---
name: "Clifton Webb"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/clifton-webb"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "19 November 1889"
died: "13 October 1966"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T12:13:23.757760+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Clifton Webb

Actor. Born 19 November 1889 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. Died 13 October 1966.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 19 November 1889, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
- **Died:** 13 October 1966
- **Also known as:** Webb Parmalee Hollenbeck

## Fi1m on Clifton Webb

> Clifton Webb makes condescension funny enough to get away with, then lets its ugliness show. We value the precision most in *Laura*, where his careful delivery makes a possessive man alarmingly good company.

In *Laura* (1944), Clifton Webb makes a dismissive remark sound carefully prepared, and expects us to appreciate the effort. As Waldo Lydecker, he gives cruelty the polish of someone who considers himself an excellent judge of other people. We laughed at his contempt and then disliked how easily we had excused it, because Webb made the nastiness sound so cultivated. He lets the possessiveness show without stopping the remarks being funny, and that is what makes the performance so unsettling.

That precision had a long stage career behind it, but *Laura* was his film breakthrough. He brought the same taste for social superiority to Elliott Templeton in *The Razor's Edge* (1946). With Lynn Belvedere, the imperious babysitter of *Sitting Pretty* (1948), his fastidious manner became central to a comedy role that led to two sequels. The shift from noir to comedy made sense: his diction and timing could make someone funny without making him agreeable.

There is a limit to the pleasure of a fastidious man looking down on everyone. Once we know that he will disapprove, precision alone cannot keep the character surprising. The move to Frank Gilbreth, the efficiency-expert father of twelve in *Cheaper by the Dozen* (1950), therefore matters. His convincing paternal authority is a useful corrective to the idea that he could only play the snob, though the condescending type remained his most recognisable.

Otto Preminger makes particularly good use of him in *Laura*, trusting the actors to make vanity and jealousy troublesome. The question of who is allowed to speak for whom stays interesting even when the detective plotting feels overarranged. Webb makes us notice the satisfaction Waldo takes in judging others, so there is something to watch beyond the business of solving the mystery. David Raksin's score helps make the company seem more inviting than it deserves. Start with *Laura*, and resist the temptation to take Waldo's side.

## Biography

Clifton Webb, born Webb Parmelee Hollenbeck, was an American actor, dancer and singer. He began his career as a professional ballroom dancer in New York and appeared in musicals and plays on Broadway and in London from the 1920s. He performed in several Noël Coward plays, including the original Broadway production of Blithe Spirit.

Webb achieved film stardom in middle age with his role as the urbane columnist Waldo Lydecker in the 1944 film noir Laura, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He earned further Oscar nominations for The Razor's Edge (1946) and Sitting Pretty (1948), in which he played the character Lynn Belvedere. Other notable films include Cheaper by the Dozen (1950) and Titanic (1953). He died in Beverly Hills, California, in 1966.

*Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, ibdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Laura* (1944), Fi1m 86, as Waldo Lydecker — [page](https://film.one/film/laura.md)

## Also known for

- *Titanic* (1953), Richard Ward Sturges
- *The Razor's Edge* (1946), Elliott Templeton
- *The Man Who Never Was* (1956), Lt. Cmdr. Ewen Montagu
- *Cheaper by the Dozen* (1950), Frank Gilbreth
- *The Dark Corner* (1946), Hardy Cathcart
- *Three Coins in the Fountain* (1954), John Frederick Shadwell
- *Sitting Pretty* (1948), Lynn Belvedere

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© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/clifton-webb