Considered one of Hollywood's leading directors at one point,[1] he directed over 50 films from 1921 to 1946, including The Thundering Herd (1925), The Power and the Glory (1933), Fire Over England (1937), and Johnny Come Lately (1943).

[1] After serving in Europe during World War I, he graduated from Ohio State University with a degree in engineering law.

In the 1920s his directorial work included The Border Legion (1924), The Thundering Herd (1925), White Gold (1927), The Valiant (1929), and Christina (1929).

Upon his return to America in 1939, he suffered the same fate as William Beaudine, another A-list director of the 1920s just back from England: he had trouble re-establishing himself in the American picture business.

His friend Edmund Lowe, as a favor to Howard, agreed to take the leading role in Klondike Fury.