Hell's Angels (1930)

Director:

Howard Hughes
(more)

Writers:

Marshall Neilan (story) and
Joseph Moncure March (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

15 November 1930 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

Howard Hughes' Thrilling Multi-Million Dollar Air Spectacle

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

German | Oxford | Munitions | Bombing Mission | Royal Flying Corps

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 Malena	...	Gretchen - Waitress
Marian Marsh	...	Girl Selling Kisses (as Marilyn Morgan)
Carl von Haartman	...	Zeppelin Commander (as Carl Von Haartman)
Ferdinand Schumann-Heink	...	First Officer of Zeppelin (as F. Schumann-Heink)
Stephen Carr	...	Elliott
Thomas Carr	...	Pilot
J. Granville-Davis	...	Pilot
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Howard Batt	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
George Berliner	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Bob Blair	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Eddie Brownell	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Hank Coffin	...	Pilot (uncredited)
Ross Cooke	...	Pilot (uncredited)
Lawford Davidson	...	British Officer Shot by Firing Squad (uncredited)
Jack Deery	...	Splashed Officer (uncredited)
Lucy Doraine	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Curt Furburg	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Frank Goddard	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Lisa Gora	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Douglas Gordon	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Owen Gorin	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Pat Harmon	...	Recruiting Sergeant (uncredited)
Hans Joby	...	Von Schlieben (uncredited)
Al Johnson	...	Pilot (uncredited)
Morey Johnson	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Werner Klingler	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Burton Lane	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Al Lary	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Garland Lincoln	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Rene Marvelle	...	French Girl (uncredited)
Maurice Murphy	...	Pilot (uncredited)
Stewart Murphy	...	Pilot (uncredited)
Leo Nomis	...	Pilot (uncredited)
Ira Reed	...	Pilot (uncredited)
Georgette Rhodes	...	French Girl (uncredited)
Harry Semels	...	Anarchist (uncredited)
Ernie Smith	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Pat Somerset	...	Marryat (uncredited)
Joan Standing	...	Roy's Dancing Partner (uncredited)
Harry Strang	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
C.F. Sullivan	...	Pilot (uncredited)
Gertrude Sutton	...	Canteen Worker (uncredited)
Frank Tomick	...	Pilot (uncredited)
Roscoe Turner	...	Pilot (uncredited)
Wilhelm von Brincken	...	Von Richter (uncredited)
Al Wilson	...	Pilot (uncredited)

Directed by
Howard Hughes
Edmund Goulding		(uncredited)
James Whale		(uncredited)

Writing credits
Marshall Neilan		(story) and
Joseph Moncure March		(story)
Howard Estabrook		(adaptation and continuity) and
Harry Behn		(adaptation and continuity)
Joseph Moncure March		(dialogue written by)

Produced by
Howard Hughes	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Hugo Riesenfeld		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Elmer Dyer		(photography)
Tony Gaudio		(photography) (as Antonio Gaudio)
Harry Perry		(photography)
E. Burton Steene		(photography)
Dewey Wrigley		(photography)
Harry Zech		(photography)

Film Editing by
Douglass Biggs		(edited by)
Frank Lawrence		(edited by)
Perry Hollingsworth		(uncredited)

Set Decoration by
Carroll Clark		(settings)
Julian Boone Fleming		(settings) (as Julian Boone-Fleming)

Production Management
Joseph W. Engel	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Fred Fleck	....	assistant director (uncredited)
William J. Scully	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Lodge Cunningham	....	sound

Visual Effects by
Phil Jones	....	smoke machine operator (uncredited)

