Today’s movie is a biographical drama with a scene that
happens on July 7. I hope you will watch this film tonight and enjoy it.
THE AMAZING HOWARD HUGHES
When his father dies in
1924, Howard Hughes has himself
declared a competent adult, even though he’s underage and takes over the Hughes
Tool Company. After hiring Noah Dietrich, who gradually becomes his main
gopher, Hughes moves to Hollywood and starts producing movies. He learns to fly
and starts the Hughes Aircraft Corporation. He films Hell’s Angels,
but after sound is introduced, Hughes re-shoots the entire film as a talkie. Hughes starts to become obsessive
about his health and breaks the world airplane speed record. Hughes meets Katherine Hepburn and flies
around the world. He films The Outlaw with Jane Russell and makes
millions during the Second World War through government contracts. On July 7,
1946 [1:00:47 to 1:04:08] while test flying the FX-11, Hughes crashes and is
almost killed. Congress investigates Hughes’ wartime contracts. Hughes accuses
Senator Brewster, who‘s spearheading the investigation of corruption. Hughes
says Brewster told him that if Hughes would merge TWA with Pan-Am, the
investigation would go away. Hughes says that if the ‘Spruce Goose’ won’t fly,
he’ll leave the country. It does fly. Hughes refuses to give Paul Jericho a
screen credit because he thinks Jericho is a communist. Hughes recruits a group of Mormon men to act
as his bodyguards and aides and eventually fires Noah Dietrich. Hughes becomes
a complete recluse only emerging to show that Clifford Irving’s alleged
biography of Hughes was a fake. Hughes died in 1976.
An interesting film. However it
is a gloss and not a complete bio. Many, many details were omitted or just
touched upon. Should either have just concentrated on a period of Hughes’ life
or been longer to allow for a more detailed story.
Howard Hughes-Aviator by
George J. Marrett (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 2004)
pps. 73-78
Producer – Herbert Hirschman
Director - William A. Graham
Awards – The film won the
Outstanding Achievement in Film Sound Editing for a Special Emmy. The film was also nominated for the
Outstanding Achievement in Makeup Emmy at the 30th Primetime
Emmy Awards.
Screenplay - John Gay
Runtime – 3 hours 35 minutes
Released – April 13, 1977
Starring –
Tommy Lee Jones as Howard Hughes
Ed Flanders as Noah Dietrich
Lee Purcell as Billie Dove
Sorrell Brooke as Mayor LaGuardia
James Hampton as Wilbur Peterson
Howard Hesseman as Jenks
Tovah Feldshuh as Katharine
Hepburn
Marla Carlis as Jane Russell
Copyright by Ivan Walters in
2014.
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