The Lion Has Wings shot in 12 days, and completed in about four weeks, at a cost of just £30,000, a notable achievement in the times. Within days of its release, copies had been shipped to 60 countries. Although it is difficult to determine its actual impact on the public, "The Lion Has Wings" was considered a significant factor in persuading the British government to allow the film industry to continue to work, and the film was regarded as a model of how filmmakers could be an asset to the war effort. Like many propaganda films, "The Lion Has Wings" does not tell the
Only Angels Have Wings adapted as a radio play for the May 29, 1939, broadcast of "Lux Radio Theater". The film's principal actors Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Rita Hayworth, Richard Barthlemess and Thomas Mitchell all reprised their roles, alongside several others. Orson Welles headlined a radio adaptation on "The Campbell Playhouse" on February 25, 1940, that starred Welles and Joan Blondell. "Only Angels Have Wings" was nominated for two Academy Awards: Joseph Walker for Best Cinematography, Black-and-white, Roy Davidson and Edwin C. Hahn for the first-time Best Effects, Special Effects. "Only Angels Have Wings" has become thought of as one of Hawks's best films,