Review #1332: Hell's Angels.
Cast:
Ben Lyon (Monte Rutledge), James Hall (Roy Rutledge), Jean Harlow (Helen), John Darrow (Karl Arnstedt), 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), and Wyndham Standing (RFC squadron commander) Directed by Howard Hughes, James Whale (#069 - The Invisible Man, #071 - Frankenstein, #394 - Bride of Frankenstein, and #465 - The Old Dark House) and Edmund Goulding.
Review:
Jean Harlow was a star that burned just as twice as bright as others that burned half as long as others for the 1930s during her short career. This was her first breakthrough film happened just appeared in bit roll since 1928 (when she was 17) before being noticed by James Hall while on production on this film which was in transition (having started in October of 1927). The film needed a new lead actress in order to be a talkie since Greta Nissen was being replaced in the lead role because of her Norwegian accent. The man behind the film as producer and director was Howard Hughes, business magnate/engineer who had produced films since 1926 most notably with Two Arabian Knights (1927). He spent nearly three million dollars on this film, sparing no expense in making his epic air story. The film went through multiple directors (Marshall Neilan, Luther Reed), multiple pilots being killed in airplane crashes, and a lawsuit by Hughes in order to provide to try and prevent another pilot film with The Dawn Patrol (1930) from beating it to theaters. The film was not a major success on upon original release, in part because of the large production costs, but it is now known as one of the earliest standout action films. Of note is the dialogue direction by James Whale, who had done direction for the stage production of Journey's End (which coincidentally would be turned into a film by Whale that same year); there was also some direction done by Goulding, now known for his cultured dramas like Grand Hotel (1932) and The Razor's Edge (1946). There were two writers for the film - Marshall Neilan (story) and Joseph Moncure March (story and dialogue). The film certainly works better on the sum of its action sequences more so than its acting but it is generally interesting to sit through then as now. I will admit though that one film that definitely came to mind when watching this film was Wings (1927), which also featured a love triangle within a World War I plot alongside of notable flashes of color during sequences (although this does that through tinting and an eight minutes Multicolor filmed sequence). While Wings is definitely the better film in its composition, it shouldn't hinder the enjoyment of Hell's Angels - an imperfect but interesting experience that fits for some worthy escapism, albeit one that is a bit long at 131 minutes, but it sure is dreary enough for an epic aviation war film, I suppose.
The highlights of the film are the air sequences and Harlow, undeniably. It is a joy to see scenes done in the air, where one can always seem to sense riveting danger (whether for the character or for the actual pilot) without becoming bored by seeing plane flying and shooting at each other, probably because of how well crafted it is in filming and in execution. Hughes knows what he likes to see in the air come out on screen - this was the first of two films he directed (with the other taking just as long to come out in The Outlaw). The main two actors in Lyon and Hall do not fare as well with attention. Simply put: they are flat, and they barely even seem like siblings at all, with their interactions being the kind of wooden that plague films that know they can't be just action all the time but needs to pad themselves out anyway. Even though Harlow doesn't have as much screen experience as her two male stars, she excels in presence in each scene she appears in. She has that "it" factor like others before her, a bombshell that fits her era handily. Darrow is almost easy to forget, since his dilemma (a German Oxford student conscripted into the nation's Air Force) disappears halfway through (namely by dropping him from the sky) without much to say. Prival makes for an adequate adversary (he even gets to do a duel!), at least. If one is here for air action, you will get that will no trouble, with one even having blue tint to go with its night setting for wondrous effect (with the highlight being a plane crashing right into a blimp). The rest doesn't quite measure up, but it will prove adequate enough for entertainment for its era without trouble.
Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.
