We're going down.
I'll try for the Wilshire Country Club. Ninth hole. You reading me?
Wilshire Country Club, copy that. Howard, reduce engines to 1000.
I'm going down! I'm not gonna make it, buddy!
Goddamn it!
Is there anyone else inside? Is there anyone else?!
No.
I'm Howard Hughes, the aviator.
- Every inch of his wiring and fluid connection.
He has burns to 78 percent of his body.
Nine ribs are shattered, not broken, shattered...
...as are his nose, his chin, his cheek, his left knee, his left elbow.
He has 60 lacerations on his face, to the bone.
His chest was crushed, so his left lung collapsed...
...and his heart has shifted to the right side of his chest cavity.
Jesus, God.
- He's getting blood transfusions now, but... - Whose blood?
- I'm sorry? - Whose blood?
From our stock.
- Oh, he's not going to like that. - Mr. Dietrich, I doubt he's...
...ever gonna like or dislike anything again.
I'm terribly sorry.
Orange juice.
It's not fresh from the kitchen, so I...
I have them make it here so... So I can see.
Look at me.
I'm a monster.
Yeah. Orange juice has nutritional value.
There's... There's some flies outside my window, though.
So...
...little Howard likes...
...citrus.
Don't he just...?
Tell me.
An oil seal ripped off the starboard rear propeller.
When the pressure dropped, the prop reversed pitch.
Do you understand me?
Howard, I'm sorry to have to tell you this now, but there's something else.
- You following me? - Yeah.
The Air Force canceled the contract on The Hercules.
The war's over now, and they say they don't need it anymore.
I have to know what you want me to do. Should I release the staff?
How far...
...from finishing?
- About six months. - No, in money.
Seven million.
Maybe more.
Build it.
Build it, Odie.
Howard...
...a Constellation crashed outside Reading, Pennsylvania.
The Civil Aeronautics Board has grounded the whole fleet.
You know...
...Juan Trippe sent me flowers.
Take a look.
- What did you do with all the others? - Oh, I had them taken out.
They... They attract aphids.
Aphids are... They're just awful little creatures.
But...
But these ones...
...I wanted to see these ones every day.
Can white elephants fly? That's everybody's question.
The hull of the world's mightiest airplane, a flying boat built by Howard Hughes.
Two hundred and twenty feet long, it towers higher than a five-story building.
Power lines have to be cut as it starts the trip from Culver City...
...to the Pacific, 30 miles away.
Moving the 60-ton load is quite an engineering problem.
But you gotta ask, was anything this big ever supposed to fly?
There goes one wing section, 160 feet long with four engine housings.
Double that and you've got some idea of the wingspread.
An airplane that challenges a mountain for sheer size.
How long can they keep us grounded?
Until they finish investigating the Reading crash. Could be months.
You're running a $ 14 million deficit. How will you afford to keep them out of service?
- We go international, we'll make it up. - Brewster's C.A.B. Bill isn't going away.
That bill passes, and you bought these for nothing.
- We're fighting the C.A.B. Bill. - Meanwhile, how do we keep TWA flying?
Don't say, "Just go to Tool Co. " We're pumping every cent into The Hercules...
...which the Air Force doesn't even want anymore.
I'm glad Jack is feeling sunny about things, but I've seen the books.
I'm telling it straight. I'm not crying wolf.
We're in serious trouble. You've gotta make a choice.
You wanna be bankrupted by the big plane or by the big airline?
Go see Thomas Parkinson at the Equitable in New York.
Get a loan against all the TWA equipment and capital.
Use the planes as collateral. Hell, use the desks, use the pens, use everything we got.
- Try to get me 40 million. - And if TWA defaults on the loan?
Then Juan Trippe buys us cheap.
Under my bed! You put a goddamn microphone under my bed!
Listen to me. I am concerned about you.
- I just wanna make sure you're okay. - And who is in that car?!
It's been with me 24 hours a day.
That car is for your protection!
The only one I need protection from is you, you sick bastard!
You don't own me, Howard.
I'm not one of your teenage whores or some damn airplane.
