working title originally was Plane No. 4. Howard Hawks re-wrote the film's scenario himself, based on a story that he wrote in 1938 titled Plane from Barranca. While he was scouting locations several years earlier, for the filming of Viva Villa!, Hawks had been especially inspired by the stoic aviation personnel that he had met in Mexico. The film's final script was written and re-written throughout the film's production, mostly by Hawks and Jules Furthman, but also with contributions by Eleanore Griffin and William Rankin.
Hawks had previously worked with Cary Grant the year before on Bringing Up Baby and this was the second of five collaborations between the director and the star.
He cast Jean Arthur in the leading role of Bonnie Lee after appraising her acting in several films directed by Frank Capra.
Hawks then hired silent film star Richard Barthelmess for the role of Bat MacPherson. Barthelmess's career had gradually diminished since sound films became popular in the late 1920s, and he was a controversial choice, mainly because he had recently had a botched plastic surgery operation on the skin under his eyes that resulted in permanent X-shaped scars under both of his eyes. Barthelmess usually wore heavy make-up to hide the scars, but Hawks wanted to use the scars for the character.
Hawks had originally cast Dorothy Comingore in the role of Judy MacPherson, but studio head Harry Cohn had been grooming a young starlet that would be advanced for the role. With backing from Cohn, her agent then insisted that Hawks give Rita Hayworth a screen test, which eventually resulted in Hayworth being cast in the role.