York Times focused on the excitement found in the aerial scenes, also recognizing the talents of the star-studded cast, "Mr. Hawks has staged his flying sequences brilliantly ... He has made proper use of the amiable performing talents of Mr. Grant, Miss Arthur, Thomas Mitchell, Mr. Barthelmess, Sig Rumann and the rest." Only Angels have Wings was later selected as one of 12 films representing the U.S. at the first Cannes Film Festival. However, the festival was canceled in light of events leading up to World War II. On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 86 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "universal acclaim." Radio adaptations Two weeks after the film's premiere, Only Angels Have Wings was adapted as a one-hour radio play for the May 29, 1939 broadcast of Lux Radio Theatre. The film's principal actors, Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Rita Hayworth, Richard Barthelmess and Thomas Mitchell all reprised their roles. Orson Welles headlined a radio adaptation on The Campbell Playhouse on February 25, 1940, that starred Welles and Joan Blondell. Awards and honors Roy Davidson and Edwin C. Hahn were nominated for the first-time Best Effects, Special Effects. Legacy Only Angels Have Wings has become thought of as one of Hawks's best films, with Dave Kehr calling it the "equilibrium point" of Hawks's career, bridging themes developed in his early films of the 1930s to some of his darker films of the 1940s and 1950s. Film critics at Cahiers du Cinéma also praised the film in the 1950s as a quintessential support of the auteur theory. American film critic Mike D’Angelo has cited Only Angels Have Wings as his favorite film of all time, gifting a rare 100/100 rating and describing the film as “a tour de force of shifting dynamics.” See also List of misquotations: In one scene, Cary Grant calls after Hayworth's character by saying, "Judy, Judy." This is the closest he ever came on film to the misquotation associated with him: "Judy, Judy, Judy". List of films with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a film review aggregator website References Informational notes Citations Bibliography External links "Judy, Judy, Judy" FAQ Only Angels Have Wings: Hawks’s Genius Takes Flight an essay by Michael Sragow at the Criterion Collection Streaming audio Only Angels Have Wings on Lux Radio Theater: May 29, 1939 Only Angels Have Wings on The Campbell Playhouse: February 25, 1940 1939