The Directors: Raoul Walsh

He got my attention when I was quite young because he directed some westerns I much admired.  He also directed many adventure films and crime dramas, two other genres I have always been drawn to.  He was a tough guy in real life and as a director but he never minded getting as much as he gave in that department.  It's probably one reason he was drawn more to male-driven stories and worked often with actors like Cagney, Flynn and Bogart.  He and I also had in common a love of those sassy, smart-mouthed actresses with some of his favorites being Virginia Mayo, Ida Lupino and Jane Russell. 

Good 30s Films: San Francisco

1936 Drama
From MGM
Directed by W. S. Van Dyke

Starring 
Clark Gable
Jeanette MacDonald
Spencer Tracy
Jack Holt
Jessie Ralph
Shirley Ross

Paramount Pictures

It comes well-pedigreed being the fifth oldest film studio in the world.  It is also the second oldest American studio (behind Universal) and is the only one of the Big Six still in Hollywood. Like all but one of the big studios it was founded by a savvy Jewish businessman from Europe who saw early on that there was a future for him in the entertainment business.