Elmer Clifton

Elmer Clifton Forsyth (March 14, 1890 – October 15, 1949) was a Canadian-born American actor, director, and screenwriter whose career spanned the silent era through the late 1940s. Born in Toronto to Cecil Carl Forsyth and Margaret Nicolle, Clifton began his performing career on the stage, appearing on Broadway in 1911 in The Deep Purple before transitioning to the screen.

Clifton's early film work brought him into the orbit of D.W. Griffith, with whom he collaborated as an actor on two landmark productions: The Birth of a Nation (1915) and Intolerance (1916). By 1917 he had stepped away from acting entirely, turning his focus to directing under the mentorship of Griffith and Joseph Henabery. His first solo feature as a director was The Flame of Youth, starring Jack Mulhall. Through the late 1910s he directed further vehicles for Mulhall and Herbert Rawlinson at Universal, then moved to Famous Players–Lasky to direct Dorothy Gish. Two of those Gish productions, Nobody Home and Nugget Nell, featured Rudolph Valentino before his rise to stardom. Much of this early work has since been lost.

In 1923 Clifton directed the independently produced Down to the Sea in Ships, released on March 4 of that year, which marked the screen debut of Clara Bow, making him the first filmmaker to recognize and cast her talents. The film received favorable reviews for its visual authenticity. The following year, while directing The Warrens of Virginia (1924) for Fox Film Corporation, lead actress Martha Mansfield suffered fatal burns when her costume caught fire on set. Clifton continued working across multiple studios throughout the decade, directing The Wreck of the Hesperus (1927) for Cecil B. DeMille's production company and filming The Bride of the Colorado on location in the Grand Canyon. He also directed Technicolor short films during this period, among them Manchu Love, which featured an all-Asian cast.

During the 1930s Clifton directed serials for Weiss Bros., Columbia, and Republic. His work on Columbia's serial The Secret of Treasure Island (1938) led to feature assignments at that studio. Alongside his studio work, he directed a number of low-budget exploitation films, including Gambling with Souls (1936), Assassin of Youth (1937), Slaves in Bondage (1937), City of Missing Girls (1941), and Youth Aflame (1944). He occasionally worked under the alias Elmer S. Pond. Through the 1940s he served as a staff director for PRC, concentrating on action features and westerns.

Clifton suffered a cerebral thrombosis three days into production on Not Wanted (1949), leaving him unable to continue. Producer Ida Lupino assumed direction of the film and completed it without receiving screen credit. Clifton died later that year of a cerebral hemorrhage, shortly after the film's release. Two westerns he had produced with Raymond Friedgen were released posthumously.

In his personal life, Clifton married actress Helen Kiely on November 29, 1926. The couple had three children: a daughter named Dorinda, who became an actress; a daughter named Patricia; and a son named Michael.