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Elmer Clifton Forsyth (March 14, 1890 – October 15, 1949) was an American director, screenwriter, and actor from the early silent days.
Elmer Clifton | |
|---|---|
 Clifton in 1917 | |
| Born | Elmer Clifton Forsyth March 14, 1890 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | October 15, 1949 (aged 59) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, screenwriter, actor |
| Years active | 1912–1949 |
| Spouse |
Helen Kiely (m. 1926) |
| Children | 3 |
Early life edit
Elmer Clifton Forsyth was born in Toronto, Canada, to Cecil Carl Forsyth and Margaret Nicolle.[citation needed]
Career edit
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.[citation needed]
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.[1] 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.[2] The independently produced film was well reviewed for its visual authenticity.[citation needed]
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.[3]
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.[4] Producer Ida Lupino took over the direction and completed the film without screen credit.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
Personal life edit
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.[citation needed]
Selected filmography edit
Partial filmography edit
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1917 | High Speed |
| Flirting with Death | |
| The Flame of Youth | |
| The High Sign | |
| The Man Trap | |
| Her Official Fathers | |
| The Midnight Man | |
| A Stormy Knight | |
| 1918 | Hearts of the World |
| Battling Jane | |
| Brace Up | |
| The Guilt of Silence | |
| The Eagle | |
| The Flash of Fate | |
| Kiss or Kill | |
| The Two-Soul Woman | |
| Smashing Through | |
| Winner Takes All | |
| 1919 | Peppy Polly |
| I'll Get Him Yet | |
| Boots | |
| Nugget Nell | |
| 1922 | Down to the Sea in Ships |
| 1923 | Six Cylinder Love |
| 1926 | Wives at Auction |
| 1926 | The Virgin Wife |
| 1926 | The Truth About Men |
| 1928 | Tropical Nights |
| 1928 | Beautiful But Dumb |
| 1929 | The Devil's Apple Tree |
| 1935 | Pals of the Range |
| Cyclone of the Saddle | |
| Rip Roaring Riley | |
| 1938 | Paroled from the Big House |
| The Secret of Treasure Island (serial) | |
| 1939 | Crashing Thru |
| 1941 | I'll Sell My Life |
| 1943 | Days of Old Cheyenne |
| 1944 | Seven Doors to Death |
| Captain America (serial) | |
| 1946 | Swing, Cowboy, Swing |
| 1949 | Not Wanted |
| 1949 | The Judge |
| 1949 | Red Rock Outlaw |
| 1950 | The Silver Bandit |
Actor edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 | 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) |
References edit
- ^ Golden, Eve; Golden Images: 41 Essays on Silent Film Stars; Jefferson: McFarland & Co; p 40. Web August 17, 2012
- ^ "Real life story of Clara Bow", in sixteen parts, by Louella Parsons, published by San Antonio light, May 15 – June 4, 1931
- ^ Slide, Anthony; Silent Topics: Essays On Undocumented Areas Of Silent Film; Scarecrow Press; p. 37; Web August 17, 2012
- ^ "Movie of the Week: "Outrage"". The New Yorker. October 9, 2014.