Hell's Angels (1930)

Synopsis: One of James Whale's first films, HELL'S ANGELS is a story of love, war, and betrayal that rocketed Jean Harlow to stardom. The Rutledge brothers--upstanding Roy (James Hall) and irresponsible... One of James Whale's first films, HELL'S ANGELS is a story of love, war, and betrayal that rocketed Jean Harlow to stardom. The Rutledge brothers--upstanding Roy (James Hall) and irresponsible playboy Monte (Ben Lyon)--are carefree Oxford students until war breaks out. Their friend Karl (John Darrow) is unwillingly drafted for Germany, while Roy eagerly joins the Royal Flying Corps and Monte accidentally enlists. Meanwhile, Roy insists that Monte meet Helen (Jean Harlow), the beautiful girl he loves. When Helen and Monte meet, sparks fly. Helen is not the sweet girl that Roy imagines and takes every opportunity to prove it in some racy scenes that would become illegal under the Hays Office Production Code a few years later. As the war progresses, Monte begins to lose his nerve, and Roy must push him to accept a flying mission that could alter the entire war. In one of cinema's great air displays, the Royal planes fight the Germans in a dogfight to end all dogfights. Utilizing tinting for night scenes and the rarely used two-tone Technicolor process (watch for the zeppelin scene), HELL'S ANGELS is both a special effects wonder and an old-fashioned tale of betrayal and sacrifice. [More]

Starring: Ben Lyon, James Hall, Jean Harlow, John Darrow

Starring: Ben Lyon, James Hall, Jean Harlow, John Darrow, Lucien Prival, Roy Wilson

Director: Howard Hughes, James Whale

Director: Howard Hughes, James Whale
Producer: Howard Hughes
Screenwriter: Harry Behn, Howard Estabrook, Marshall Neilan
Story: Joseph Moncure March
Composer: Hugo Riesenfeld

[See More Credits]