HOWARD HUGHES’ HELL’S ANGELS
THE MENACING SQUADRON OF FOKKER D.VIIS, LED BY LEGENDARY ACE MANFRED VON RICHTHOFEN, PROWLED IN TIGHT FORMATION AGAINST A TRANQUIL BACKDROP OF THICK, BILLOWY CLOUDS.
The wide-open canvas, however, soon became cluttered with the arrival of scores of British aircraft.
What followed was the most dizzying, fierce dogfight ever witnessed, featuring a steady exchange of blistering gunfire and acrobatic maneuvering—until the action was suddenly halted with a single command: “Cut!”
The hair-raising scene took place over the skies of northern California, not battle-torn Europe. And the order wasn’t given by a high-ranking officer, but by 23-year-old novice director and aviation enthusiast Howard Hughes Jr., shooting his epic World War I movie, Hell’s Angels. Ultimately, most of the film’s drama would play out off-screen, including transitioning from silent film to sound, recasting lead actors, the death of four airmen and a scandalous performance by an unknown teenage actress, Jean Harlow. But then and now, the movie is best remembered for the stunning aerial sequences that signaled the arrival of Hughes on the world stage.
Hughes’ interest in flight developed at an early age. His father, a Houston businessman who made a fortune developing oil-drilling equipment, treated his son to a short ride aboard a Curtiss flying boat.
