After completing his education at George Washington University, Bassler began his career in the film industry as a researcher at Paramount in 1924. He then graduated to the studio's cutting room, where he worked as editor between 1928 and 1930. During the succeeding decade, Bassler was active as a literary agent for Reader's Digest. He was based in Vienna (staying at the famous Hotel Sacher), at the time of the Austrian 'Anschluss' with Germany, conferring with Dr. Paul Koretz, 20th Century Fox's resident expert on international copyright.