Noel Smith began his career in 1917 at Henry Lehrman's L-KO Kompany studio, making slapstick shorts.
This experience influenced Smith so heavily that he became known as an action director, capable of staging impressive, stunt-filled scenes on quick shooting schedules.
In order to make the series as economically as possible, the Foran films borrowed action footage from Warners' John Wayne westerns of 1932-33.
His second and last Universal project was Gang Busters (1942), the studio's bid to make serials for adult audiences, and Noel Smith made valuable contributions by staging many reckless action sequences.
Warner remembered Noel Smith as a fast-and-cheap director, and hired him to make a quickie western with Morgan, Cattle Town.