James Cruze

Born to Danish immigrants, he became first an actor and then, as a result of breaking his leg, a director. During the 1920s Cruze proved one of Hollywood's more varied and prolific filmmakers (and in 1927 the highest paid, earning $7,000 a week) with movies such as the lavishly produced historical epics "The Covered Wagon" (1923) and "Old Ironsides" (1926), which were noted for their almost documentary-like pictorial images but were weak on character. He also scored with the inventive, somewhat surreal "One Glorious Day" (1922) and with "Beggar on Horseback" (1925), while several of Cruze's early talkies, including the modestly budgeted but maturely handled "I Cover the Waterfront" (1933) feature some of his best work. Married to silent screen star Betty Compson from 1924 to 1930.