D.W. Griffith had vowed to make a director of Walsh and sent him down to Mexico to make a documentary on the notorious
Pancho Villa. Walsh rode with the revolutionary leader from Juarez to Mexico City, recording the journey on film. Walsh later confirmed a long-standing rumor--after a battle in which Villa took many federal soldiers prisoner, he made Walsh and his crew film the prisoners' executions by firing squad. When Walsh got back to Hollywood, however, studio executives refused to allow the executions to be included in the documentary, as they were deemed too grisly for audiences to watch.
