 His career spanned several decades, from 1929 to 1973, and has been called one of the most significant, in both quality and popularity, in the history of Finnish cinema.As a teenager, Vaala befriended Theodor Tugai – who later became known as a film director and actor under the name Teuvo Tulio – and the pair recognized their common interest in films.They decided to start making films together, but their first feature-length attempt, "Mustat silmät" in 1929, never received wide distribution.