Complex sentence: His earliest films as director were'quota quickies', but his career began to develop with "The Stars Look Down" (1940), from the A. J. Cronin novel, which features Michael Redgrave in the lead role.
Split into simpler sentences: His earliest films as director were'quota quickies'. His career began to develop with "The Stars Look Down" (1940), from the A. J. Cronin novel, which features Michael Redgrave in the lead role.