Hollywood Magic
From pinterest.com, media reaction to coming snowstorm:
Last night AMGTV, channel 39–1 on OTA in NYC, ran a movie I’d only recently heard of, Hell’s Angels (1930), directed by aviator/tycoon Howard Hughes with assists from James Whale (Frankenstein {1931}) and Edmund Goulding (Grand Hotel {1932}). It was first shot as a silent film circa 1928, then almost entirely redone. It’s the story of brothers studying at Oxford called to service during WWI. Although choppy and sketchy, it is often riveting. Filmed in California during the pre-code period, there is a lot of bawdiness, couples making out, often drunkenly. Jean Harlow plays a woman who has no intention of settling down, determined to have fun, frustrating males who pursue her. That was ahead of its time, at least in American cinema, but it’s not what makes the film memorable. There is a long stretch where a zeppelin goes on a bombing raid of London. The mechanics are fascinating, and the ship’s need to lighten its load so that it can fly higher than enemy planes can safely go is handled in a most surprising, shocking way. And then there’s the climactic air battle, which is brilliantly shot. According to IMDb: “Stunt pilots refused to perform an aerial sequence that director Howard Hughes wanted. Hughes, a noted aviator himself, did his own flying. He got the shot, but he also crashed the plane.” Its lone Oscar nomination was for Best Cinematography, Tony Gaudio & Harry Perry. The flick also deals with pilot stress similar to the way 12 O’clock High (1949) did two decades later. There is smoking and drinking to excess. There is a holdover from the silent era — the occasional use of explanatory prose filling the entire screen. There are also splashes of color here and there. I guess Hughes really was a genius and not just a rich oddball. I mean, to be able to make such a work as an amateur borders on unbelievable. I was unfamiliar with everyone in the cast except for Harlow. The brothers were played by Ben Lyon and James Hall. The former has 72 credits, career spanning 1918-’55 — and another interesting claim to fame. While working as casting director at 20th Century-Fox, he discovered and named Marilyn Monroe. He was married to Bebe Daniels (42nd Street {1932} among her 234 credits) until her passing at 70 in ’71. She was the mother of his two children. His second marriage ended with his death at 78 in ’79. Hall was a tragic figure, drinking himself to death by 39. There are 32 titles under his name. Harlow died at 26. Stricken with scarlet fever at 15, she was never really in good health. She had three brief marriages that ended in divorce, no children. Photos from Google Images:
Hall & Lyon:
It was a cold, abbreviated session of the Anti-Inflation Book Shop. My thanks to the woman who bought a hardcover in Russia, and to Herbie, who donated three highly marketable paperbacks. It looks like there will be a hiatus possibly lasting a week. This is the first real winter we’ve had in several years.
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