I'll have them take all the bugs out.
I need to know where you are.
- Why?! - Because I worry about you, that's why.
Bullshit!
What do you mean, "all the bugs"?
There's more.
How many?
I don't know, 12. Twelve, maybe, and on the telephones.
Oh, Christ, Howard, on the telephone?
You listen to my phone calls?
No, no, honey, I would never do that. I'd never do that.
I just read the transcripts, that's all.
What do you wanna know, Howard?
Was I screwing Artie Shaw last night?
Was I screwing Sinatra the night before? You bet.
Everyone said you were a lunatic, I didn't listen.
It's no wonder Kate Hepburn dumped your demented ass!
Shut your goddamn mouth.
Get out, you pathetic freak.
Get out!
Is everything all right, sir?
Take out all the bugs, huh?
Except for the one on the bedroom phone.
Sir, the FBI are at the house.
This is outrageous! Everything here is the private property of Hughes Productions.
- My legal counsel is on the way... - Federal warrant.
Don't interfere with the search, sir.
Dateline: Los Angeles. Howard Hughes has a new houseguest.
No, it's not another beautiful starlet. This time it's the FBI.
Noah, you've got to help. This is the 10th time they have been here.
Rumor has it that agents working for Senator Owen Brewster...
...have practically taken up residence in the aviation mogul's home.
Look, I mean, they are touching things.
- Noah, they are touching things. - Just keep yourself calm...
...and I'll be down there as soon as I can, Howard.
Howard?
Howard, hello.
- Nice to see you again. - Good to see you. Come on inside.
- Emma, you can start up lunch now. - Yes, sir.
Well, really lovely room. It's nicely decorated.
Thank you. Here, have a seat.
Thanks for coming by.
I thought you and I should have a chance to talk privately.
You know, outside the office.
Well...
...I appreciate that, Owen.
So you're coming out pretty strong against the C.A.B. Bill.
- You're coming on pretty strong for it. - Well, it's my bill, Howard, you know.
Look, I believe sincerely that America cannot afford...
...to have more than one international carrier.
I mean, do you think it's fair that one airline should have a monopoly on international...?
A monopoly? No, no, no. Oh, no.
No, I think one airline could do it better, see, without competition.
All I'm thinking about are the interests, the needs of the American passenger.
That's just beautiful. What is that?
What is that? Is that a...?
Is that a yak?
- Some kind of a yak? - No, that's a Ilama.
My wife picked that up when we were in Peru.
Son of a gun.
A real Ilama.
- From Peru? - Yeah. From a year ago, I think it was...
- Yeah, it was about a year ago. - Lunch is served, senator.
Good. Okay. Come on, let's go have some lunch.
Now, did you...? Did you actually get to see any Ilamas?
No, no. My wife just liked the painting.
It's an interesting animal. I'll have to read up on those.
How do you spell that? Like...? Like Fernando Lamas?
No, no. It's... It's the animal, it's got two L's.
Here, come on, have a seat.
It's brook trout. Hope you like fish.
I love it. Thanks.
I know you're not a drinking man, so I hope... Hope water's okay.
Thanks.
All right, let's get down to business. Let's talk turkey.
My investigators...
My investigators have turned up a lot of dirt.
It could be really embarrassing if this stuff got out.
I'd like to save you from that embarrassment.
That's very kind of you, Owen.
My committee has the power to hold public hearings.
I'd like to spare you that.
Would you, now?
Look...
Do you wanna go down in history as a war profiteer, Howard?
Is that what you want?
What do you want, Owen?
You agree to support my C.A.B. Bill, and I won't hold public hearings.
- I can't do that. - Why not?
I can't do that, Owen. The C.A.B. Would kill TWA.
Sell TWA to Pan Am.
You'll get a good price. You'll get a fair price.
And then...? Then you won't go public?
Right. That's right. The investigation's closed. Nobody knows a thing.
That's... It's better for everybody.
You know, Owen, I'm still wondering one thing.
- What's that? - The picture of the Ilama you got last year?
