Hell's Angels (1930)

Director:

Howard Hughes

Writers:

Harry Behn (writer)
Howard Estabrook (writer)

Release Date:

15 November 1930 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

Howard Hughes' Thrilling Multi-Million Dollar Air Spectacle

Plot:

Two brothers attending Oxford enlist with the RAF when World War I breaks out. Roy and Monte Rutledge have very different personalities...

Plot Keywords:

Violin | Aerial Combat | Motorcycle | Sidecar | Suicide

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Ben Lyon	...	Monte Rutledge
James Hall	...	Roy Rutledge
Jean Harlow	...	Helen (as Jean Harlowe)
John Darrow	...	Karl Armstedt
Lucien Prival	...	Baron Von Kranz
Frank Clarke	...	Lt. von Bruen
Roy Wilson	...	Baldy Maloney
Douglas Gilmore	...	Capt. Redfield
Jane Winton	...	Baroness Von Kranz
Evelyn Hall	...	Lady Randolph
William B. Davidson	...	Staff Major
Wyndham Standing	...	RFC squadron commander
Lena Melana	...	Gretchen, waitress (as Lena Malena)
Marian Marsh	...	Girl selling kisses (as Marilyn Morgan)
Carl von Haartman	...	Zeppelin commander

Runtime:

127 min | Belgium:94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | French

Colour:

Black and White | Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Norway:16 | Brazil:14 | Iceland:16 | UK:A (original rating) (heavily cut) | UK:PG (video rating) (2005) (uncut) | USA:PG (re-release) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

The Caddo Company

Trivia:

This film cost $3.8 million, so expensive that it made no profit on its first release.

Quotes:

Helen: Would you be shocked if I put on something more comfortable?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Aviator (2004)

Soundtrack:

Roses from the South, Op.388

Jean Harlow in Technicolor!

'Hell's Angels', now available on DVD in a beautifully restored version, can now be enjoyed by all of us with tinted and full colour sequences intact.

Directed by Howard Hughes (with dialogue scenes staged by James Whale), this war movie is famous for two reasons - one, it has some of the most exciting air-borne battle sequences to appear on film; and two, it marks the feature film debut of Jean Harlow. She appears in colour for the only time in the 8 minute Lady Randolph's Party sequence about halfway into the film.

The story starts with three friends at Oxford - two brothers, the good-natured Roy (James Hall), and the fly-by-night Monte (Ben Lyon); and a German student, Karl (John Darrow). An early sequence features one of the brothers taking the other's place in a duel - important to remember for later in the saga; while the turning point of the first part is of course the start of the Great War (forcing Karl to join the enemy, and Roy and Monte to enlist as pilots). Roy has a well-to girlfriend, Helen (Harlow), who isn't quite the angel he takes her to be.

The aerial battles are by far the highlight of the film, although Harlow is good in her role, vamping all who come into her path. Evelyn Hall is agreeably twittery as Lady Randolph, while Lucien Prival overacts as Baron von Kranz. Roy Wilson provides some comic relief as 'Baldy' Maloney.

Originally planned and started as a silent movie, 'Hell's Angels' still has some problems with pacing and comes across as rather stilted in places. Ben Lyon is a bit of a problem as Monte - fine as a relaxed civilian, he doesn't convince in the later sequences.

All this aside, 'Hell's Angels' is a good film and looks fantastic after its clean-up. A very interesting viewing experience.