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A Wisconsin-born actor-turned-director, Nigh entered the movie business in 1911 and made his directorial debut in two-reel comedies for Mack Sennett. He made his first feature film in 1915, and entered the sound era as a specialist in thrillers and action films, including westerns. One of Nigh's early talkies, Lord Byron of Broadway (co-directed with Harry Beaumont), was made for MGM, but after that he generally confined himself to work for the smaller studios, including Columbia and Monogram, and as a B-picture specialist at Universal. He hit his full stride during the '40s, with the juvenile delinquency drama Mob Town (1941), the mystery thriller The Strange Case of Dr. Rx (1942), the East Side Kids' crime drama Mr. Wise Guy (1942), and the topical thriller Black Dragons (1942). His most widely seen film was probably the wartime romantic drama Corregidor (1943). Nigh also directed two of the late entries in the Cisco Kid series, The Gay Cavalier and Beauty and the Bandit, starring Gilbert Roland. Never noted as a stylist -- with the budgets and schedules that he worked under, he could hardly have had the chance to develop a style -- Nigh was known for his fast-paced action scenes and quick, naturalistic approach to crowd scenes.