In 1923, he joined the Mack Sennett studio as a comedy writer. In the 1920s he worked closely with Frank Capra churning out screenplays for many movies. After breaking with Capra and the Mack Sennett studio, Ripley again returned to being a gag writer, screenwriter and occasional director. His directorial work in the 1940s, Voice in the Wind (1944) and The Chase (1946), were both critical successes, but neither film were box office hits. Ripley entered the world of academia, helping to establish the Film Center at U.C.L.A. Ripley returned to directing one more time, at the request of Robert Mitchum, for Thunder Road (1958) before returning to U.C.L.A. and working until his death in 1961.
