Elmer Clifton (March 14, 1890 – October 15, 1949) was an American

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

from the early silent days. A collaborator of

D.W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the na ...

, he appeared in ''

The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'', originally called ''The Clansman'', is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and play ''The Clan ...

'' (1915) and ''

Intolerance Intolerance may refer to: * Hypersensitivity Hypersensitivity (also called hypersensitivity reaction or intolerance) refers to undesirable reactions produced by the normal immune system, including allergies and autoimmunity. They are usual ...

'' (1916) before giving up acting in 1917 to concentrate on work behind the camera, with Griffith and

Joseph Henabery Joseph Henabery (January 15, 1888 – February 18, 1976) of Omaha, Nebraska, was a film actor, screenplay writer, and director in the United States. He is best known for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln in D.W. Griffith's controversial 1915 sil ...

as his mentors. His first feature-length solo effort as a director was ''The Flame of Youth'' with

Jack Mulhall John Joseph Francis Mulhall (October 7, 1887 – June 1, 1979) was an American film actor beginning in the silent film era who successfully transitioned to sound films, appearing in over 430 films in a career spanning 50 years. Early years Mu ...

. Clifton honed his talents during the late 1910s, directing vehicles for Mulhall and

Herbert Rawlinson Herbert Banemann Rawlinson (15 November 1885 – 12 July 1953) was an English-born stage, film, radio, and television actor. A leading man during Hollywood's silent film era, Rawlinson transitioned to character roles after the advent of sound f ...

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

and then for

Dorothy Gish Dorothy Elizabeth Gish (March 11, 1898June 4, 1968) was an American actress of the screen and stage, as well as a director and writer. Dorothy and her older sister Lillian Gish were major movie stars of the silent era. Dorothy also had great s ...

for

Famous Players-Lasky Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company—originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays—and ...

. Two of his projects with Gish, '' Nobody Home'' and ''

Nugget Nell ''Nugget Nell'' is a 1919 American comedy silent film directed by Elmer Clifton and written by John R. Cornish. The film stars Dorothy Gish, David Butler, Raymond Cannon, Regina Sarle, Jim Farley, and Bob Fleming. The film was released on July 2 ...

'', featured performances from pre-stardom Rudolph Valentino. Most of this early output has been lost. He was the first filmmaker to discover the talents of

Clara Bow Clara Gordon Bow (; July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom during the silent film era of the 1920s and successfully made the transition to "talkies" in 1929. Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the ...

, whom he cast in '' Down to the Sea in Ships'', released on March 4, 1923. The independently produced film was well reviewed for its visual authenticity. During the 1920s, Clifton directed films for several different studios. During the filming of '' The Warrens of Virginia'' ( 1924) for

Fox Film Corporation The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American Independent film production studio formed by William Fox (1879–1952) in 1915, by combining his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attractions Film C ...

, lead actress

Martha Mansfield Martha Mansfield (born Martha Ehrlich; July 14, 1899 – November 30, 1923) was an American actress in silent films and vaudeville stage plays. Early life She was born in New York City to Maurice and Harriett Gibson Ehrlich. She had a younger sis ...

suffered a fatal accident from burns when her costume caught fire. Clifton directed ''The Wreck of the Hesperus'' for

Cecil B. deMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...

's production company, and filmed on location in the Grand Canyon for ''The Bride of the Colorado''. He also directed some Technicolor short films, including ''Manchu Love'' with an all-Asian cast. In the sound era, Clifton wrote and directed many

poverty row Poverty Row is a slang term used to refer to Hollywood films produced from the 1920s to the 1950s by small (and mostly short-lived) B movie studios. Although many of them were based on (or near) today's Gower Street in Hollywood, the term did ...

Westerns The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

and "exploitation" classics, among them the anti-marijuana polemic '' Assassin of Youth'' (1937). He also directed the vice films ''

Gambling with Souls ''Gambling with Souls'' is a 1936 American exploitation film directed by Elmer Clifton. Plot Cast * Martha Chapin as Mrs. Mae Miller *Wheeler Oakman as Lucky Wilder *Bryant Washburn as "Million Dollar" Taylor * Gay Sheridan as Carolyn * Vera ...

'' (1936), '' Slaves in Bondage'' (1937) and ''

City of Missing Girls ''City of Missing Girls'' is a 1941 American film directed by Elmer Clifton. Plot The police led by Captain McVeigh and the Assistant District Attorney James J. Horton are baffled by the disappearances of several young girls with some being fou ...

'' (1941), all of which portrayed addiction and white slavery to some degree. His last film ''

Not Wanted ''Not Wanted'' is a 1949 American drama film directed by Elmer Clifton and an un-credited Ida Lupino and starring Sally Forrest, Keefe Brasselle and Leo Penn. A few days after shooting started, Clifton suffered a heart attack. Lupino stepped in ...

'' (1949), was finished by producer

Ida Lupino Ida Lupino (4 February 1918Recorded in ''Births Mar 1918'' Camberwell Vol. 1d, p. 1019 (Free BMD). Transcribed as "Lupine" in the official births index – 3 August 1995) was an English-American actress, singer, director, writer, and producer. T ...

after Clifton suffered a heart attack three days into filming and was unable to work anymore. He died in 1949 of a cerebral hemorrhage shortly after the film's release.

Early life

Elmer Clifton Forsyth was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to

Cecil Forsyth Cecil Forsyth (30 November 1870, in Greenwich – 7 December 1941, New York City) was an English composer and musicologist.Colles, H.C. 'Cecil Forsyth' in ''Grove Music Online'' (2001) He studied at the University of Edinburgh and at the Royal ...

, an English composer and musicologist, and Margaret Nicolle.

Personal life

Clifton married actress Helen Kiely on November 29, 1926. The couple had three children: Actress Dorinda Clifton, a daughter named Patricia, and a son named Michael.

Selected filmography

Partial filmography

Actor

References

External links

* * 1890 births 1949 deaths American film directors American male film actors American male silent film actors Film serial crew 20th-century American male actors Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) {{US-film-director-1890s-stub