- Yeah. - Where'd you sail from?
We didn't sail. We flew.
- You flew? - Yeah.
Are you sure you want to do this, Owen?
You want to go to war with me?
It isn't me, Howard. It's the United States government.
We just beat Germany and Japan.
Who the hell are you?
You... You tell Juan Trippe something for me, all right?
Tell him thanks for the flowers.
And he can kiss both sides of my ass.
Well, we have a long list of particulars.
Chief among them is that he defrauded the American government...
...of $56 million while at war, when we could least afford it.
While brave men were dying on the beaches of Normandy...
...Mr. Hughes was picking the pocket of the American taxpayer.
I sleep...
...in this room...
...in the dark.
I'll have him dragged here to Washington if I have to.
I wanna see the whites of his lies.
I have a place.
- I can sleep. - He has a lot of questions to answer.
- I have a chair. - Particularly about that monstrous...
...boondoggle of his, that model airplane he's building...
...that flying lumberyard, that spruce goose.
No, he'll... We'll get him here.
That's just beautiful.
Oh, yeah. I like the desert.
It's hot there in the desert, but it's clean.
It's clean.
I need to sleep.
I should drink something first.
Wait a minute.
What if that milk is sour?
That milk is bad.
I shouldn't pick up the bottle of milk with my right hand.
And I shouldn't take the top off with my left hand...
...put it in my pocket.
My left pocket.
Howard, it's Kate. I need... I need to talk to you.
Can you hear me?
I'm coming in.
Howard, unlock this door immediately.
I can't, sweetie.
You mean you won't.
Howard, please let me see you.
- I haven't shaved. - Well, neither have I.
Come on.
You...
You let me in.
I can hear you, Katie.
I could always hear you. Even in the cockpit, with the engines on.
That's because I'm so goddamn loud.
Howard, I...
I came to thank you.
I found out what you did for Spence and me.
Buying those awful pictures.
You love him.
He's everything I have.
Howard?
I'm glad for you, Kate.
Go away now. Would you do that?
- Howard, please. - Go away.
Just for now. I'll see you soon.
- We'll go flying together. - Yes.
Yes, please. You take me flying again.
Howard, I can take the wheel.
Howard?
Howard, are you...? Are you there?
Howard?
Howard, are you there?
Come on, Howard.
Howard, are you there?
Come in with the milk.
He is to open the bag with his right hand...
...and hold the bag out to me at a 45-degree angle...
...so I may reach into the bag without...
Without touching the paper.
Repeated from the beginning.
If there is any variation of these instructions...
...even to the smallest degree...
...the entire process must be repeated...
- ... from the beginning. - Come in with the milk.
- Repeated from the beginning. - Come in with the milk.
- Repeated...
...from the beginning.
Repeated from the beginning.
Come in with the milk.
Q...
R...
N...
T...
Q...
...U...
E...
I...
T...
...I...
...N...
...E.
N...
...E.
E...
I...
Howard?
Hello?
Who is it?
Howard, it's Juan.
Juan.
Juan, right. Yeah.
We had an appointment, right? Yeah.
I remember that. Look...
...I got a hell of a cold in here. A hell of a cold.
So take a seat out there, because I don't wanna get you sick.
I'd never forgive myself if I got you sick. I don't wanna get you sick. I don't wanna...
Thank you.
Okay, Howard, I'm sitting.
I've brought along our accountings. Now...
...Pan Am is trading at 13 and five-eighths.
TWA at four and a quarter.
- Now, if you take... - Come on.
Come on, come on, come on. We both know I'm not gonna sell TWA.
Besides, you couldn't afford her.
Our domestic routes alone are worth more than twice Pan Am.
Well, considering our stock is trading at three times yours...
...I find that a dubious claim, Howard.
What I...
What I mean is, you have no domestic routes. All right?
I mean, you get TWA, you span the globe.
I'm not gonna sell, and you know I'm not gonna sell.
Here's the point.
Owen Brewster works for you.
Howard, I didn't elect Senator Brewster. We can thank the voters of Maine for that.
