Movie Review – Hell’s Angels (1930)

One of the fascinating aspects of World War 1 was the rapid advancement in technology and tactics used in what would ultimately become modern, mechanized warfare.  Between 1914 and 1918, military aviation saw tremendous leaps and bounds as armies recognized the true strengths and advantages of air power.

Released in 1930, Hell’s Angels takes a look at World War 1 combat pilots, from their life outside of the combat zones to the harrowing missions themselves.  This film follows along as two brothers and their friend all join the air service, two of them for England and one for Germany.  We see them go through training, fight against a Zeppelin during a night time bombing raid, go on a dangerous bombing mission in a captured German bomber, and then become captured and face death after being branded as spies.  Before the war and between the combat missions, the two brothers fight each other for the love of a woman.

Directed and produced by Howard Hughes, Hell’s Angels stars Ben Lyon and James Hall as the British brothers Monte and Roy Rutledge.  Supporting them in the film is Jean Harlow as the young woman Helen.

Hell’s Angels begins in Germany some time before the outbreak of war.  British brothers Roy (James Hall) and Monte Rutledge (Ben Lyon) are enjoying the company of their German friend, Karl (John Darrow), while they spend time in a tavern.  The guys tease Roy and try to get him hooked up with a young lady.

Monte is a womanizer, and he is soon caught in the arms of a woman by her German officer husband (Lucien Prival).  The husband insists on challenging Monte to a duel the next day, but Monte flees the country before taking part in the challenge.  Roy is caught in the area and mistaken for his brother, and he’s forced to proceed with the dual.  Fortunately for Roy, he’s only shot in the arm and allowed to return to England.

War breaks out across Europe and Karl is conscripted into the German Air Force.  Over in England, both Roy and Monte enlist in the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), though Monte is more motivated after being called a coward and when enticed with receiving a kiss from a lady after signing the enlistment papers.

Roy and Monte go through flight training and quickly earn their wings, making them aviators in the Royal Flying Corps.  A short time later there’s a military ball where Roy introduces Monte to Helen (Jean Harlow).  The two of them quickly develop a relationship, and it’s not long until Helen invites him into her home.  At first he tries to rebuff her advances for his brother’s sake, but Monte finally gives in to her temptations.  His mind changes the following morning and he’s ashamed for his actions.

One night a Zeppelin is sent to bomb Trafalgar Square in London.  Heavy clouds conceal the Zeppelin from the English anti-aircraft artillery, but the clouds also prevent the German navigator and bombardier from finding the target.  Karl is an officer on the Zeppelin, and he’s lowered in an observation basket.  Beneath the clouds, Karl is able to see and he navigates the airship towards a lake instead of the intended target.  Karl was a student at Oxford University before the war, and he regretted the day that Germany declared war on England.  All of the Zeppelin’s bombs land harmlessly in the lake while the airship’s crew celebrates, thinking that they destroyed Trafalgar Square.

Four RFC fighters are quickly dispatched to intercept and destroy the German airship.  The crew of the Zeppelin spots the incoming fighters, and they try to fly away as fast as possible.  The engines are engaged to full speed and the water ballast is dumped.  The Zeppelin isn’t going fast enough, so the airship commander (Carl von Haartman) orders that everything non-essential be dumped off the Zeppelin.  When that isn’t enough, he personally cuts the cable supporting Karl’s observation basket, sending the young officer plummeting to his death.  The RFC fighters are still gaining, so some of the non-essential German officers and crewmen obediently leap to their deaths for the Kaiser and the Fatherland.  It’s a dramatic experience as the men summon the courage to sacrifice their lives so that the Zeppelin can escape and not fall into enemy hands.

The RFC fighters attack but the Zeppelin’s machine gunners shoot down three of the fighters, including Roy and Monte.  The fourth British pilot runs out of ammunition, and he sacrifices himself by ramming his airplane into the Zeppelin, causing a catastrophic explosion.  People cheer as the German airship bursts into flames and crashes to the ground.  The two Rutledge brothers sprint and narrowly avoid being crushed by the flaming wreckage.

Some time later the squadron’s pilots are enjoying a meal when their commander announces which of them will be flying a dreaded night patrol mission.  Some of the pilots were just talking about dangerous those missions were to fly.  When Monte’s name is announced, he tries to fake an illness to get out of the mission.  His actions brand him as a coward by his colleagues, but he tries to defend himself by claiming that war itself is murder while name calling only uses words.  His speech seems to have an effect on his fellow pilots.

Before anybody leaves for the night patrol mission, a staff colonel brings all of the squadron’s pilots together for an important briefing.  A vital munitions depot must be destroyed the next morning before the British army launches a ground attack.  Although the RFC has tried to bomb this facility several times and failed, this time things are different.  Right now the RFC is in possession of a captured German bomber.  The staff colonel needs two volunteers to fly the German bomber to the munitions depot, bomb the facility before the Germans know what’s happening, and then return while outrunning the pursuit fighters.  Under no circumstances is the bomber to be returned to German hands.