Stunts
Frank Clarke	....	stunt pilot (uncredited)
Hank Coffin	....	stunt pilot (uncredited)
Ross Cooke	....	stunt pilot (uncredited)
Garland Lincoln	....	stunt pilot (uncredited)
Paul Mantz	....	stunt pilot (uncredited)
Maurice Murphy	....	stunt pilot (uncredited)
Stewart Murphy	....	stunt pilot (uncredited)
Leo Nomis	....	stunt pilot (uncredited)
Glenn Odekirk	....	stunt pilot (uncredited)
Raymond Earl Pease Sr.	....	stunt pilot (uncredited)
Clement K. Phillips	....	stunt pilot (uncredited)
Ira Reed	....	stunt pilot (uncredited)
Jerry Thrall	....	stunt pilot (uncredited)
Frank Tomick	....	stunt pilot (uncredited)
Roscoe Turner	....	stunt pilot (uncredited)
Al Wilson	....	stunt pilot (uncredited)
Roy Wilson	....	stunt pilot (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Osmond Borradaile	....	aerial photographer (uncredited)
Charles P. Boyle	....	aerial photographer (uncredited)
Jack Breamer	....	aerial photographer (uncredited)
Edward Colman	....	aerial photographer (uncredited)
Henry Cronjager Jr.	....	aerial photographer (uncredited)
Fred R. Eldridge	....	aerial photographer (uncredited)
Jockey Arthur Feindel	....	aerial photographer (uncredited)
Pliny Goodfriend	....	aerial photographer (uncredited)
Jack Greenhalgh	....	aerial photographer (uncredited)
Roy Greiner	....	aerial photographer (uncredited)
Paul Ivano	....	aerial photographer (uncredited)
Glenn Kershner	....	aerial photographer (uncredited)
Donald Biddle Keyes	....	aerial photographer (uncredited)
Roy H. Klaffki	....	aerial photographer (uncredited)
Edward A. Kull	....	aerial photographer (uncredited)
Sam Landers	....	aerial photographer (uncredited)
Ernest Laszlo	....	photographer: second unit (uncredited)
Jack MacKenzie	....	aerial photographer (uncredited)
Paul Perry	....	aerial photographer (uncredited)
Herman Schopp	....	aerial photographer (uncredited)
Cliff Shirpser	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
John Silver	....	aerial photographer (uncredited)
Edward Snyder	....	aerial photographer (uncredited)
William H. Tuers	....	aerial photographer (uncredited)
L. Guy Wilky	....	aerial photographer (uncredited)
Alvin Wyckoff	....	aerial photographer (uncredited)

Music Department
Hugo Riesenfeld	....	musical arrangement

Other crew
J.B. Alexander	....	chief of aeronautics
Roy Davidson	....	technical engineer (as E. Roy Davidson)
Howard Hughes	....	presenter
James Whale	....	dialogue stager
Howard Estabrook	....	continuity (uncredited)

Production Companies

• The Caddo Company

Distributors

• United Artists (1930) (USA) (theatrical)
• Les Artistes Associés (1931) (France) (theatrical)
• Suomi-Filmi (1931) (Finland) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1937) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Atlantic Pictures Corporation (1938) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Astor Pictures Corporation (1939) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Astor Pictures Corporation (1947) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Universal Pictures (1982) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• David and Lucile Packard Foundation, The  funding provided by: preservation
• UCLA Film and Television Archive  this film has been preserved by

Also Known As:

Runtime:

127 min | Belgium:94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | French

Color:

Black and White | Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) (heavily cut) | UK:PG (video rating) (2005) (uncut) | USA:PG (re-release) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Iceland:16 | Norway:16 | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-16 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

The Caddo Company

Trivia:

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

Quotes:

Helen:I wanna be free. I wanna be gay and have fun. Life's short. And I wanna live while I'm alive.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Harlow: The Blonde Bombshell (1993) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Im Grunewald ist Holzauktion

Dated, but still interesting and exciting.

This film, produced only three years after sound entered the movies, is entertaining and thoughtful. It makes good use of sound effects and has great visual effects as well. The flight scenes are impressive. Hughes flew a plane in this film (but crashed it) and three other pilots were killed during filming. The scenes of dozens of tiny aircraft swarming in the sky are still breathtaking. The plot is standard good-guys/bad-guys but adds some sensitivity to all parties. We have groups fighting a war in the air, and not too happy to be doing it. But they do their jobs, and give their lives for victory. The scene of Germans abandoning their airship is particularly wrenching and affective. Some token love interests and the usual inept comedy characters round out the cast, which all stood up to the task as well as anyone in 1930.

Jean Harlow gets her first billing in this film (she's one of my all time favorites), so it is her breakthrough movie.

Not a keeper, but see it if you can.