woods graduated from the university of california, berkeley, and made his film debut in 1928. his screen career was spent mostly in b movies, for example as lawyer perry mason in the 1937 film "the case of the stuttering bishop". he also occasionally played major roles in bigger feature films like "a tale of two cities" (1935), "anthony adverse" (1936), "watch on the rhine" (1943), "the bridge of san luis rey" (1944), and "roughly speaking" (1945).