---
name: "Ralph Kemplen"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/ralph-kemplen"
roles: ["Editor"]
born: "8 October 1912"
died: "4 April 2004"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T12:27:34.727972+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."
---

# Ralph Kemplen

Editor. Born 8 October 1912 in Palmers Green, London, England, UK. Died 4 April 2004.

## Details

- **Work:** Editor
- **Born:** 8 October 1912, Palmers Green, London, England, UK
- **Died:** 4 April 2004
- **Active:** 1952–1973
- **Works often with:** John Woolf

## Biography

Ralph Kemplen (8 October 1912 – 4 April 2004) was a British film editor. Born in Palmers Green, London, he entered the industry in the late 1920s as an assistant editor and worked on more than fifty feature films between 1933 and 1982.

He maintained a long collaboration with director John Huston, editing six of his films including *The African Queen* (1951), *Moulin Rouge* (1952), *Beat the Devil* (1953), *Freud* (1962), *The Night of the Iguana* (1964) and *The Bible: In the Beginning...* (1966). Other notable credits include *Oliver!* (1968), *A Man for All Seasons* (1966) and *The Day of the Jackal* (1973). He also directed one feature, *The Spaniard's Curse* (1958).

Kemplen received three Academy Award nominations for Best Film Editing, for *Moulin Rouge*, *Oliver!* and *The Day of the Jackal*. He won the BAFTA Award for Best Editing for the latter film. His son Willy Kemplen and grandson Tom Kemplen also worked as film editors.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, thetimes.com, screenonline.org.uk.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *The Day of the Jackal* (1973), Fi1m 84, Editor — [page](https://film.one/film/the-day-of-the-jackal.md)

## Also credited on (not yet reviewed)

- *The African Queen* (1952), Editor

## Also known for

- *The Dark Crystal* (1982), Editor
- *A Man for All Seasons* (1966), Editor
- *Oliver!* (1968), Editor
- *The Great Muppet Caper* (1981), Editor
- *The Bible: In the Beginning...* (1966), Editor
- *The Odessa File* (1974), Editor
- *Beat the Devil* (1953), Editor
- *The Night of the Iguana* (1964), Editor

---
© 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/ralph-kemplen