Hell's Angels was a 1930 film directed by Howard Hughes.

Production

In 1929, aviation mogul Howard Hughes, fresh off the Oscar nomination for his film The Racket, decided to make his next film about the dogfighters of World War I and their "magnificent airplanes" as Hughes called them. Hughes poured money into the production, which he named Hell's Angels, filling it with death defying airplane stunts, international locations, and two technicolor scenes, all of which worked to eventually make it the first multi-million dollar production at 3.8 million dollars. Originally, the film was to star James Hall and Ben Lyon as Roy and Monte Rutledge, and Norwegian silent film star Greta Nissen as Helen, the female lead, and was to be directed by Marshall Neilan . Before the picture even began filming, Hughes' overbearing production techniques forced Neilan to quit. Hughes took over the directing reins, assisted by Luther Reed . Midway through production, the advent of the sound motion picture came with the arrival of The Jazz Singer. Hughes incorporated the new technology into the half finished film, but the first casualty of the sound age became Greta Nissen and her Norwegian accent. The role was soon filled with an up-and-coming star found by Hughes himself, Jean Harlow. He also used technicolor coloration for two of the scenes, providing the only color glimpse of Harlow in film history. During the shoot, Hughes designed many aerial stunts for the dogfighting scenes. He hired actual WWI aces to fly the stunt planes, but after three of them died in the extreme sequences, the rest refused to fly for the final scene, saying that they were sure to crash. The aviator in Hughes came out and he flew the scene, getting the shot. As the pilots predicted, however, he crashed the plane, escaping with only minor injuries.

Plot

Roy and Monte Rutledge, two young men studying at Oxford, are both unrepentant womanizers with a sibling rivalry over the love of Helen. After a Zeppelin attack on London, the two enlist in the Royal Air Force and go off to fight the Germans. After a successful raid on a German munitions dump, an aerial dogfight ensues, ending with the brothers being shot down. Captured by the Germans and given the opportunity to free themselves, shell-shocked Roy believes that Monte is about to give up the information the Germans need. He shoots Monte, who dies in his arms forgiving him, prompting the Germans to kill Roy in retaliation.

Quotes

"Would you be shocked if I put on something more comfortable?" - Jean Harlow as Helen

The Aviator

The filming of Hell's Angels was a prominent part of Martin Scorcese's film, The Aviator about the life of Howard Hughes. The film depicts Hughes' struggles with Nielan and the extravangant extents to which he went to ensure accuracy throughout production.

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