Raoul Walsh

Raoul Walsh was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the brother of silent cinema actor George Walsh. He portrayed John Wilkes Booth in the silent film The Birth of a Nation (1915) and directed the widescreen epic The Big Trail (1930) starring John Wayne in his first leading role, The Roaring Twenties starring James Cagney, Gladys George, Priscilla Lane and Humphrey Bogart, High Sierra (1941) starring Ida Lupino and Humphrey Bogart, and White Heat (1949) starring James Cagney, Edmond O'Brien, Virginia Mayo and Margaret Wycherly. He directed his last film in 1964. His work has been noted as influences on directors such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Martin Scorsese.