Person
Elmer Clifton
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Born in Chicago, he was an actor in touring stock companies before making his screen debut in 1912. Joining D.W. Griffith's Fine Arts Studio in 1914, he was cast as Union officer…
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Born in Chicago, he was an actor in touring stock companies before making his screen debut in 1912. Joining D.W. Griffith's Fine Arts Studio in 1914, he was cast as Union officer Phil Stoneman in "The Birth of a Nation" (1915) and as The Rhapsodie in the Babylonian story of "Intolerance" (1916). He was also a second-unit director for those films. Promoted to director in 1917, Clifton supervised several successful Fine Arts comedies starring Dorothy Gish while continuing to serve as Griffith's assistant. Their association culminated with the blockbuster "Way Down East" (1920). Clifton shot much of its famous "Rescue from the ice" sequence and doubled for star Richard Barthelmess in the riskier scenes. He then left Griffith to form his own production company and had a smash hit with "Down to the Sea in Ships" (1922), a colorful whaling saga made on location in New England. It made a star of future "It Girl" Clara Bow, who appeared as a cross-dressing stowaway. In 1923 Clifton signed a lucrative seven-year contract with Fox and was poised to become one of Hollywood's major directors. Then tragedy struck. He was filming "The Warrens of Virginia" in Texas when his lead actress died from burns in an accident on the set. Although Clifton was blameless in the incident, he was fired by Fox and his career never regained its momentum.
Filmography
Movies and shows, newest first
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2019
I Am Not a Racist
Movie Phil (archive footage) (uncredited)
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1950
Outcasts of Black Mesa
Movie Story
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1950
The Silver Bandit
Movie Screenplay
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1950
The Kid from Gower Gulch
Movie Screenplay
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1949
Red Rock Outlaw
Movie Director
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1949
Not Wanted
Movie Director
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1949
The Judge
Movie Director
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1948
Quick on the Trigger
Movie Screenplay
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1948
Sunset Carson Rides Again
Movie Writer
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1947
West to Glory
Movie Screenplay
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1947
Rainbow Over the Rockies
Movie Screenplay
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1946
Song of the Sierras
Movie Screenplay
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1946
Outlaws of the Plains
Movie Story
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1946
Swing, Cowboy, Swing
Movie Writer
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1946
Lightning Raiders
Movie Screenplay
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1945
Frontier Fugitives
Movie Screenplay
More credits
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1945
Three in the Saddle
Movie Screenplay
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1945
Marked for Murder
Movie Director
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1944
The Whispering Skull
Movie Director
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1944
Dead or Alive
Movie Director
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1944
Youth Aflame
Movie Director
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1944
Gangsters of the Frontier
Movie Screenplay
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1944
Gunsmoke Mesa
Movie Screenplay
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1944
Seven Doors to Death
Movie Director
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1944
Brand of the Devil
Movie Screenplay
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1944
Teen Age
Movie Story
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1944
Spook Town
Movie Director
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1944
The Pinto Bandit
Movie Director
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1944
Guns of the Law
Movie Director
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1944
Outlaw Roundup
Movie Screenplay
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1944
Captain America
Movie Director
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1943
Boss of Rawhide
Movie Director
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1943
The Return of the Rangers
Movie Story
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1943
Frontier Law
Movie Director
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1943
Raiders of San Joaquin
Movie Screenplay
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1943
Cheyenne Roundup
Movie Story
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1943
Days of Old Cheyenne
Movie Director
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1943
The Blocked Trail
Movie Director
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1943
Bad Men of Thunder Gap
Movie Writer
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1942
The Sundown Kid
Movie Director
