Hell’s Angels – Criterion

Directors: Howard Hughes, Edmund Goulding (uncredited), James Whale (uncredited)
Screenplay: Marshall Neilan, Joseph Moncure March, Howard Estabrook, Harry Behn
Starring: Ben Lyon, James Hall, Jean Harlow, John Darrow, Lucien Prival, Frank Clarke, Roy Wilson
Country: USA
Running Time: 131 min
Year: 1930
BBFC Certificate: PG

The story behind Howard Hughes’ production of Hell’s Angels is possibly more tumultuous than the drama within the film itself. Indeed, it plays a key part in Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed biopic of Hughes, The Aviator.

Hell’s Angels cost $2.8 million, which was a huge amount back in 1930, when the film was released. In fact, whilst it was one of the highest-grossing films of its time, it failed to recoup its budget. It was truly a labour of love then, for its famously eccentric, aeroplane-worshipping producer/director.

It was a three-year production, during which time the film changed from being a silent picture to a sound one. Hughes went through several directors too, before taking over the role himself, believing no one else could truly realise his vision. Much of the film had to be reshot, and he got James Whale to direct the dialogue scenes on the ground. The young, soon-to-be-a-star Jean Harlow was brought on at a later stage too, replacing Greta Nissen, whose Norwegian accent proved problematic after the film changed from being a silent to a ‘talkie’.

As mentioned, this indulgent war movie was a big hit, which helped put Harlow on the map. I think it’s probably best known for the story behind it now, rather than for the film itself. To give Hell’s Angels a new lease of life, however, is The Criterion Collection, who are releasing the film on UHD & Blu-ray.

I got hold of a copy, and my thoughts follow.

Hell’s Angels centres around two British brothers, Roy (James Hall) and Monte Rutledge (Ben Lyon), whose differing temperaments are tested by love, loyalty, and the horrors of World War I. The film opens in prewar Germany and soon after moves to Oxford, where the idealistic and honourable Roy and his carefree, womanising brother Monte become entangled with the seductive Helen (Jean Harlow), whose duplicity drives a wedge between them.

When war breaks out, both brothers enlist in the Royal Flying Corps, whilst their German friend Karl (John Darrow) is forced to fight for his own country in their flying division.

The story follows the three men as they experience the brutality and chaos of war. All the while, Roy continues to carry a torch for Helen, whom he believes to be a virtuous woman. As Monte and the audience full well know though, she’s nothing of the sort.

The general consensus surrounding Hell’s Angels is that the flying scenes are great and the rest of the film is pretty mediocre, and I have to agree with that sentiment.

The aerial scenes don’t properly kick off until 45 minutes into the film, and everything that comes before that is pretty clunky. I was surprised to hear that James Whale directed most of this material, as, whilst there are some nice shots here and there, the grounded scenes are blandly melodramatic.

Ben Lyon and James Hall aren’t particularly charismatic leads, but it’s the script that lets it all down. It largely centres around the fact that Helen is a vamp who likes to sleep around, and Monte is aware of this, but Roy is oblivious to the fact. This doesn’t make for captivating viewing, not aided by poorly developed, uninteresting characters.

There’s a hint of a decent story in play when Karl is sent to fight against his friends and the country in which he’s lived. Sadly, it only features in a small portion of the film. It does culminate in a bold bit of subterfuge, but I’d have preferred the friendship between the three men to take precedence over the seedy love triangle that dominates.

It was Jean Harlow’s first major lead role. She admits herself she was no actress, though I felt she was the most captivating performer in this film, despite playing such an unlikeable character.

I couldn’t help but compare the film to Wings from 1927, as I watched that fairly recently and found it much more enjoyable, overall. It shares a vaguely similar and still rather cliched central romance, but this is more effectively told and engaging in William A. Wellman’s film.

When Roy, Monte and Karl set off in their planes, however, Hell’s Angels really, er, takes off.

Being such a keen aviation enthusiast, Hughes designed many of the aerial stunts himself, alongside pilot Harry Parry. These are truly spectacular, especially when you consider the flimsiness of the aircraft used.

Indeed, several people actually died in the making of the film – three stunt pilots and a mechanic. Hughes himself even crashed a plane and fractured his skull after taking on a stunt that principal stunt pilot Paul Mantz refused to do, deeming it too dangerous.

The aerial scenes look stunning too, presented with a blue tint (as the raids take place at night) and containing some thrilling in-cockpit shots. Great use is made of clouds, particularly in the zeppelin scene, where you see the craft eerily drift through and in amongst them, for cover. I believe this was done using large ‘miniatures’, which is very effective. It’s not as noticeable as in many films that used the same technique in the near-century that followed.

There are also some shocking moments in the battle scenes. Most notably, when the zeppelin captain takes drastic measures to keep ahead of the British fighter planes.

Overall then, Hell’s Angels doesn’t really take off until its characters do, but when it hits the skies, the film truly is a marvel. I certainly preferred Wings, which was made a few years prior, but Hughes’ passion project is still worth a watch, if only for the aerial scenes.

Film:

Hell’s Angels is out on 24th November on 4K UHD & Blu-Ray in the UK, released by The Criterion Collection. I watched the Blu-ray disc, and the film is a tad soft. Plus, there’s some damage on the ‘full’ colour segment, but overall it’s an impressive transfer for a film of its age. The mono soundtrack has some hiss, but again, considering the age of the film, it sounds good.

Disc/Package:

Where to watch Hell's Angels