Hell's Angels is a 1930 American pre-Code independent epic war film directed and produced by Howard Hughes and director of dialogue James Whale. Written by Harry Behn and Howard Estabrook and starring Ben Lyon, James Hall and Jean Harlow, it was released through United Artists. It follows two dissimilar brothers, both members of the British Royal Flying Corps during the First World War.
Theatrical release poster
Jean Harlow and Ben Lyon in Hell's Angels
Clarke and Roy Wilson flying an S.E.5A (front) and a Fokker D.VII (back) in the movie Hell's Angels.
Howard Robard Hughes Jr.
was an American aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, investor, philanthropist, and pilot. He was best known during his lifetime as one of the richest and most influential people in the world. He first became prominent as a film producer, and then as an important figure in the aviation industry. Later in life, he became known for his eccentric behavior and reclusive lifestyle—oddities that were caused in part by his worsening obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), chronic pain from a near-fatal plane crash, and increasing deafness.
Hughes in 1938
Hughes in April 1912
Hughes' house
Hughes on the cover of Time magazine, July 1948 (with the Hughes H-4 Hercules in the background)