With the advent of the sound era, Barthelmess remained a star for a number of years. He played numerous leads in talkie films, most notably Son of the Gods (1930), The Dawn Patrol (1930), The Last Flight (1931), The Cabin in the Cotton (1932) and Heroes for Sale (1933). He was able to choose his own material and often played in controversial or socially conscious films. However, his popularity began to wane in the 1930s. He became too old for the boyish leads he usually played. In his later films (between 1939 and his retirement in 1942), he turned towards character roles – most notably, his supporting role as the disgraced pilot and husband of Rita Hayworth's character in Only Angels Have Wings (1939).
With the advent of the sound era, Barthelmess remained a star for a number of years. He played numerous leads in talkie films most notably Son of the Gods (1930), The Dawn Patrol (1930), The Last Flight (1931), The Cabin in the Cotton (1932) and Heroes for Sale (1933). He was able to choose his own material and often played in controversial or socially conscious films. However, his popularity began to wane in the 1930s. He became too old for the boyish leads he usually played. In ,his later films (between 1939 and his retirement in 1942), he turned towards character roles – most notably, his supporting role as the disgraced pilot and husband of Rita Hayworth's character in Only Angels Have Wings (1939).