- Born
- Died
- He acted on the stage from 1907 and worked with D.W. Griffith in various capacities between 1913-22, including appearances in The Birth of a Nation (1915) and Intolerance (1916). He became a director in 1917, with his best-known production probably being the big-budget whaling epic Down to the Sea in Ships (1922), which brought Clara Bow to the attention of audiences. Unfortunately, his career began to wane in the late 1920s; although he occasionally worked for such "major" studios as Columbia or RKO, he spent most of the rest of his career mired in the depths of Poverty Row, writing and/or directing quickie westerns and thrillers for such bottom-of-the-barrel studios as PRC and even lower-budget exploitation pictures for such shoestring producers as J.D. Kendis and the Weiss Brothers.
- IMDb mini biography by: A. Nonymous
- Children
- He was filming The Warrens of Virginia (1924)in Texas when his leading lady, Martha Mansfield, died from burns suffered in an accident on the set. Although Clifton himself was not at fault, he was fired by Fox and his career lost momentum.
- His association with D.W. Griffith culminated with the blockbuster silent film 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.
- Although he is credited with having directed several films released in 1950, they were all shot before his death in 1949. Not Wanted (1949) is actually his last film--Ida Lupino took over directing the picture after Clifton suffered a heart attack on set, and in fact he died shortly after its release.
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