Quotes

I've been moderate in everything, I never set out to break any records.

[when informed that a Monogram quickie he was working on was falling behind schedule] You mean someone out there is actually waiting to see THIS?

[on his career slide from top-ranked director in the 1920s and 1930s to working on Poverty Row "B"--and lower--quickies in the 1940s] A couple of producers told me I was washed up. But making movies is what I do. It's what I know how to do, and I don't plan to stop now. I've got no regrets. I just have to start over.

[reflecting on his career] Long ago I quit thinking that every picture I did was going to be an Academy Award contender. I'm a commercial director. I know how to save money and get something on the screen. I let those artsy guys shoot the scenes through chandeliers or from behind the wine glass. That's not for me.

[on how he got into the film industry] I started out as the lowest guy on [D.W. Griffith's] payroll. I was the assistant to everybody. I painted the properties and cleaned the cuspidors. All for $10 a week.