Now, if I appear at his hearings, Juan, it could get nasty.
Real nasty for all of us.
Well, I think, considerably more so for you.
While the good people of America were losing sons at Anzio...
...you produced a dirty movie and built airplanes that don't fly.
Well, that's just not fair, is it?
I mean, the XF-11 flew quite well for an hour and 45 minutes.
I wish you were up there with me, Juan. It was exhilarating.
Be that as it may, you still have to answer for the Spruce Goose.
It's called The Hercules!
And it will fly, goddamn it!
I hope so. The American people deserve something for their $ 13 million.
I won't sell TWA!
I won't!
I know that, Howard.
I know that.
But I'm going to get it anyway.
You will default on your loan from Equitable after Senator Brewster...
...destroys your reputation and you can't find additional capital for the airline.
The hearings will also show Hughes Aircraft to be mismanaged and incompetent...
...and it will go bankrupt too.
But you won't be insolvent. You'll still have Tool Co.
Perhaps you'll head back to Houston to rebuild your empire.
I rather hope you do.
By that time, Pan Am will have bought TWA...
...and painted all those magnificent Connies blue and white.
So when you do return, it will be on a Pan Am plane.
Well...
You seem to have me in a corner here, buddy.
Not a position in which I'm very comfortable.
I think you're gonna be less comfortable at Senator Brewster's hearings.
Very public, Howard.
Lots of cameras and newsmen.
I understand you're not particularly fond of crowds.
Perhaps we should spare you that.
Well, thank you for your concern, Juan.
I find that...
...very moving.
It's been a real pleasure.
Noah will see you back to the airport now.
You fly safe.
Thank you, Howard, and you take care of that cold.
Don't you worry.
I certainly will.
Bye-bye.
If you let him appear at those hearings, the whole world will see what he's become.
People should remember him as he was.
He'll have a subpoena in three days to appear in Washington.
If you can get him out of there by then.
Mr. Hughes?
I don't have any shoes.
- Could you get me some shoes? - Shoes.
Yeah.
How nice of you to dress for me.
Can I come in?
Yeah, you can come in.
Thank you for coming.
Now, let's get a drink.
Wait, wait, wait, honey. You can't move. You're safe here.
You're in the germ-free zone now. You understand?
- I'll take my chances. - No, no, honey. Wait, wait.
Love what you've done with the place.
Now, let me look at you.
When do you go to Washington?
A week.
No, no. Just under a week.
I don't know the date today, but I have to be...
All right, take it easy.
There's nothing there, Howard.
I see things.
I know, baby.
Rinse your face off, now.
Put your hands in the water and wash off the soap.
I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere.
- Does that look clean to you? - Nothing's clean, Howard.
But we do our best, right?
Yeah.
What do you think?
- Well, I look all right. - You look great.
Will you marry me?
You're too crazy for me.
I gotta go, baby.
Okay.
Thanks.
You'd do it for me.
Hi, Howard. How you doing?
The committee will come to order.
Ladies and gentlemen, I must insist that we maintain quiet during these proceedings.
All right, Mr. Hughes, will you stand and be sworn?
Do you solemnly swear that in the matter now pending before this committee...
...you will tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
- I do. - Pardon me for speaking loudly...
...but I know you have difficulty hearing. - That's quite all right.
I mean, everybody knows I'm deaf. I'm not gonna try to hide it.
Mr. Hughes, it is the intention of this committee...
Mr. Hughes has a statement.
All right, you may proceed with this statement, Mr. Hughes.
Mr. Hughes, do you have a statement?
I'm gonna attempt to be honest here.
I mean, my reputation's being destroyed, so I might as well lay the cards on the table.
Senator Brewster, if you hadn't gone too far overboard...
...if you hadn't put the red-hot iron in my side...
...I might have been willing to take a shellacking in this publicity spree of yours.
I may have been willing to sit back and take a certain amount of abuse simply because...
...well, I am only a private citizen.
Whereas you are a senator...
...with all sorts of powers.
But I think this goddamn circus has gone on long enough!
