 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.