Sam Wood
![Wood directing ''Beyond the Rocks'' (1922)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Sam_Wood.croop.jpg)
As a youth, Wood developed an enthusiasm for physical fitness that persisted into his senior years and influenced his interest in making sports-themed films.
Wood advanced from making largely competent yet routine pictures in the 1920s and 1930s to directing several highly regarded works during the 1940s at the peak of his abilities, among them ''Kings Row'' (1942) and ''Ivy'' (1947).
Wood's quick, efficient and professional execution of his film assignments endeared him to studio executives, and though not a "brilliant" director, Wood's legacy represents "a long and respectable film career." Provided by Wikipedia