Stage actress Lucile Gleason began her film career in 1929 with several shorts before earning feature roles in movies such as George Cukor's Girls About Town (1931) and Herbert Brenon's Girl of the Rio (1932). She starred with her husband, actor James Gleason, and son Russell in the comedyThe Higgins Family (1938). Originally a vaudeville actor, Skeets Gallagher appeared in dozens of films from 1923 through the early 40s. Jason Robards was a leading man and character actor with over 200 titles to his credit, best known for movies like Isle of the Dead (1945) with Boris Karloff andMr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) with Cary Grant and Myrna Loy. William J. Cowan served in the Canadian military before becoming a Hollywood director, eventually helming notable films such as Oliver Twist (1933) and Kongo (1932).