The FBI Story

Mervyn LeRoy was an American film director, film producer and sometime actor. Born to Jewish parents in San Francisco, his family was financially ruined by the 1906 earthquake. To make money, young Mervyn sold newspapers and entered talent shows as a singer. Through this he worked his way into... vaudeville. When his act broke up, he and his cousin, Jesse Lasky, went to Hollywood. LeRoy worked in costumes, processing labs and as a camera assistant until he became a gag writer and actor in silent films. His first directing job was in 1927's No Place to Go. When his movies made lots of money without costing too much, he became well-received in the movie business. In 1931 he directed two key films which launched Edward G. Robinson into major stardom, the Oscar-nominated critique of tabloid journalism Five Star Final, and the classic gangster epic Little Caesar.
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Raoul Walsh was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh. He was known for portraying John Wilkes Booth in the silent classic The Birth of a Nation and for directing such films as The... Big Trail starring John Wayne, High Sierra starring Ida Lupino and Humphrey Bogart, and White Heat with James Cagney and Edmond O'Brien. His last directorial effort came in 1964. Born Albert Edward Walsh to Elizabeth T. Bruff, the daughter of Irish immigrants and Thomas W. Walsh, an Englishman of Irish descent. As a young man, Raoul was a close friend of Virginia O'Hanlon of "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" fame. Like his younger brother, he was part of Omega Gamma Delta during his high school days. Growing up in New York, Walsh was also a friend of the Barrymore family. John Barrymore recalled spending time reading in the Walsh family library as a youth. Walsh began as a stage actor in New York City, quickly progressing into film acting. Walsh was educated at Seton Hall College and began acting in 1909.
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