Hollywood History

The Thrilling, romantic story of how Howard Hughes, the millionaire kid, who tossed fortunes into the making of Hell’s Angels

The editors of Photoplay, like many in the Hollywood community between the years 1927 through 1930, were extremely curious about wunderkind Howard Hughes (1905 – 1976) and the wildly expensive film he was directing that never seemed able to reach a state of completion, Hell’s Angels. This article, by Bogart Rogers, makes clear that by the time the film was released, production costs had soared beyond the four million dollar range (although some contemporary sources believe it was a few hundred thousand south of that number)- and most infamously, four aviators had been killed during the filming. This article sums-up the Hollywood career of Howard Hughes up to 1930 and seeks to separate some of the falsehoods that circulated about the boy-director.

A sly little grin must have come to the lips of the editors of Photoplay when they asked Hollywood’s reigning scandal-monger, Errol Flynn (1909 – 1959), to write a small treatise concerning Hollywood morals – and he accepted their offer. Flynn sharpened his pencil and scribbled the following lighthearted defense of Hollywood hedonism; contradicting himself at several points, he opined that Hollywood was not much different than any other neighborhood – and actors are always good because they’re too closely monitored to do bad – and if you don’t believe that, then you should know that the acting trade brings out in all who heed the call a certain character trait that makes any monogamy highly unlikely.