Elmer Clifton

Elmer Clifton Forsyth (March 14, 1890 – October 15, 1949) was an American director, screenwriter, and actor from the early silent days.

Early life Elmer Clifton Forsyth was born in Toronto, Canada, to Cecil Carl Forsyth and Margaret Nicolle.

Career A collaborator of D.W. Griffith, Clifton appeared in The Birth of a Nation (1915) and Intolerance (1916) before giving up acting in 1917 to concentrate on work behind the camera, with Griffith and Joseph Henabery as his mentors. His first feature-length solo effort as a director was The Flame of Youth with Jack Mulhall.

Clifton honed his talents during the late 1910s, directing vehicles for Mulhall and Herbert Rawlinson at Universal and then for Dorothy Gish for Famous Players–Lasky. Two of his projects with Gish, Nobody Home and Nugget Nell, 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, 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, lead actress Martha Mansfield suffered a fatal accident from burns when her costume caught fire. Clifton directed The Wreck of the Hesperus (1927) for Cecil B. deMille'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.

He directed serials for Weiss Bros., Columbia, and Republic. His handling of the successful Columbia serial The Secret of Treasure Island (1938) earned him feature assignments at Columbia. During the 1940s Clifton was a staff director for PRC, working on action features and westerns. Like other silent-era veterans, he also worked in the low-budget "exploitation" field, directing Gambling with Souls (1936), Assassin of Youth (1937), Slaves in Bondage (1937), City of Missing Girls (1941), and Youth Aflame (1944). Clifton sometimes used the alias "Elmer S. Pond".

Clifton experienced a cerebral thrombosis three days into filming Not Wanted (1949), and was unable to work anymore. Producer Ida Lupino took over the direction and completed the film without screen credit.

Clifton died in 1949 of a cerebral hemorrhage shortly after the film's release. Two of his 1949 productions, both inexpensive westerns produced by Raymond Friedgen, were released posthumously.

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 Year Title Role Notes1912 An Assisted Elopement Young Tom Richmond 1914 John Barleycorn Jack, 3rd period Martin Eden Cub reporter Burning Daylight: The Adventures of 'Burning Daylight' in Alaska Charley Bates 1915 The Birth of a Nation Phil – Stoneman's Elder Son Strathmore Marc The Fox Woman Marashida The Lily and the Rose Allison Edwards The Sable Lorcha Clyde 1916 The Missing Links Horace Gaylord Acquitted Ned Fowler The Little School Ma'am Wilbur Howard Intolerance The Rhapsode The Old Folks at Home Steve Coburn 1917 Nina, the Flower Girl Jimmie 1919 The Fall of Babylon The Rhapsode (final film role)