Knowing that this is a suicide mission, and wanting to prove their bravery, both Roy and Monte Rutledge volunteer to fly the captured German bomber.  If the brothers are shot down and captured, they’ll be treated as spies and most likely shot and killed.

The brothers get dressed and head out to a nightclub that night.  They discover Helen in the arms of another man, and Helen confesses to Roy that she never really loved him.  Devastated, Roy joins Monte and the two of them head out and get drunk.  Monte becomes intoxicated and thinks that it would be best to not go on the bombing mission.  He nearly convinces his brother to join him in abandoning the mission, but Roy decides against his brother.  He practically drags Monte back to the airfield.

Dawn arrives and the German bomber is loaded with ammunition.  The brothers start the engines and then fly away on their important mission.  As they fly across the German lines, they don’t realize that Richthofen’s squadron takes to the air for their normal patrol duties.  The brothers successfully drop their bombs on target, and the primary and secondary explosions destroy the entire munitions depot.  The bombing is a smashing success.  Just as they turn away and begin flying back home, the brothers are ambushed by Richthofen’s fighters.

Monte is able to defend the bomber with a machine gun until their own squadron arrives and helps them.  At that point it’s a massive aerial battle between the English and German fighters.  It’s a tremendous scene as the fighters shoot each other out of the sky.  The battle ends when Manfred von Richthofen himself attacks and shoots down the bomber.  The brother survive the crash landing though they’re promptly captured by German forces.

At the German headquarters, Roy and Monte have to answer to Roy’s old dueling opponent from earlier in the film.  He gives the brothers the option of either talking and telling him why they attacked the munitions, or they can face the firing squad and be executed as spies.  The German officer puts the brothers inside of a small cell so they can discuss their options.  While discussing it, they both watch through a small window as another prisoner is swiftly executed by a firing squad.

Monte wants to talk and save his life.  He doesn’t care that he’ll be branded as a coward or a traitor back home.  Roy tries to convince him that’s it’s better that the two of them die from a firing squad rather than sacrifice thousands of British soldiers that are about to make a ground assault.  The pain of death from a firing squad would only last for a few seconds for the two of them.  Monte doesn’t care.  He wants to live.  Unable to change his brother’s mind, Roy convinces Monte to allow him to speak alone to the German general.  Roy tells the general that he’ll talk, but only on one condition.  He wants to make sure that there are no witnesses to his traitorous actions, meaning that he wants his brother killed.

The general is entertained with this prospect, but he thinks that Roy is trying to fool him.  He removes all but one bullet from his pistol before handing it over to Roy.  If Roy wants Monte dead, then the German wants him to shoot him himself.

Back in the prison cell, Roy tries again to get Monte to do the right thing and sacrifice themselves, but Monte doesn’t want to do so.  When he begins yelling the English army’s attack plan, Roy is forced to shoot and kill his brother.  Roy then admits to the general that he was lying and wasn’t going to reveal any secrets.  The general sends Roy away and he is promptly executed by a firing squad.

Hell’s Angels ends as the British army launches their surprise ground attack against the Germans.  It appears that thanks to the brothers’ bombing, the ground attack is going to be successful.

So is Hell’s Angels a good movie?

Yes!

This is a great story involving two brothers who go off to war and join the air service, and they discover that it’s not the romanticized or glamorous experience that they expected.  Life as an aviator in the Royal Flying Corps is one of anxiety, exhilaration, and sheer terror.  It’s man versus man, pilot versus pilot in aerial duels.

As you would expect from a film of this magnitude, the aircraft and flying sequences look fantastic.  The Zeppelin attack was particularly harrowing when the German officers and crew members quickly chose to sacrifice themselves and jump to their death, just so the Zeppelin had a better chance at escaping and avoiding being captured.

That nonchalant attitude towards self-sacrifice and death is visited again when Roy and Monte face the decision of being executed by firing quad or exposing the secret about the imminent attack by the English army.  One brother is easily willing to give up his life while the other is fearful of death and wants to tell about the attack plan.  In the end, Roy is forced to shoot his brother, and then he faces the firing squad himself.

Hell’s Angels (1930) – re-release movie trailer

In the end, I thought that although Hell’s Angels was a little bit slow at times, the rest of the movie was a fantastic experience.  This is definitely a must-see movie for fans of World War 1 as well as aviation in general.

It’s possible that more people know about the making of Hell’s Angels rather than the actual film itself.  Much of the film’s creation was part of the 2004 film The Aviator, a biopic of Howard Hughes.