He won an Academy Award for the story of Manhattan Melodrama (1934), which is most famous today for being the film that John Dillinger had just been to see before getting gunned down outside the cinema.
Han vandt en Oscar for historien om Manhattan Melodrama (1934), der er mest kendt i dag for at være den film, John Dillinger netop havde været ind at se, før han bliver skudt ned uden for biografen.