Conway was one of a team of MGM contract directors, who forsook any pretense to a specific individual style in favor of working within the strictures set forth by studio management.

Conway started out as an actor, joining a repertory theater group straight out of high school.

He did some films for Fox, The Roughneck (1924) with George O'Brien, The Hunted Woman (1925) and two with Tom Mix, The Heart Buster (1924) The Trouble Shooter (1924).

Conway directed films with MGM's top stars - William Haines (Brown of Harvard, Alias Jimmy Valentine, The Smart Set), John Gilbert (Twelve Miles Out), Joan Crawford (The Understanding Heart, Untamed, Our Modern Maidens ), Lon Chaney (While the City Sleeps, The Unholy Three) and Marie Dressler (Bringing Up Father).

Conway directed Viva Villa!, a hit MGM film starring Wallace Beery that was nominated for four Academy Awards.

Let Freedom Ring (1939) was a Western with Nelson Eddy, then Conway had a big hit with Boom Town (1940) starring Gable, Claudette Colbert, Tracy and Lamar.

Conway made some war films - Assignment in Brittany (1943) with Jean Pierre Aumont and Dragon Seed (1944) with Katharine Hepburn.

[2] Spencer Tracy read the eulogy while Conway's pallbearers included Robert Z. Leonard, Edward Sutherland, Eddie Mannix, and John Lee Mahin.

"[4] Gloria Swanson wrote in her memoirs " Making a film with Jack Conway was like going to an elegant party every day.