Hell's Angels (1930)

Brothers Monte and Ray leave Oxford to join the Royal Flying Corps. Ray loves Helen; Helen enjoys an affair with Monte; before they leave on their mission over Germany they find her in still another man's arms.

Director:

Howard Hughes

Writers:

Marshall Neilan (story), Joseph Moncure March (story),

Stars:

Ben Lyon, James Hall, Jean Harlow

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 Malena	...	Gretchen - Waitress
Marian Marsh	...	Girl Selling Kisses (as Marilyn Morgan)
Carl von Haartman	...	Zeppelin Commander (as Carl Von Haartman)

Storyline

Two brothers attending Oxford enlist with the RAF when World War I breaks out. Roy and Monte Rutledge have very different personalities. Monte is a freewheeling womanizer, even with his brother's girlfriend Helen. He also proves to have a yellow streak when it comes to his Night Patrol duties. Roy is made of strong moral fiber and attempts to keep his brother in line. Both volunteer for an extremely risky two man bombing mission for different reasons. Monte wants to lose his cowardly reputation and Roy seeks to protect his brother. Their assignment to knock out a strategic German munitions facility is a booming success, but with a squadron of fighters bearing down on them afterwards, escape seems unlikely.

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Plot Keywords:

german | oxford | munitions | bombing mission | royal flying corps | 

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Taglines:

Worth Waiting Three Years to See -- Worth the Four Million Dollars It Took to Make it -- Worth the Dangers Risked to Film It --

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German French

Release Date:

15 November 1930 (USA)

Also Known As:

A pokol angyalai

Filming Locations:

Hollywood Center Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,950,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Caddo Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

An eight-minute two-strip Technicolor sequence remains the only surviving color footage of its star, Jean Harlow.

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Quotes

Monte Rutledge: Listen, Roy, never love a woman. Just make love to her.

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Connections

Featured in The Missing Person (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Der kleine Rekrut"
(uncredited)
Music by Friedrich Kücken
Arranged by Hugo Riesenfeld

User Reviews

The First Great Action Epic of the Talking Era

With the release of "The Aviator" there will be renewed, and well deserved, interest in this classic. Hell's Angels holds together surprisingly well for a 75 year old film. Sure there is the over-emoting one would expect from a film that bridges the era between silents and talkies, but the character development is good, the flight scenes are amazing and the story holds the attention from beginning to end. And we haven't even talked about Jean Harlow!! There can be no doubt that Howard Hughes was a genius, a perfectionist, and that he set out to, and did, produce of of the greatest movies of all time. The most expensive film of it's day, and worth every penny.