The Carpetbaggers is a 1964 American film starring George Peppard as a character based largely on Howard Hughes and Alan Ladd as a former western gunslinger turned actor with the stage name Nevada Smith. A prequel featuring Steve McQueen was released the following year. Carroll Baker played an actress who was influenced by Jean Harlow, who starred in John Hughes' epic picture Hell's Angels. The Carpetbaggers was Alan Ladd's final picture, directed by Edward Dmytryk and shot in 70mm. Ladd died a few months before its release. George Peppard plays a hard-charging industrialist who is eerily similar to Howard Hughes in the film. Friends and lovers strive to reach his human side while he builds planes, directs movies, and breaks hearts, but it's an uphill battle. The title of the film is a metaphor for self-promoters who undertake rapid financial takeovers, impose totalitarian regulations for short-term profit, and then move on to greener pastures.