clearly found the formula for success in these romantic comedies of marriage and intrigue laced with a series of handsome leading men and a never-ending parade of fabulous gowns." Principal Pictures and Irving M. Lesser, 1924-1925 In late 1923, Wood's relationship with Paramount began deteriorating due to his discontent over the quality of his project assignments. Wood completed the "heavy-handed morality tale" His Children's Children at the end of 1923, and only made Bluff (1924) with Agnes Ayers under protest due to his low appraisal of Ayers' star potential. Wood accepted two offers from producer Irving "Sol" Lesser of the newly formed Principal Pictures to make "a most unusual film", The Female (1924), set in the South African Veld starring Betty Compson, as well as a Western and Wood's first effort in this genre, The Mine with the Iron Door (1924) with Dorothy Mackaill. Wood consented to make another film with Dorothy Mackaill for Paramount in The Next Corner (1924) that despite its "expensive production values" was burdened with a "meager plot". Wood and Paramount reached an impasse when he refused to direct another Agnes Ayers vehicle. Wood was officially suspended from Paramount and the other major studios for a year. Sol Lesser at Principal Pictures reached out to Wood to direct a film version of novelist Harold Bell Wright's The Re-Creation of Brian Kent, a soap opera. When Wood's adaptation proved a box office success, Paramount executives sought to lure Wood back to the studio, bestowing on him a lavishly financed production, Fascinating Youth (1926). Wood completed the "light comedy" but remained convinced that he had no future with Paramount and successfully arranged for a release from his contract. Wood's separation from Paramount proved to be fortuitous for the director. Indeed, it was "a major turning point in his career." In 1927, he briefly directed films for Cole-Robertson Pictures, a small Boston outfit, and simultaneously negotiated a long-term commitment to Hollywood's dominant studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (M-G-M). Harold "Red" Grange and the Cole-Robertson Pictures, 1926-1927 Robertson-Cole Pictures (soon to be the Film Booking Company, F.B.O and later associated with RKO Radio Studios) instantly picked up the now available Wood. Production manager Joseph P. Kennedy had famous sports hero "Red" Grange under contract and Wood, a gridiron enthusiast, welcomed the opportunity to deliver a compelling football story, One Minute to Play (1926). Wood directed Grange a second time in a small epic