Editing Howard Hawks (section)

=== Early sound films (1930–1934) ===
By 1930, Hollywood was in upheaval over the coming of "talkies", and the careers of many actors and directors were ruined. Hollywood studios were recruiting stage actors and directors that they believed were better suited for sound films. After working in the industry for 14 years and directing many financially successful films, Hawks found he had to prove himself an asset to the studios once again. Leaving Fox on sour terms did not help his reputation, but Hawks never backed down from fights with studio heads. After several months of unemployment, Hawks renewed his career with his first sound film in 1930.{{sfn|McCarthy|1997|p=102}}

[[File:Dawn-Patrol-1930-Poster.jpg|thumb|upright|''The Dawn Patrol'' movie poster]]
Hawks's first all-sound film was ''[[The Dawn Patrol (1930 film)|The Dawn Patrol]]'', based on an original story by [[John Monk Saunders]] and (unofficially) Hawks. Reportedly, Hawks paid Saunders to put his name on the film, so that Hawks could direct the film without arousing concern due to his lack of writing experience.{{sfn|Mast|1982|p=7}} Accounts vary on who came up with the idea of the film, but Hawks and Saunders developed the story together and tried to sell it to several studios before First National agreed to produce it.{{sfn|McCarthy|1997|pp=102–105}} Shooting began in late February 1930, about the same time that [[Howard Hughes]] was finishing his World War I aviation epic ''[[Hell's Angels (film)|Hell's Angels]]'', which had been in production since September 1927. Shrewdly, Hawks began to hire many of the aviation experts and cameramen that had been employed by Hughes, including [[Elmer Dyer]], Harry Reynolds and Ira Reed. When Hughes found out about the rival film, he did everything he could to sabotage ''The Dawn Patrol''. He harassed Hawks and other studio personnel, hired a spy that was quickly caught, and finally sued First National for copyright infringement. Hughes eventually dropped the lawsuit in late 1930—he and Hawks had become good friends during the legal battle. Filming was finished in late May 1930, and it premiered in July, setting a first-week box office record at the [[Winter Garden Theatre]] in New York. The film became one of the biggest hits of 1930.{{sfn|McCarthy|1997|pp=111–115}} The success of this film allowed Hawks to gain respect in the field of filmmaking and allowed him to spend the rest of his career as an independent director without the necessity to sign any long-term contracts with specific studios.{{sfn|Mast|1982|p=71}}

[[File:Criminal Code.jpg|thumb|left|upright|''The Criminal Code'' poster]]
Hawks did not get along with Warner Brothers executive [[Hal B. Wallis]], and his contract allowed him to be loaned out to other studios. Hawks took the opportunity to accept a directing offer from [[Harry Cohn]] at [[Columbia Pictures]].{{sfn|McCarthy|1997|pp=118–119}} The film opened in January 1931 and was a hit. The film was banned in Chicago, and experienced censorship, which would continue in his next film project.{{sfn|McCarthy|1997|pp=120–121}} In 1930, Hughes hired Hawks to direct ''[[Scarface (1932 film)|Scarface]]'', a gangster film loosely based on the life of Chicago mobster [[Al Capone]]. The film was completed in September 1931, but the censorship of the [[Hays Code]] prevented it from being released as Hawks and Hughes had originally intended. The two men fought, negotiated, and made compromises with the Hays Office for over a year, until the film was eventually released in 1932, after such other pivotal early gangster films as ''[[The Public Enemy]]'' and ''[[Little Caesar (film)|Little Caesar]]''. ''Scarface'' was the first film on which Hawks worked with screenwriter [[Ben Hecht]], who became a close friend and collaborator for 20 years.{{sfn|Wakeman|1987|pp=446–451}} After filming was complete on ''Scarface'', Hawks left Hughes to fight the legal battles and returned to First National to fulfill his contract, this time with producer [[Darryl F. Zanuck]]. For his next film, Hawks wanted to make a film about his childhood passion: car racing. Hawks developed the script for ''[[The Crowd Roars (1932 film)|The Crowd Roars]]'' with Seton Miller for their eighth and final collaboration. Hawks used real race car drivers in the film, including the [[1930 Indianapolis 500]] winner [[Billy Arnold (racing driver)|Billy Arnold]].{{sfn|McCarthy|1997|pp=156–162}} The film was released in March and became a hit.{{sfn|McCarthy|1997|p=172}}

[[File:Tiger Shark 1932 poster.jpg|thumb|upright|''Tiger Shark'' poster]]
Later in 1932, he directed ''[[Tiger Shark (film)|Tiger Shark]]'', starring [[Edward G. Robinson]] as a tuna fisherman. In these early films, Hawks established the prototypical "Hawksian Man", which film critic [[Andrew Sarris]] described as "upheld by an instinctive professionalism."{{sfn|Wakeman|1987|pp=446–451}} ''Tiger Shark'' demonstrated Hawks's ability to incorporate touches of humor into dramatic, tense and even tragic story lines.{{sfn|McCarthy|1997|p=172}} In 1933, Hawks signed a three-picture deal at [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] Studios, the first of which was ''[[Today We Live]]'' in 1933. This [[World War I]] film was based on a [[short story]] by [[William Faulkner]].{{sfn|McCarthy|1997|pp=173–187}} Hawks's next two films at MGM were the [[boxing]] drama ''[[The Prizefighter and the Lady]]'' and the [[biographical film|bio-pic]] ''[[Viva Villa!]]''. Studio interference on both films led Hawks to walk out on his MGM contract without completing either film himself.{{sfn|Wakeman|1987|pp=446–451}}