Legendary movie personality Raoul Walsh got his Hollywood break as John Wilkes Booth in D. W. Griffith's 1915 silent movie The Birth of a Nation. He went on to develop and direct more than 200 films, including classics like High Sierra (1941) and White Heat (1949). Born in 1887, Walsh was a founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Now, author and critic Marilyn Ann Moss has written the first comprehensive biography of this prolific filmmaker known as the one-eyed bandit since he started wearing an eye patch to cover an injury from a freak car accident in 1928. Walsh directed heavyweights such as Humphrey Bogart, Errol Flynn and Marlene Dietrich and cast future star John Wayne in his first leading role in The Big Trail (1930.) In Raoul Walsh: The True Adventures of Hollywood's Legendary Director, Moss discusses Walsh's career that spanned more than five decades, his film-making style, his personal life and his legacy. What is Walsh’s long-lasting legacy and how did he influence the way movies are made today?

Guest:

Marilyn Ann Moss, author of Raoul Walsh: The True Adventures of Hollywood's Legendary Director (The University Press of Kentucky)