Born Henri Leopold de Fiennes in Sacramento, California, the son of an actress and a stage manager, and the grandson of a Belgian marquis who settled in San Francisco after failing to acquire the Sandwich Islands for his king, he entered films at 10 as a child actor in Western shorts of the American Film Company, appearing frequently in the early films of Allan Dwan. After a stint as property boy for Universal, he returned to film acting in juvenile roles. Following military service (1918-19) he became an assistant director. His many years of experience in front of and behind the camera proved useful when he was given his chance to direct in 1932. Beginning with a series of low-budget Westerns starring Randolph Scott, he was an established director of prestige pictures by 1936. At first with Paramount and later with Fox, he gained the reputation of being a skilled craftsman who handles his material straightforwardly with few complications or pretensions. He worked proficiently in a variety of genres but was at his best with action footage, particularly Westerns and crime dramas. He also produced a number of his films. He was assistant or second unit director for BEN-HUR (1925), UNDERWORLD and THE ROUGH RIDERS (both 1927), THE WOLF SONG and THE VIRGINIAN (both 1929) and THE TEXAN and MOROCCO (both 1930). Notable directing credits include HERITAGE OF THE DESERT (1932), SUNSET PASS (1933), COME ON MARINES (1934), THE LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER and PETER IBBETSON (both 1935), THE TRAIL OF THE LONESOME PINE (1936), SOULS AT SEA (also producer) and LEST WE FORGET (both 1937), SPAWN OF THE NORTH (1938), THE REAL GLORY (1939), JOHNNY APOLLO and BRIGHAM YOUNG - FRONTIERSMAN (both 1940), THE SHEPHERD OF THE HILLS and SUNDOWN (both 1941), TEN GENTLEMEN FROM WEST POINT and CHINA GIRL (both 1942), A LADY TAKES A CHANCE (1943, uncredited), HOME IN INDIANA and WING AND A PRAYER (both 1944), NOB HILL and THE HOUSE ON 92ND STREET (both 1945), THE DARK CORNER (1946), 13 RUE MADELEINE and KISS OF DEATH (both 1947), CALL NORTHSIDE 777 (1948), DOWN TO THE SEA IN SHIPS (1949), THE BLACK ROSE (1950), RAWHIDE, FOURTEEN HOURS, YOU'RE IN THE NAVY NOW and THE DESERT FOX (all 1951), DIPLOMATIC COURIER and O. HENRY'S FULL HOUSE (segment: "The Clarion Call") (both 1952), NIAGRA and WHITE WITCH DOCTOR (both 1953), PRINCE VALIANT and GARDEN OF EVIL (both 1954), THE RACERS (1955), THE BOTTOM OF THE BOTTLE and 23 PACES TO BAKER STREET (both 1956), LEGEND OF THE LOST (1957, also producer), FROM HELL TO TEXAS (1958), WOMAN OBSESSED (1959), SEVEN THIEVES and NORTH TO ALASKA (also producer) (both 1960), HOW THE WEST WAS WON (1962, 3 segments), CIRCUS WORLD (1964), THE SONS OF KATIE ELDER (1965), NEVADA SMITH (1966, also producer), THE LAST SAFARI (1967, also producer), 5 CARD STUD (1968), TRUE GRIT (1969), AIRPORT (1970, uncredited: outdoor winter scenes), RAID ON ROMMEL and SHOOT OUT (both 1971) and HANGUP (1974).    Nominated for Directing 1935: THE LIVES OF A BENGAL LANCER 1 nomination