Howard Hughes, a 21-year-old entrepreneur, made the decision to become a film director in 1927. By that point, he had created three films, one of which had even earned an Oscar for its filmmaker. However, Hughes's ambition was to create the largest film ever. As one of the wealthiest individuals in the world, the billionaire had access to a large sum of money. As a result, he reinvented how Hollywood produced war dramas by attempting to create the greatest war epic ever. Along the way, he spent a fortune, earned some of it back, and nearly went insane.

The epic known as Hell's Angels

The World War I drama Hell's Angels started shooting as a silent movie in 1927. However, Jazz Singer, the first talkie, was soon released in theaters. Hughes, who didn't want to create anything "out-dated," now wanted to remaster the movie with sound. For this reason, filming resumed. Marshal Neilan was chosen as director, but he resigned. Hughes eventually took over the reins for himself since Luther Reed boarded and exited fast.

To help him, Hughes hired British filmmaker James Whale to serve as the "director of dialogue." In fact, Hughes concentrated on the combat sequences, especially the aerial ones, while Whale guided the majority of the movie's dramatic moments. Hughes sought to provide an authentic and realistic portrayal of aerial combat because he was an aviator himself. The movie employed a number of actual airplanes, some of which had cameras attached to the nose and wings to record aerial combat moments. Hughes, a perfectionist, frequently sought for the ideal settings and even weather to replicate World War I battles, which led to the budget skyrocketing. In the dramatic battle sequence alone, 137 pilots were utilized.

Although Hughes' advertisement stated that the movie cost $4 million, film historians estimate that the true budget for its production was $2.8 million. As a result, the cost of producing it was significantly higher than that of the majority of movies released at that time. The majority of major motion pictures attempted to maintain costs below $1 million.

The box office for the Hell's Angels

The debut of Hell's Angels included the largest celebration in Hollywood. Thousands of people flocked to Hollywood's Grauman's Chinese Theater on May 27, 1930, for the movie's world premiere, where hundreds of automobiles lined the streets and police were forced to increase security. The movie received positive reviews for the dogfight sequences, but was criticized for its 'mundane' storyline. Nonetheless, Hell's Angels set new highs at the box office. It brought in $2.5 million, making it one of the highest-grossing movies of the period, behind only Ben-Hur ($9 million), Wings ($3.6 million), and All Quiet on the Western Front ($3 million). However, Hell's Angels was a commercial flop since it was unable to recoup its costs.

The manner in which Howard Hughes handled the "loss"

The criticism of Hell's Angels, especially the emphasis on 'profanity' and 'obscenity,' was taken personally by Howard Hughes. Censors likewise held off on showing his subsequent film, Scarface, because of its violent imagery. Following these two movies, Hughes, who was already famous for his eccentricities, sought out near solitude. Ten years after that, the billionaire resumed directing The Outlaw, but the film was once again postponed for three years. Ultimately, the eccentric billionaire became a recluse in his later years, with many people harshly calling him insane.

However, lead actress Jean Harlow found the perfect fit with the Hell's Angels. The movie marked the 19-year-old actress's debut. She rose to fame right away and would rule Hollywood during the 1930s. Despite the fact that Harlow passed away at the age of 26 only seven years later, her brief career was enough to place her at number 22 on the American Film Institute's list of the top female screen legends.