Q-U...
...A-R...
...A-N-T...
...I-N-E.
Quarantine.
Q-U-A-R...
...A-N-T...
...I-N-E.
Quarantine.
You know the cholera?
Yes, Mother.
You've seen the signs on
the houses where the coloreds live?
Yes, Mother.
You know the typhus?
I do, Mother.
You know what they
can do to you?
Yes, Mother.
You are not safe.
You may be directing this movie,
but what you're asking, we can't do.
Don't tell me it can't be done.
The gyro forces are too much.
You send these planes into barrel rolls...
...they won't make it.
- It's the climax of the picture. Make it work.
Decrease the vertical trajectory
if you have to.
A Le Rhфne rotary
won't stall at 60 degrees.
We're still short two cameras.
We need to cut that sequence down...
We're not cutting. I'll get those cameras.
Set up for rehearsals.
I'm Noah Dietrich.
Your office said I'd find you here.
Dietrich.
You're a man on the come.
I read your resume, talked to your references.
Know what I'm looking for?
You're looking for a second-in-command
at Hughes Tools.
Someone to oversee
the financial aspects of the business.
I'm looking for somebody to run it
and do a good job.
There's only one thing
you've gotta know.
My folks, they're gone now.
So it's my money.
What I do with that money may seem crazy
to those sons of bitches in Houston.
I'm sure it does, but it all makes
good sense to me. You got that?
- Got it.
- Good.
Now, you made, what,
$5200 a year at your last job?
- I'll pay you $ 10,000.
- I guess I'll be working twice as hard.
You'll be working four times as hard.
I just got you at half price.
- Welcome aboard.
- Thank you.
You're my voice now.
Make them understand that.
Some of those folks still call me Junior.
You tell them it's "Mr. Hughes" now.
You bet.
So when do we go to Houston?
We don't. Cholera epidemic in 1913.
Two thousand dead.
Whole place is nothing but
pestilential swamp.
Typhus, malaria, cholera, yellow fever.
You name it, they got it.
You see that, Mr. Dietrich?
You are looking at the largest
private air force in the entire world.
What do you think of that, now?
It's your money.
Start them up!
I saw the rough cut of the new
Tod Browning movie, London After Midnight.
Lon Chaney is incredible.
It's his best performance
in a long time.
It's gonna be a big hit.
The cards are great.
It's supposed to be...
Hello, Mr. Mayer.
I don't know if you remember me.
My name's Howard Hughes.
I was wondering
if I could have a moment.
- Oh, Howard Hughes. The airplane picture?
- Exactly.
- I remember.
- Hell's Angels. You heard of it.
- Good.
- Yes.
I was wondering if I could
have a moment of your time.
I need a few cameras.
- Yeah?
- Yeah, two, to be exact.
I bought every camera I could find.
We're shooting our big dogfight sequence.
I need two more. Desperately.
You think MGM could help me out?
With what?
- Cameras.
- Oh, with the actual cam...
We're not usually in the practice
of helping out competition.
- No. No.
- So how many cameras do you have now?
Twenty-four.
You...?
Wait a minute.
- You have 24 cameras?
- That's right.
- And you need...? You need two more?
- Yeah.
- You don't think you got it with 24?
- No. No, sir.
You know, I think...
I think we've got them all...
Don't we have them...?
They're all used, right?
- All 26 of them.
- I only need two, sir.
- Jesus Christ, sonny.
- Howard.
Howard. Let me give you
a little advice, huh?
- Take your oil money...
- Drill bits.
All right, take your drill-bit money
and put it in the bank.
If you continue making
the movie the way you are...
...there isn't gonna be a distributor...
...you won't find anybody
who wants to see the movie...
...and you're not gonna have
any more oil money.
So welcome to Hollywood.
Yeah. Well, I'll be sure
to remember that, Mr. Mayer.
- Good luck.
- All right.
He needs 26 to make it work?
He's out of his mind.
I looked down at my pants.
It was a strange