Ralph Kemplen

London-born Ralph Kemplen began his career as a teenager working on silent films like "The Return of the Rat" (1929). He also worked on the partial sound feature, "Balaclava/The Jaws of Hell" (1930) before receiving his first screen credit for "Frightened Lady" (1932). After working for the British Ministry of Information editing documentaries during WWII, Kemplen came into his own as an editor in the 1950s, particularly with his work for John Huston. His deft cutting of "The African Queen" (1951) particularly enhanced the endemic tension of the numerous hazards of the journey. He and Huston went on to work on "Moulin Rouge" (1952), which brought Kemplen the first of three Oscar nominations, "Beat the Devil" (1953), "Freud" (1962) and "The Bible" (1966). Other notable films to which he contributed were Fred Zinneman's Oscar-winning "A Man for All Seasons" (1966) and "The Day of the Jackal" (1972), Carol Reed's musical "Oliver!" (1968) and Jim Henson's "The Great Muppet Caper" (1981). Kemplen also directed one film, "The Spaniard's Curse" (1958).