Plot
Geoff Carter (Cary Grant) is a pilot and the manager of Barranca Airways, a small, barely solvent air service owned by "Dutchy" Van Reiter (Sig Ruman) carrying mail from the fictional South American port town of Barranca over the Andes Mountains. Bonnie Lee (Arthur), a piano-playing entertainer, arrives one day and becomes infatuated with Carter, despite his fatalistic attitude about the dangerous mountain flying, and stays on in Barranca (not at Carter's invitation, as he insists on telling her).
The situation is complicated by the appearance of Bat MacPherson (Richard Barthelmess) and his wife Judy (Rita Hayworth). MacPherson is a pilot shunned by other fliers because he once bailed out of a plane, leaving his mechanic — the brother of "Kid" Dabb (Thomas Mitchell), Carter's best friend — to be killed in the resulting crash. Carter needs pilots desperately, but he is unwilling to hire MacPherson even so. However, when Judy begs him to give her husband a chance, he gives in, with the proviso that MacPherson will get the most dangerous flights. MacPherson understands and accepts the setup: none of the other pilots would shed a tear if he were lost.
Dutchy will secure a lucrative government mail contract that would put the airline on a solid financial footing if he can provide reliable service during a trial period. On the last day of the trial, bad weather closes a mountain pass. Bat and Kid try flying over the mountains in a new Ford Trimotor instead. However, they are unable to climb high enough. On the way back, a bird crashes through the windshield, paralyzing Kid. Bat refuses to bail out and manages to land the burning plane. Kid dies, but not before telling Geoff of Bat's heroism. As a result, Bat is finally welcomed by the others.
Bonnie finally gives up on Geoff and bids him goodbye. He offers to toss a coin to decide: heads, she stays; tails, she leaves. Then the weather clears; Geoff rushes out to secure the all-important contract. Bonnie is unwilling to decide her life so haphazardly, until she sees that the coin has heads on both sides.
Read more about this topic: Only Angels Have Wings
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