Reception
Hell's Angels received its premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on May 24, 1930. All the stars and makers of the film attended, as well as Buster Keaton, Dolores del Río, Norma Talmadge, Mary Pickford, Billie Dove, Douglas Fairbanks, and Charlie Chaplin with his girlfriend Georgia Hale. A program with leather cover was designed for the premiere by famed aviation illustrator Clayton Knight. Reviews were universal in acclaim for the flying scenes but the mundane plot and maudlin characterizations were also noted. The Hell's Angels screening revealed many traits of pre-code Hollywood. In addition to some fairly frank sexuality, there was a surprising amount of adult language (for the time) during the final dogfight sequence, e.g. "son of a bitch", "goddamn it", and "for Christ's sake".
While Harlow, Lyon and Hall received mixed reviews for their acting, Hughes was praised for his hard work on the filming and aircraft sequences. Mourdant Hall, reviewer for The New York Times was especially critical about Harlow's performance, saying, "his film is absorbing and exciting. But while she is the center of attraction, the picture is a most mediocre piece of work."
Hell's Angels went into general release on November 15, 1930 in the United States and did quite well at the box office, earning nearly $8 million, about double the production and advertising costs. After inflation, this is roughly equivalent to $111 million as of 1 January 2010.
Despite the enormous critical and public acclaim for Hell's Angels, the only Academy Award nomination the film received was for Best Cinematography (Tony Gaudio and Harry Perry).
Read more about this topic: Hell's Angels (film)
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