Editing Howard Hawks (section)

=== Entering films (1916–1925) ===
Howard Hawks's interest and passion for aviation led him to many important experiences and acquaintances.{{sfn|Mast|1982|p=5}} In 1916, Hawks met [[Victor Fleming]], a Hollywood cinematographer who had been an auto mechanic and early aviator. Hawks had begun racing and working on a [[Mercer (automobile)|Mercer]] [[race car]]—bought for him by his grandfather C.W. Howard—during his 1916 summer vacation in California. He allegedly met Fleming when the two men raced on a dirt track and caused an accident.{{sfn|McCarthy|1997|pp=39–42}} This meeting led to Hawks's first job in the [[film industry]], as a [[Theatrical property|prop boy]] on the [[Douglas Fairbanks]] film ''[[In Again, Out Again]]'' (on which Fleming was employed as the cinematographer) for [[Famous Players–Lasky]].{{sfn|McCarthy|1997|pp=42–44}} According to Hawks, a new set needed to be built quickly when the studio's [[set designer]] was unavailable, so Hawks volunteered to do the job himself, much to Fairbanks's satisfaction. He was next employed as a prop boy and general assistant on an unspecified film directed by [[Cecil B. DeMille]]. (Hawks never named the film in later interviews, and DeMille made roughly five films in that time period). By the end of April 1917, Hawks was working on Cecil B. DeMille's ''[[The Little American]]''.{{sfn|McCarthy|1997|pp=42–44}} Hawks worked on [[Marshall Neilan]]'s ''[[The Little Princess (1917 film)|The Little Princess]]'', starring [[Mary Pickford]]. According to Hawks, Neilan did not show up to work one day, so the resourceful Hawks offered to direct a scene himself, to which Pickford consented.<ref>{{harvnb|McCarthy|1997|p=44}}; {{harvnb|Breivold|2006|p=74}}</ref> Hawks began directing at age 21 after he and cinematographer [[Charles Rosher]] filmed a [[double exposure]] dream sequence Pickford.

Hawks worked with Pickford and Neilan again on ''[[Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley]]'' before joining the [[United States Army Air Service]]. Hawks's military records were destroyed in the [[National Personnel Records Center fire|1973 Military Archive Fire]], so the only account of his military service is his own. According to Hawks, he spent 15 weeks in basic training at the [[University of California in Berkeley]] where he was trained to be a [[Commander (United States)#U.S. Air Force|squadron commander]] in the Air Service. When Pickford visited Hawks at basic training, his superior officers were so impressed by the appearance of the celebrity that they promoted him to [[flight instructor]] and sent him to [[Texas]] to teach new recruits. Bored by this work, Hawks attempted to secure a transfer during the first half of 1918 and was eventually sent to [[Fort Monroe, Virginia]]. The [[Armistice with Germany|Armistice]] was signed in November of that year, and Hawks was discharged as a [[Second Lieutenant#United States|Second Lieutenant]] without having seen active duty.<ref>{{harvnb|McCarthy|1997|pp=45–47}}; {{harvnb|Wakeman|1987|pp=446–451}}</ref>

After the war, Hawks was eager to return to Hollywood. His brother Kenneth Hawks, who had also served in the Air Service, graduated from [[Yale]] in 1919, and the two of them moved to Hollywood together to pursue their careers. They quickly made friends with Hollywood insider [[Allan Dwan]]. Hawks landed his first important job when he used his family's wealth to loan money to studio head [[Jack L. Warner]]. Warner quickly paid back the loan and hired Hawks as a producer to "oversee" the making of a new [[Serial film|series]] of [[short films|one-reel]] comedies starring the Italian comedian [[Monty Banks]]. Hawks later stated that he personally directed "three or four" of the shorts, though no documentation exists to confirm the claim. The films were profitable, but Hawks soon left to form his own production company using his family's wealth and connections to secure financing. The production company, ''Associated Producers'', was a joint venture between Hawks, Allan Dwan, [[Marshall Neilan]] and director [[Allen Holubar]], with a distribution deal with [[First National Pictures|First National]]. The company made 14 films between 1920 and 1923, with eight directed by Neilan, three by Dwan and three by Holubar.{{sfn|McCarthy|1997|pp=49–52}} More of a "boy's club" than a production company, the four men gradually drifted apart and went their separate ways in 1923, by which time Hawks had decided that he wanted to direct rather than produce.{{sfn|McCarthy|1997|p=56}}

Beginning in early 1920, Hawks lived in rented houses in Hollywood with the group of friends he was accumulating. This rowdy group of mostly macho, risk-taking men included his brother Kenneth Hawks, Victor Fleming, [[Jack Conway (filmmaker)|Jack Conway]], [[Harold Rosson]], [[Richard Rosson (filmmaker)|Richard Rosson]], [[Arthur Rosson]], and [[Eddie Sutherland]]. During this time, Hawks first met [[Irving Thalberg]], the vice-president in charge of production at [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]. Hawks admired his intelligence and sense of story.{{sfn|McCarthy|1997|pp=57–58}} Hawks also became friends with barn stormers and pioneer [[aviators]] at Rogers Airport in Los Angeles, getting to know men like [[Moye Stephens]].

In 1923, [[Famous Players–Lasky]] president [[Jesse Lasky]] was looking for a new Production Editor in the story department of his studio, and Thalberg suggested Hawks.{{sfn|Wakeman|1987|pp=446–451}} Hawks accepted and was immediately put in charge of over 40 productions, including several literary acquisitions of stories by [[Joseph Conrad]], [[Jack London]] and [[Zane Grey]]. Hawks worked on the scripts for all of the films produced, but he had his first official screenplay credit in 1924 on ''Tiger Love''.{{sfn|McCarthy|1997|pp=59–60}} Hawks was the Story Editor at Famous Players (later [[Paramount Pictures]]) for almost two years, occasionally editing such films as ''[[Heritage of the Desert (1924 film)|Heritage of the Desert]]''. Hawks signed a new one-year contract with Famous-Players in the fall of 1924. He broke his contract to become a story editor for Thalberg at MGM, having secured a promise from Thalberg to make him a director within a year. In 1925, when Thalberg hesitated to keep his promise, Hawks broke his contract at MGM and left.{{sfn|McCarthy|1997|pp=60–63}}