- That's quite sufficient. - You have called me a liar, sir, in the press.
You have called me a liar and a thief and a war profiteer!
- The witness will restrain... - Why not tell the truth for once, senator?
Why not tell the truth that this investigation was really born on the day that TWA...
...decided to fly to Europe? On the day that TWA first invaded Juan Trippe's territory!
- Sit down. - On the day TWA first challenged...
...the generally accepted theory that only Juan Trippe's great Pan American Airways...
...had the right to fly the Atlantic! - You are not here to make a speech.
I asked for silence! I asked for quiet in this room...
We have in our possession receipts in the amount of $ 170,000...
...acquired from Mr. John Meyer. Mr. Meyer works for you, does he not?
- He does. - And what is his official title?
I don't exactly know, senator. A lot of people work for me.
Can you explain why your press agent would pay out...
...more than $ 170,000 to representatives of the United States Air Force?
- I don't know. You'd have to ask him. - Well, would you produce him?
- Produce him? - Will you cause him to appear?
You had John Meyer on the stand for three days last week.
Be that as it may, we would like him to reappear.
Would you ask him to return?
No, I don't think I will.
Will you try to have him return?
- No, I don't think I'll try. - You don't think you'll try?
No, I don't think so.
The $ 170,000 paid out to the Air Force in the form of hotel suites...
...TWA stock...
...female companionship.
Now, is it possible that these could be considered bribes?
I suppose you could call them that, yes.
Would you repeat that?
I said, I suppose you could consider them bribes, yes.
Well, would you like to explain that, Mr. Hughes?
I'm afraid you don't know how the aviation business works, senator.
See, wining and dining Air Force dignitaries is common in our business.
It's because we all want the big contracts. All the major aircraft companies do it.
I don't know whether it's a good system...
...I just know it's not illegal. You, senator, you are the lawmaker.
If you pass a law that states no one can entertain Air Force officers, well, hell...
...I'd be happy to abide by it.
Your story is a pack of lies. I can tear it apart if allowed to cross-examine.
- We're not gonna have this bickering. - Yes. Somewhere between two and 500...
...if you'll let me get started. - Lf you believe your wealth and power...
...can intimidate any member of this committee, you're mistaken.
- Now submit your questions. - I'll put this very simply.
On February 12th, at the Mayflower Hotel...
...did you or did you not tell me that if I were to sell TWA to Pan Am...
...that this entire investigation would be called off?
I did not. And I have asked you to submit your questions in writing.
- How long have you known Juan Trippe? - I've known him for some time now.
- And that's not the question. - Is it not true that Juan donated $20,000...
...to your last campaign? I mean, he spoke to me as if you worked for him.
I have a personal friendship with...
Is it true you accept free Pan Am tickets to circle the globe...
...in support of your C.A.B. Bill? - No, it is not true.
Well, who wrote that bill, senator? Who actually wrote the C.A.B. Bill?
- The actual words. Did you write them? - This is not how these hearings...
...are gonna be conducted. - I have it. Maybe it'll refresh your memory.
"Bill S-987 to amend the Civil Aeronautics Act. "
Now, you introduced this bill to the Senate.
A lot of words.
You write all of them?
- Did you write any of them, senator? - Now, look...
Now, this entire bill was written by Pan Am executives...
...and designed to give that airline a monopoly on international travel.
You've been flogging this bill all around the world on their behalf, have you not?
I have duties that take me all over the world, Mr. Hughes.
Well, what the hell does a senator from Maine need to visit Peru for?
I was seeking outlets for our trade goods.
Buy a lot of lobsters down there, do they?
Senator, how many times have you visited Trippe's office in New York...
...in the last three months?
Would you like me to tell you, senator?
All right, this has gone on long enough. Juan is a great American.
His airline has advanced the cause of commercial aviation for decades.
Juan Trippe is a patriot. Juan Trippe is not a man who is interested in making money.
Well, I'm sure his stockholders would be happy to hear that.
We're gonna clear this room.
This is James McNamara speaking to you from the Hughes 2000-ton flying boat...
