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Helll's Angels (1930) Jean Harlow's Big Break
Posted on 9/30/25 at 5:10 pm
Posted on 9/30/25 at 5:10 pm
A Pre-Code film that includes everything the Hays Code aimed to ban from movies: infidelity, prostitution, unmarried sex, and heavy drinking. Harlow portrayed a femme fatale, manipulating one brother against another.
Interestingly, part of the film was shot in color using a two-color process developed in the 1920s. The scene where Jean Harlow appears was filmed in color. Howard Hughes spared no expense in making this movie.
The legendary stunt pilot Paul Mantz refused to perform one of the stunts, citing it as too dangerous. Hughes performed the stunt himself, suffering a fractured skull.
4
Posted on 9/30/25 at 6:44 pm to blueridgeTiger
But it always makes me feel a little sad towards Greta Nissen, who got bumped from the role.
We do get to see Nissen in a few early talkies, like "Circus Queen Murder" and "Silent Witness." And a bit in "Melody Cruise" with Phil Harris. She eventually went to England and made some films, like "Red Wagon" (1934), which had an American star as lead, Charles Bickford. But poor Nissen never got a signature role like "Hell's Angels" would have been.
The dogfight scenes in "Hell's Angels" are absolutely jaw-dropping.
We do get to see Nissen in a few early talkies, like "Circus Queen Murder" and "Silent Witness." And a bit in "Melody Cruise" with Phil Harris. She eventually went to England and made some films, like "Red Wagon" (1934), which had an American star as lead, Charles Bickford. But poor Nissen never got a signature role like "Hell's Angels" would have been.
The dogfight scenes in "Hell's Angels" are absolutely jaw-dropping.
Posted on 9/30/25 at 7:34 pm to blueridgeTiger
Apparently, Paul Mantz was right.
Posted on 9/30/25 at 8:52 pm to blueridgeTiger
The making of this film is covered nicely in “The Aviator”
Posted on 10/1/25 at 8:57 am to Aeolian Vocalion
quote:
But it always makes me feel a little sad towards Greta Nissen, who got bumped from the role.
The film was originally shot as a silent film, but the public wanted talkies, so it was redone. Hughes decided Nissen's Norwegian accent wouldn't be well received, so Harlow was given the part.
Greta Nissen
Jean Harlow
Posted on 10/1/25 at 11:51 am to blueridgeTiger
I might very likely prefer the 'silent' version of "Hell's Angles," since the weakest part of the otherwise massively grand epic is the lame dialogue and listening to Ben Lyon and James Hall's emoting of it. But does the original silent version even exist anywhere?
Howard Hughes produced another aviator-themed film a couple of years later, "C**k of the Air" (1932), with Chester Morris and Billie Dove, but it's more of a comedy-romance. And it's pretty dippy. And quite pre-code. But not very good at all. I don't think it's ever been run on television, but I have a bootleg copy, which is terribly worn and splicey.
Howard Hughes produced another aviator-themed film a couple of years later, "C**k of the Air" (1932), with Chester Morris and Billie Dove, but it's more of a comedy-romance. And it's pretty dippy. And quite pre-code. But not very good at all. I don't think it's ever been run on television, but I have a bootleg copy, which is terribly worn and splicey.
Posted on 10/1/25 at 3:12 pm to blueridgeTiger
Never seen it but I will be buying the Criterion version when it releases in November
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