Hell's Angels: Howard Hughes' Big Crash & Jean Harlow's Big Break

Hell’s Angels (1930) is considered one of the three great early aviation films that defined the genre, along with Wings and The Dawn Patrol. The movie featured authentic aerial combat scenes, innovative camera work, and incredible miniature effects. Upwards of 50 aircraft, nearly half actual World War I (WWI) airplanes, were assembled for the production. Some 75 pilots were employed to fly the aerial sequences and pilot the camera planes. 

Director Howard Hughes would gain great acclaim as an aviator himself in the 1930s with several record-breaking flights, but he had just recently received his pilot’s license when production on Hell’s Angels began in late 1927. Determined to show the stunt pilots working on the film what a hot-shot pilot he was, Hughes took off in one of the actual WWI airplanes—an airplane that would be a challenge for any new pilot. Ignoring advice from the experienced pilots, Hughes crashed and was pulled from the wreckage dazed and bleeding. Having dodged serious injury, everyone was relieved Hughes survived, allowing the film, and their paychecks, to continue.

Originally intended to be a silent film, Hughes reshot much of it as production extended into the dawning of the sound era. This was a break for the film’s female lead, Jean Harlow. Silent film star Greta Nissen was originally cast in the role. However, when the movie transitioned into a talkie, Nissen’s heavy Norwegian accent meant she was fired from the film. This made way for the relatively unknown Harlow. The film also stars Ben Lyon and James Hall. 

Hughes spent three years and nearly $4 million to create his aviation classic. The most expensive production of the era, Hell’s Angels was one of the first blockbuster action films and made Jean Harlow a box office sensation. With gripping aerial sequences as a backdrop, Hell’s Angels is an engrossing tale of wartime intrigue and personal courage.

This blog was originally written in 2017 by Peter Jakab to promote "Hollywood Goes to War: World War I on the Big Screen," a film series at the Museum. It was updated in 2025 to make it more evergreen and improve the search engine optimization. You can read the original via the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.