...the world's largest aircraft. This is the sky giant...
...which has prompted Congress to investigate the war contracts of Mr. Hughes.
Before boarding the craft, Mr. Hughes told newsmen that this test...
...would be solely a taxi experiment. He said he didn't know what might happen.
The mammoth flying plywood shell...
...might ship water under high-speed taxi pressure. He will not take...
...the craft into the air until next spring. The thin man from Culver City...
...pronounced the craft an unknown quantity. He has an idea what it can do...
None of that, now. None of that.
We are about 5 feet in back of Mr. Hughes.
We are looking through one of the side windows in the cockpit.
Professor, why don't you come on up front here.
In other words, we are 30 feet high in this aircraft.
Strap yourself in right there. You ought to be able to see just great.
Huge crowds jam the surrounding shoreline this morning.
All right, boys, let's fire it up.
One's good.
Two's good.
Three's good.
Four's good.
Five's good.
Six is good.
Seven's good.
Eight's good.
- Advancing master throttles. - Advancing master throttles.
As you probably know, I have to do a great deal...
...of screaming into our microphone.
- Understood. Lower it 15 degrees of flaps. - Lowering 15 degrees of flaps.
Howard, she's gotta hit 70 to have any kind of chance.
Yeah, I know. I know.
It's a beautiful day here off the coast of Southern California. Blue skies...
- ... a warm sun... - Twenty-five miles per hour.
- And a relatively calm sea... - Thirty.
Thirty-five.
One would think these eight power plants might shake the craft to pieces...
Take it easy, Howard.
- Forty! - Throttling back for starboard turn 180.
Throttling back for starboard turn 180.
The flight crew itself consists of four men.
Mr. Hughes, however, has added 11 maintenance men to this maiden taxi test...
...stationed at various places throughout the ship, checking points of stress and strain.
How does she sound, Odie?
Sounds good, Howard.
- Professor. - Yes?
Would you do me a favor?
Would you take a look out that window and tell me what the wind is doing?
I would say that we have a 15-knot wind.
Would you call that a headwind, professor?
I would, Mr. Hughes.
We must maintain silence. We must have quiet during the proceedings.
Mr. Hughes, will you stand and be sworn?
Mr. Hughes, did you receive...
...$43 million to manufacture 100 XF-11 spy planes for the United States Air Force?
I did.
How many functional planes did you deliver to the United States Air Force?
None.
Would you lean a little closer to the microphones, sir?
None.
Did you receive $ 13 million to manufacture...
...a prototype of a flying boat known as The Hercules?
I did.
And did you deliver that plane?
I did not.
So by your admission in this chamber, Mr. Hughes...
...you have received $56 million...
...from the United States government for planes you never delivered.
That is correct.
Well, excuse me for asking, Mr. Hughes...
...but where did all that money go?
Well, it went into the planes, senator. And a lot more.
More? Do tell, Mr. Hughes, what other larcenies did you commit?
I mean, I put my money into the planes, senator. My money.
- See, the thing is that I care... - Your personal finances are not...
Let him speak.
Proceed, Mr. Hughes.
See, the thing is, I care very much about aviation.
It has been the great joy of my life. That's why I put my own money into these planes.
And I've lost millions, senator, and I'll go on losing millions. It's just...
...what I do.
Now, if I've lost a lot of the government's money during the war, I hope folks...
...will put that into perspective.
More than 60 other airplanes ordered from such firms as...
...Lockheed, Douglas, Northrop and Boeing never saw action either.
In all, more than $800 million was spent during the war on planes that never flew.
Over 6 billion on other weapons that were never delivered.
Yet Hughes Aircraft, with her 56 million...
...is the only firm under investigation here.
I cannot help but think that has a little more to do with TWA than planes that did not fly.
- You've made your point, Mr. Hughes. - One second. I have one more thing...
...to say here to this committee.
And that has to do with The Hercules.
Now, I am supposed to be many things which are not complimentary.
I am supposed to be capricious.
I have been called a playboy. I've even been called an eccentric...
...but I do not believe that I have the reputation of being a liar.
