The Caddo Company, Incorporated

Howard Hughes Jr. founded The Caddo Company, Incorporated (Caddo) by an amended charter on August 13, 1926, soon after the failure of his first film, Swell Hogan (1926), and before the release of Everybody’s Acting (1926). Hughes hired director Lewis Milestone to direct Two Arabian Knights (1927), The Racket (1928), and The Front Page (1930) over the course of three years; the success of these films established Hughes’ reputation in the Hollywood film industry. Caddo went on to produce a total of nine films, most prominently Hell’s Angels (1930) and Howard Hawks’ controversial Scarface (1932), which was the recipient of notable censorship lawsuits. Hughes used the censorship controversy to successfully market the film, a tactic he implemented throughout his career. After 1932, Caddo continued to exist as a corporate body under Hughes Tool Company, but no longer produced films.

Sources:

Brand, Paul. “Nice Town. I'll Take It.” Bright Lights Film Journal, January 1, 2005. Accessed February 16, 2022. https://doi.org/https://brightlightsfilm.com/nice-town-ill-take-it-howard-hughes-and-hollywood/#.X2Jgf3lKiUm.

American Film Institute Catalog. “Caddo Co., Inc.” AFI Catalog. 2019. Accessed February 16, 2022. https://catalog.afi.com/Search?searchField=ProductionCompany&searchText=Caddo&sortType=sortByRelevance.