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Cast

Cary Grant
as Geoff Carter

Jean Arthur
as Bonnie Lee

Richard Barthelmess
as Bat Mac Pherson

Rita Hayworth
as Judy MacPherson

Thomas Mitchell
as Kid Dabb

Sig Rumann
as Dutchman

Victor Kilian
as Sparks

John Carroll
as Gent Shelton

Allyn Joslyn
as Les Peters

Don 'Red' Barry
as Tex Gordon

Noah Beery Jr.
as Joe Souther

Melissa Sierra
as Lily

Lucio Villegas
as Dr. Logario

Forbes Murray
as Hartwood

Cecilia Callejo
as Felice

Pat Flaherty
as Mike

Pedro Regas
as Pancho

Pat West
as Baldy

Manuel Alvarez Maciste
as Balladeer

Sammee Tong
as Native Cook

Candy Candido
as Musician

Charles R. Moore
as Servant

Inez Palange
as Lily's Aunt

Rafael Storm
as Purser

Lou Davis
as Mechanic

James Millican
as Mechanic

Al Rhein
as Mechanic

Curley Dresden
as Mechanic

Ed Randolph
as Mechanic

Ky Robinson
as Mechanic

Bud Wolfe
as Mechanic

Eddie Foster
as Mechanic

Stanley Brown
as Hartwood Jr.

Wilson Benge
as Assistant Purser

Vernon Dent
as Ship Captain

Elana Duran
as Blonde Spanish Girl

Budd Fine
as First Mate

Jack Lowe
as Banana Foreman

Tex Higginson
as Banana Foreman

Francisco Maran
as Planter Overseer

Enrique Acosta
as Tourist

Raoul Lechuga
as Tourist

Dick Botiller
as Tourist

Victor Travers
as Planter

Harry A. Bailey
as Tourist

Amora Navarro
as Tourist

Tessie Murray
as Tourist

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News & Interviews for Only Angels Have Wings

Critic Reviews for Only Angels Have Wings

Audience Reviews for Only Angels Have Wings

• May 24, 2015

  Cary Grant leads a tight ensemble of mail pilots in the Andes Mountains for whom frequently bad weather conditions turn every regular day of work into a dance of death. Somehow Jean Arthur gets off the boat and gets involved with the guys first and then with Grant. Much of this doesn't make sense or add up and yet the presentation is so atmospheric and well done that damned if one doesn't hang around for the ride. Rita Hayworth, in her first A picture, sizzles even then.
  Kevin M. W Super Reviewer
• Apr 10, 2013

  It's a film about adventure and romance, but what we really have here is a study on the nature of death by director Howard Hawks. A lone adventuress (Jean Arthur) steps off the boat in a tiny South American banana port, and makes quick friends with some lonely american pilots working for the local mail company. It's a friendship that ends all too suddenly and all too violently. But where she would shed tears for a soul lost to dust, his fellow pilots choose to sing songs and even laugh it off, as death could come for any one of them at any time. The dashing head of the crew (Cary Grant) is perhaps the most cavalier of the group, but then, he has to be, as he's the one who sends them out (possibly to their deaths). She's attracted to him, and he to her, not as some flighty dame, but as a real woman who knows how to value life. But it becomes her task to convince him that she won't try to change him like his last love (Rita Hayworth) did, and he must make the effort to want something, to want her, for more than a passing fancy. He, who never owns so much as a book of matches, feeling it's too much of a commitment. In the face of the constant threat of death, maybe this all seems unimportant, or maybe it's the only thing that IS important. Maybe that's the heart of the matter, the issue of what this life is all about and what are we doing here and why are we doing it. There is a scene towards the end of the movie, a pilot is going on "one last flight", and it's one he must make alone. It's the elephant in the room, the fact that everyone knows, but no one wants to say aloud. That we all must one day die, and that we will die alone. The light will die within us and the mystery of death will finally be revealed. It may be wrong to fixate on our ultimate fate, but it's more wrongful still to deny that fate completely. Only Angels Have Wings is a microcosm of all our own little lives put together. We push forward and persevere in our work and loves in spite of our own mortality, because to do otherwise would be to negate our whole existence in the first place.
  Devon B Super Reviewer
• Sep 05, 2010

  This is probably my favourite Cary Grant movie of the thirties. Jean Arthur, another favourite actor, stars alongside him in this. The movie combines adventure, drama, romance, and a bit of comedy. I loved this movie, and I highly recommend it.
  Aj V Super Reviewer
• May 23, 2010

  *sigh* This is proof not all Cary Grant movies are good. The acting was great, of course, but the story was just severely lacking. Just at no point was I really intrigued or concerned by the characters. I'm not sure where all these positive reviews come from, but to each their own I guess. Bit of a sweet ending.
  Jennifer D Super Reviewer

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