In motion pictures, he made his credited debut with "Possessed" in 1931, appearing with Clark Gable and Joan Crawford, and the next year he was given the lead in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Freaks", directed by Tod Browning. Ford went on to have an extensive career over 30 years, appearing in more than 150 films, with lead roles in the 1930s and '40s in Hollywood B movies such as "The Rogues' Tavern" (1936), "Murder by Invitation" (1941), and "Roar of the Press" (1941), and supporting roles in larger feature films such as "The Lost Patrol" (1934), "Shadow of a Doubt" (1942), "Spellbound" (1945), and "Dead Reckoning" (1947).