This is one of my favorites. It demonstrates a hero and has some great and memorable lines, and the aesthetic was beautiful.
The Coconut Grove was featured throughout. That was a highlight for it demonstrated the lives of rich people who could afford rest and relaxation and displayed some great music such as “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise.”
There was of course Howard Hughes, the protagonist. He was portrayed in a mixed way, with his neuroses on full display, but I think the more important and predominant theme was his action and heroism.
One memorable scene was when he couldn’t find cloud cover to make his airplane film, he just decided to wait. He had to get the film just right. When he couldn’t get the cameras he needed, he did whatever he had to do.
When he couldn’t get the planes to move fast enough, he faced facts and he asked his engineer, “Who says we need a top wing, who says we need anything” and proceeded to break it down with all his might, speed being more important to him than realism.
When sound movies came out, he had the whole movie reshot for sound.
Then he went on to have other achievements, buying out TWA, flying the fastest run in the world crossing the Atlantic in record time and fighting the politicians in their attempt to destroy him.
So, while the film is mixed, I think it was beautiful and I think Ayn Rand would have approved if she were alive today. She would probably remember Howard’s battle with the politicians and that would have been nostalgic for her.
/sb
