Ralph Clanton
1914 - 2002Ralph Clanton (September 11, 1914 - December 29, 2002) was an American character actor. Although his name is not familiar to audiences, he did play a significant supporting role in a classic film which is revived regularly. His most often seen performance is as the Comte De Guiche in the 1950 film Cyrano de Bergerac, the first sound version in English of Edmond Rostand's classic play, and the film for which José Ferrer won his only Academy Award for Best Actor. Besides Ferrer as Cyrano, Clanton was the only holdover from the cast of the 1946 Broadway revival of the play, and would play the role of De Guiche opposite him once more, in a New York City Center production in 1953.
In addition to playing De Guiche in "Cyrano", Clanton was featured in seven different episodes of Alfred Hitchcock's television show, as well as making several appearances on the Hallmark Hall of Fame. In 1976, he played the role of George Washington in a PBS television production of Sidney Kingsley's The Patriots, a drama that had itself been produced on the Hallmark Hall of Fame in 1963, but without Clanton. He also played the role of Jasper Delaney on the TV soap operas, Another World and its spinoff, Somerset.
He played the role of Mr. Ingram in the sci-fi thriller The 27th Day.
He played guest star roles on numerous television series, including Perry Mason, in addition to appearing on Broadway in the role of Claude Nau in Robert Bolt's Vivat! Vivat Regina!, as well as in several Shakespeare productions. One of his last roles was a bit part in the hit Dan Aykroyd - Eddie Murphy film Trading Places, in 1983.
In a playbill for the 1946 revival of Cyrano de Bergerac he is listed as a direct descendant of members of the infamous Clanton gang, which took part in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
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The Shady Hill Kidnapping
Paul Bogart
Garrett Hanf, George Grizzard
John Cheever's wry comedy of errors comes to the screen in this filmed presentation from the Broadway Theatre Archive. An upper-middle-class suburb is turned upside-down by the apparent kidnapping of Toby Wooster (Garrett Hanf). Unaware that the whole thing is a setup, the town swings into action to raise funds to meet the kidnappers' ransom demands. George Grizzard, Polly Holliday, Katharine Balfour and Celeste Holm star.
The Shady Hill Kidnapping
Cyrano de Bergerac
Michael Gordon
José Ferrer, Mala Powers
France, 1640. Cyrano, the charismatic swordsman-poet with the absurd nose, hopelessly loves the beauteous Roxane; she, in turn, confesses to Cyrano her love for the handsome but tongue-tied Christian. The chivalrous Cyrano sets up with Christian an innocent deception, with tragic results.
Cyrano de Bergerac
They Might Be Giants
Anthony Harvey
George C. Scott, Joanne Woodward
Every hero has a weakness, and Sherlock Holmes' weakness was Moriarty. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson solve mysteries and search for Moriarty in 1970s New York City. The fact that Sherlock Holmes is a psychotic paranoid and Dr. Watson is a female psychiatrist fascinated by his case is almost beside the point.
They Might Be Giants
Panic in Year Zero!
Ray Milland
Ray Milland, Jean Hagen
While on a fishing trip, Harry Baldwin (Ray Milland) and his family hear an explosion and realize that Los Angeles has been leveled by a nuclear attack. Looters and killers are everywhere. Escaping to the hills with his family, he sets about the business of surviving in a world where, he knows, the old ideals of humanity will be first casualties.
Panic in Year Zero!
Johnny Tremain
Robert Stevenson
Hal Stalmaster, Richard Beymer
When an injury bars him from pursuing his trade, Revolutionary War-era silversmith's apprentice Johnny Tremain (Hal Stalmaster) finds a new life in the ranks of the Sons of Liberty army, taking part in the Boston Tea Party and Paul Revere's legendary ride. Based on the novel by Ester Forbes, this Disney classic was originally crafted for "Walt Disney Presents" in two segments, which have been blended into a single film for viewing.
Johnny Tremain
The 27th Day
William Asher
Gene Barry, Valerie French
Five individuals from five nations, including the USA, USSR, and China, suddenly find themselves on an alien saucer, where an alien gives each a container holding three capsules. The alien explains that no power on earth can open a given container except a mental command from the person to whom it is given, then anyone may take a capsule and, by speaking a latitude and longitude at it, cause instant death to all within a given radius: thus each of the five has been provided with the power of life and death. Then, they are given 27 days to decide whether to use the capsules, and returned to the places from which each one came...
The 27th Day
They Were Not Divided
Terence Young
Edward Underdown, Ralph Clanton
The film begins in a WW II training depot of a British Guards armoured regiment where recruits from many walks of life learn to survive the strict discipline and training together before going into battle in tanks. There is a cameo appearance by the real Sgt. Major Brittain who was famous in the British guards regiments.
They Were Not Divided
The Patriots
Robert Strane, Bob Hankal
Ritch Brinkley, Martha J. Brown
This absorbing 1976 production of dramatist Sidney Kingsley's historical play centers on the formative days of the United States and the disputes between founding fathers Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Although the two men greatly respect each other, the deep-seated clash in their ideologies engenders conflict just as the fledgling country is beginning to take root.
The Patriots
