Henderson daily dispatch., 1938-07-21


being held up - censor trouble.
Harold Franklin had persuaded
Hughes to form the Hughes-Franklin
| theater chain, whereby Franklin was
to buy up bankrupt motion picture
| theaters and thus. gain for Hughes a
larger releasing system. Hughes drop
ped 100000 in cash in this fiasco in
less than a year.
Millions Spent.
Another 100000 had been sunk
into Multicolor. Hughes had spent
$1,000,000 constructing a laboratory
building and another $1,OOO,OOO de-
veloping the process. But he couldn't
capitalize because Technicolor held
contracts with all of the major mo-
ton picture companies.
No one knows definitely whether
Hughes won or lost in his gamble in
Hollywood. Many believe that he just
about "broke even" financially But
he had had lot Of fun, had amazed
the movie WORLD, and had establish
ed records with "Eell's Angels" that
still stand.
new romance flashed into his life
with the coming to Hollywood, in
1887, of Miss Barbara O'Neil, st. Louis
socialite and actress granddaughter
of Mrs. Henry O'Neil, st. Louis So
cial arbiter.
They saw each other while Bar
bara was fulfilling a motion picture
contract. Previously he had met her
in hn CT Of Il sS -.
airplane flight from Los Angeles to
New York.
Nothing SeriOus-Amused."
Pressed for a statement Barbara
said: There is nothing serious be
tween US and am sure Mr. Hughes is
as amused over all these romantic re-
ports as I am"
Hughes said nothing
Meantime he had stayed in the
headlines as an aviator 49,. Hughes
Sets Sky Record and Crashes 49,.
Hughes in Mystery Flight. +. Hughes
Plans to Capture Closed Course Air
Record. Hughes Denies Plans for
Round the-World Flight (this was in
July, 1866. =. Hughes Sets New Air
Mark. . . Hughes Roars to Record in
Transcontinental Flight.
He had broken the worlds speed
record at Santa Ana, Cal, in an es-
pecially constructed plane. His speed
was 352.388 miles an hour. He flew
from Los Angeles to New York in 9
hours 26 minutes, 10 seconds, for a
uary 1887, with a mark of 7 hours
l. ,Jxo< IL,
New York to Miami, and Chicago to
Los Angeles speed records.
Hughes insisted on speed, speed and
more speed. Capt. Frank Hawks, Ros-
coe Turner, Paul Mantz Wiley Post.
Charlie Undergraduates outspeed-
ed them all.
Stopped on This One.
His last motion picture venture
started in August, 1881. He spent
100000 buying Queer People" and
in having the adaptation and dialogue
written. Hollywood criticized him for
planning to make a picture from a
book that had painted Hollywood wild
er than the best imaginations of the
middle west could do. Many picture
celebrities protested. Hughes could
not assemble a cast to play the roles.
Finally he announced:
'"The production of Queer People
has been indefinitely suspended be-
cause we cannot obtain a satisfactory
cast
Then Katharine Hepburn came in
to the picture. Katie had set Holly
wood on end with her pet lions, pic
turesque costumes, and other eccen-
tricities She and Hughes started Ego
ing together" They were seen in va
rious night clubs of New York, Holly
wood and Chicago. They were obser-
we'd looking at a million-dollar yacht
at New London, Conn.
Rumored ready to wed in Chicago
last year, Miss Hepburn said:
II won't make any statement either
to confirm or deny marriage Plans"
She sat up nights listening to radio
reports of Hughes recent epoch
making flight. She lauded him. The
other day she indicated again their
interest in each other had been fresh
ened by his newest aviation feet.
Is gay and glittering Hollywood,
after all, to write the traditional ro-
mantle finish to the glamorous career
of the rich young man who went from
Texas to Hollywood, and thence a.
round the world?
Perhaps. Perhaps not. Howard
Hughes is a quiet young man. A sur
prising young man.