I introduce...
...Dr. Ludlow Branson
of Columbia University.
Dr. Branson...
...is a mathematician of some note.
Yes. And he will now demonstrate...
...that in fact...
...Miss Russell's mammaries
are no more prominent...
...than any of these other fine ladies'.
Doctor.
Doctor...
...you forgot your calipers.
Gentlemen, Mr. Hughes.
Let us commence by calling this...
...Mammary Exhibit Number One.
Now, you'll see that the length
of the actual cleavage...
...if I may, is...
...5 inches and a quarter.
Now if we move to Mammary Exhibit...
Dateline: Hollywoodland.
Movie tycoon Howard Hughes
must have the greatest job in the land.
Every night, the lucky guy escorts
a different beautiful woman...
... to a different dazzling event.
The TWA king always talks up
his airline as he escorts a succession...
The Hercules, ladies and gentlemen.
The Hercules.
A plane, a boat, a flying city.
Don't forget, every bill comes to me.
They don't pay for anything.
Those men decide whether to fund
the plane, so I need them happy.
- You do what it takes.
- You betcha, boss.
How are the girls
in the bomb department?
Well, let's put it this way,
it'll be a regular boob buffet.
I don't think the Air Corps men
will have trouble scoring.
- Good.
- And inside, 700 brave American soldiers...
... a dozen Sherman tanks all winging
their way over the Atlantic...
... free from the threats
of the U-boats below.
Could Jules Verne himself have
ever imagined anything so magnificent?
Could he have imagined her mammoth
wingspan, longer than a football field?
Don't you see how this demeans me?
Since when do you care
about scandal rags?
Every time there's a picture of you with
another woman, it's a slap in the face.
- Don't you understand that?
- Well, that's overstating it.
Joan Crawford, Ginger Rogers,
Linda Darnell, Joan Fontaine...
...and now Bette Davis,
for God's sake.
Look, they're Cracker Jack candy, honey.
They don't mean anything to me.
Oh, very nice.
You're the one that said
that all men are predators.
I mean, it's all in Darwin, remember?
And am I to expect this behavior
to continue after the wedding?
What is really bothering you, Kate?
Is it the women or the publicity?
Can't you eat ice cream from a bowl
like everyone else in the world?
Don't you dare.
Yeah.
No, Odie, this is not a good time.
For chrissakes, we can't make The Hercules
if we don't have any aluminum.
Wait.
I can hear you better now.
Tell the War Production Board...
...that this is an essential
strategic operation.
If they're giving aluminum to Boeing,
they can give some to Hughes Aircraft.
Don't set the ice cream...
We gotta think of something else. If we
can't get aluminum, we'll find another way.
You tell me. We'll find
some alloy that works just as well.
Right. Look...
- lf we can't get aluminum, we'll use wood.
- You can't make a plane out of wood.
Why not?
The damn thing is a flying boat, right?
- What do they use to make boats?
- Oak.
And think of The Hercules
like a flying Spanish galleon.
Spanish galleons
can weigh 1200 tons.
Good luck today.
We just have to find the right wood.
Something light but strong.
- Morning, Kate.
- Pine, cedar, maybe birch.
Catch.
From my farm.
If you like it, I can get you a bushel.
Trouble with Mr. Hughes?
There's too much Howard Hughes
in Howard Hughes.
That's the trouble.
Beautiful.
Don't you take Christmas off?
Nice to see you.
Sorry, I've got grease on my hands.
Have we got something to show you.
Take a look. The XF-11
reconnaissance flier. Spy plane, really.
Designed every inch of her myself.
She's got a top speed of 450...
...which means she can outrun
anything they throw against her.
After the Japs stole
my H-1 design for their Zeros...
...I needed to do them one better.
Yeah, she's my