[1] Initially, he specialized in the popular screwball comedies, eventually giving Billy Wilder his first directing job, and producing several films starring Bob Hope.

In the 1950s, as an independent producer rather than a studio employee, he worked on the musical Oklahoma and the courtroom drama Witness for the Prosecution, directed by his former Paramount colleague, Wilder.

He gave aspiring actress Marie Windsor her first screen test, and Constance Ockelman her new name, Veronica Lake.

As a producer he was nominated for an Academy Award 'Best Picture' Oscar four times, but failed to win.

He allowed a version of his last name be used by C. S. Forester (who, together with Niven Busch, was a scriptwriter for one of the films he directed[3]) for the fictional sea captain Horatio Hornblower.