Needless to say, The Hercules was a monumental undertaking.
It is the largest plane ever built.
It is over five stories tall with a wingspan longer than a football field.
That's more than a city block.
Now, I put the sweat of my life into this. I got my reputation all rolled up in it.
I have stated several times that if The Hercules fails to fly...
...I will leave this country and never come back. And I mean it.
Now, Senator Brewster, you can subpoena me...
...you can arrest me, you can even claim I've folded up and taken a run-out powder...
...but, well, I've had just about enough of this nonsense. Good afternoon.
I had to do it.
- Mr. Hughes. - Mr. Hughes.
I'd love to see The Hercules in the air.
Thank you, thank you so much.
Switch it off.
- The hearings aren't over yet. - The hearings are over.
The airline bill will be defeated in the Senate.
TWA will begin flights from New York to Paris...
...then on to Moscow, to Japan, to Hawaii, to Los Angeles...
...to New York.
Fuck.
- Power coming up. - Power coming up.
Howard Hughes has just alerted us.
He has asked everyone to hold on. Tremendous horsepower kicking up.
Let me hear it, Odie.
Twenty-five miles per hour.
Thirty.
Here we go. Here we go.
- Thirty-five. - The air-speed indicator...
...has moved up to 25. Thirty.
- Thirty-five. - Forty.
As he pushes the throttle it's 40.
- Forty-five. - Forty-five. More throttle.
- Forty-five. - Fifty.
- It's 50 over a choppy sea. - Fifty-five.
It's 55. It's 55.
- Sixty. - More throttle. It's 60.
- Sixty-five. - Sixty-five.
- Seventy. - It's 70.
- Seventy-five. - It's 75.
And something momentarily cuts out. I believe we are airborne.
We are airborne, ladies and gentlemen. I don't believe that Hughes...
...meant this to be. I don't know.
And we were really up in the air. We were really up in the air.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Hughes mammoth aircraft...
...has flown this afternoon in Los Angeles Harbor.
Well, it certainly looks at this moment that Howard Hughes will be around...
...the United States for quite some time to come.
We must understand that technologies like these are the way of the future.
- That's enough questions. - TWA and Hughes Aircraft are delighted...
...to have you come here and witness this wonderful sight.
- Excuse us for just a second. - All right.
- So you feel like going to Paris? - Now?
TWA is starting up flights to Europe.
I thought I might pilot the first one. Ought to be some fun.
- Lots of shopping in Paris. - I'll buy you anything.
You can buy me dinner. How about that?
Dinner, then. We got a date?
Okay, baby, you got a date.
I'll be back in a second, but don't you go anywhere, now. I mean it.
All right, listen, boys. Something new. Jet airplanes.
- You know about jets? - No, but it sounds expensive.
Oh, it will be, but we gotta get started.
Come on, walk with me.
Whoever can start utilizing jet technology...
...on commercial airliners is gonna win. What do you know about the science?
I know a little. I can work something to show you. Basic turbine stuff.
Noah, who are those fellas?
Do they work for me?
Everybody works for you, Howard.
Lockheed worked on the F-80. Let's get Bob Gross and see if he can help us out.
- What, now? - Of course now.
We gotta get into it. Jets are the way of the future.
- It's 4:30. - I talked to Bob last week. He's in New York.
- So it's 7:30. - He won't be in the office.
We'll figure out what hotel he's at. Do you want a call...
...or you want some kind of meeting? - We want a meeting, don't we?
Do you want me bring him out here tomorrow, then, Howard?
- The way of the future. - Howard?
- The way of the future.
- Let's take a walk, Howard.
- Way of the future. - Give me a hand.
The way of the future. The way of the future.
All right, stay here. I'll be right back. You understand, Howard?
The way of the future.
Guard the door. I'll get a doctor. No one sees him like this.
The way of the future. The way of the future.
You are not safe.
When I grow up...
...I'm gonna fly the fastest planes ever built...
...make the biggest movies ever...
...and be the richest man in the world.
The way of the future.
[ENGLISH]