Hollywood the Golden Years: The RKO Story (1987) 1.06

Howard's Way

Howard Hughes bought RKO in 1948 and soon thereafter started to tinker with the studio including making changes to movies that were in production. Hughes took a lot of interest in the design of Jane Russell's clothing and in other aspects of many of the female actors at RKO.

Stewart Granger tells a story about a plan he had to kill Hughes when Granger and Jean Simmons were married. They didn't go through with the plan.

Hughes eventually sold RKO to General Teleradio.

RKO lasted from 1928 to 1957. It replaced one medium, vaudeville, and was replaced by another, television.

Movies discussed and from which clips were shown include

• His Kind of Woman (1951)
• Out of the Past (1945)
• Roadblock (1951)
• Angel Dace (1953)
• The French Line (1954)
• The Outlaw (194x)
• Where Danger Lives (1950)
• Bundle of Joy (195?)
• Morning Glory (1933)
• Stage Struck (1958)
• The First Traveling Saleslady (1958)

The people interviewed in this episode include

• Robert Mitchum, actor
• Jane Russell, actor
• Jane Greer, actor
• Ruth Warrick, actor
• Joan Fontaine, actor
• Janet Leigh, actor
• Jean Simmons, actor
• Stewart Granger, actor
• Lucille Ball, actor
• Mario Zamparelli, Hughes Graphic Artist
• Michael Woulfe, Hughes Costume Designer
• William Fadiman, Executive Assistant to Howard Hughes
• William Dozier, producer
• John Springer, Publicity Department (New York)
• Linwood Dunn, Optical Effects
• Perry Lieber, Head of Publicity
• Tom O'Neil, President General Teleradio

Thoughts

I didn't know very much about Howard Hughes before watching this episode. The episode does not paint a flattering portrait of the man. He was a control freak. He wanted control over a lot of things including people (mainly women) and movies that RKO produced. I would say he was creepy, based on this episode, but that seems like an understatement.

This is the final episode in this series. I am not on the whole terribly impressed by it. It leaves a lot to be desired. Possibly I am not being fair but that's how I feel. The fact that it took me almost 6 months to watch this series probably says something about how it struck me. The fact that I stuck with it and didn't give up I think says more about me than it does the series.