Movies Like Only Angels Have Wings (1939)

Only Angels Have Wings is a 1939 adventure, drama, romance film from Howard Hawks with a MovieMagicScore of 7.3/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Flying Down to Rio and Night Flight.

Adventure Drama Romance

Flying Down to Rio

1933

An American bandleader woos a Brazilian beauty who is already engaged to his employer. His friends try to help him, while learning the local dance, The Carioca. The first pairing of Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers, and their only pre-Code film.

6.2

MagicScore

Night Flight

1933

Story of South American mail pilots, and the dangers they face flying at night.

5.6

MagicScore

In Search of the Castaways

1962

Two teenagers, Mary (Hayley Mills) and Robert (Keith Hamshere) are lead by Professor Paganel (Maurice Chevalier) on a search expedition for the children's shipwrecked sea captain father. This Disney film was based upon Jules Verne's 1868 adventure novel Captain Grant's Children.

6.4

MagicScore

Romancing the Stone

1984

Though she can spin wild tales of passionate romance, novelist Joan Wilder has no life of her own. Then one day adventure comes her way in the form of a mysterious package. It turns out that the parcel is the ransom she'll need to free her abducted sister, so Joan flies to South America to hand it over. But she gets on the wrong bus and winds up hopelessly stranded in the jungle.

6.8

MagicScore

The Princess and the Pilot

2011

The war between the Levamme Empire and the Amatsukami Imperium has been raging for years. In the midst of this struggle, the prince of the Levamme Empire declares his love for Juana del Moral and vows to end the war in one year, as part of his marriage proposal. When the Amatsukami catch wind of this, they assault the del Moral residence, targeting Juana's life. As a last-ditch effort to bring the prince his bride, the San Maltilia Airforce employs a mercenary of mixed blood—a bestado—to fly Juana to the prince in secret.

7.8

MagicScore

Top Gun

1986

For Lieutenant Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell and his friend and co-pilot Nick 'Goose' Bradshaw, being accepted into an elite training school for fighter pilots is a dream come true. But a tragedy, as well as personal demons, will threaten Pete's dreams of becoming an ace pilot.

7.1

MagicScore

A Guy Named Joe

1943

A cocky U.S. Army Air Force pilot stationed in England during World War II falls for a daring female flier. After he's killed on a mission, he's sent back to Earth by a heavenly General with a new assignment.

6.6

MagicScore

The Red Baron

2008

Richthofen goes off to war like thousands of other men. As fighter pilots, they become cult heroes for the soldiers on the battlefields. Marked by sportsmanlike conduct, technical exactitude and knightly propriety, they have their own code of honour. Before long he begins to understand that his hero status is deceptive. His love for Kate, a nurse, opens his eyes to the brutality of war.

6.6

MagicScore

Always

1989

The spirit of a recently deceased expert pilot mentors a newer pilot while watching him fall in love with the girlfriend that he left behind.

6.3

MagicScore

#10

Air America

1990

Air America was the CIA's private airline operating in Laos during the Vietnam War, running anything and everything from soldiers to foodstuffs for local villagers. After losing his pilot's license, Billy Covington is recruited, and ends up in the middle of a bunch of lunatic pilots, gun-running by his friend Gene Ryack, and opium smuggling by his own superiors.

5.8

MagicScore

#11

Airport '77

1977

Flight 23 has crashed in the Bermuda Triangle after a hijacking gone wrong. Now the surviving passengers must brave panic, slow leaks, oxygen depletion, and more while attempting a daring plan, all while 200 feet underwater.

5.6

MagicScore

#12

Iron Eagle II

1988

Chappy Sinclair is called to gather together a mixed Soviet/U.S. strike force that will perform a surgical strike on a massively defended nuclear missile site in the Middle East. Chappy finds that getting the Soviet and U.S. Pilots to cooperate is only the most minor of his problems as he discovers someone in the Pentagon is actively sabotaging his mission.

4.5

MagicScore

#13

Emergency Declaration

2022

While investigating a terroristic threat that goes viral online, Korean authorities discover that a suspect has recently boarded an international flight bound for the United States. When a healthy passenger on the same flight suddenly dies a gruesome death of unknown cause, panic erupts both in-flight and on the ground. With steadily decreasing fuel and international refusals to offer aid, the captain and crew will be forced to take unprecedented emergency measures in an attempt to save the lives of their passengers.

7.5

MagicScore

#14

Sully

2016

On 15 January 2009, the world witnessed the 'Miracle on the Hudson' when Captain 'Sully' Sullenberger glided his disabled plane onto the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 souls aboard. However, even as Sully was being heralded by the public and the media for his unprecedented feat of aviation skill, an investigation was unfolding that threatened to destroy his reputation and career.

7.2

MagicScore

#15

Pearl Harbor

2001

The lifelong friendship between Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker is put to the ultimate test when the two ace fighter pilots become entangled in a love triangle with beautiful Naval nurse Evelyn Johnson. But the rivalry between the friends-turned-foes is immediately put on hold when they find themselves at the center of Japan's devastating attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

6.9

MagicScore

#16

Plane

2023

After a heroic job of successfully landing his storm-damaged aircraft in a war zone, a fearless pilot finds himself between the agendas of multiple militias planning to take the plane and its passengers hostage.

6.9

MagicScore

#17

Flight

2012

Commercial airline pilot Whip Whitaker has a problem with drugs and alcohol, though so far he's managed to complete his flights safely. His luck runs out when a disastrous mechanical malfunction sends his plane hurtling toward the ground. Whip pulls off a miraculous crash-landing that results in only six lives lost. Shaken to the core, Whip vows to get sober -- but when the crash investigation exposes his addiction, he finds himself in an even worse situation.

6.8

MagicScore

#18

The Tarnished Angels

1957

In the 1930s, once-great World War I pilot Roger Shumann performs as a daredevil barnstorming pilot at aerial stunt shows while his wife, LaVerne, works as a parachutist. When newspaper reporter Burke Devlin arrives to do a story on the Shumanns’ act, he quickly falls in love with the beautiful--and neglected--LaVerne.

6.7

MagicScore

#19

Happy Flight

2008

A variety of aviation professionals such as pilots, flight attendants, the ground crew, mechanics, dispatchers, controllers, and the bird patrol crew all support a single flight. They have only one mission: to secure the safety of the passengers.

6.3

MagicScore

#20

Talespin: Plunder & Lightning

1990

In the series premiere, Baloo, an air cargo pilot, meets Kit Cloudkicker, a 12-year-old orphan, and takes him on as his navigator. He also loses his business to Rebecca Cunningham, a business major who becomes his boss. Meanwhile, Don Karnage, a notorious air pirate, uses a special gem stolen from Shere Khan's company, Khan Industries, to power a lightning gun and threaten Cape Suzette.

6.2

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Only Angels Have Wings?

The top films similar to Only Angels Have Wings by MovieMagicScore are Flying Down to Rio (6.2), Night Flight (5.6), In Search of the Castaways (6.4). Each shares adventure/drama/romance themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Only Angels Have Wings worth watching?

Only Angels Have Wings holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.3/10 from 258 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Only Angels Have Wings?

Only Angels Have Wings (1939) is a adventure, drama, romance film directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Thomas Mitchell.

Where can I find more recommendations like Only Angels Have Wings?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more adventure recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Flying Down to Rio Movies like Night Flight Movies like In Search of the Castaways Movies like Romancing the Stone Movies like The Princess and the Pilot Movies like Top Gun

About movies like Only Angels Have Wings

This ranked list pairs Only Angels Have Wings (1939), a adventure and drama and romance film from Howard Hawks, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Cary Grant take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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