Review of Hell's Angels (1930) by Joel A — 13 Jun 2012

A terrific film and maybe one of my favs. I enjoyed the film immensely, particularly the the omminous Zepplin scene and the ariel dog fights. The story is flat but I was aware of the brother relationship between Roy (James Hall) and Monte Rutledge (Ben Lyon). "Hell's Angels" was quite brave in it's frank talk of sexuality, swearing and machismo behavior. I noticed Martin Scorsese took clips from Hughes's "Hells Angels" picture and incorporated into his film "The Aviator". If it wasn't for Scorsese's film I would not know of the picture and it's amazing.

Roy (James Hall) and Monte Rutledge (Ben Lyon) Monte and Roy Rutledge, a couple of British brothers who drop out of Oxford to join the British Royal Flying Corps. Several early scenes establish Lyon and Hall's romantic rivalry over two-timing socialite Helen (Jean Harlow). While flying a dangerous bombing mission over Germany, the brothers are shot down. The commandant (Lucien Prival), who'd earlier been cuckolded by one of the brothers, savors his opportunity for revenge. He offers the boys their freedom if they'll reveal the time of the next British attack; if they don't cooperate, they face unspeakable consequences. Roy, driven mad by his combat experiences, is about to tell all when he is shot and killed by Monte. The latter is himself condemned to a firing squad by the disgruntled commandant -- who, it is implied, will soon meet his own doom at the hands of the British bombers.