Cliff Broughton was born in Iowa in 1898 and resident in Los Angeles, California by 1924. In 1925, he is credited with his work as production manager in his first film, The Red Kimono. He worked primarily on independent productions until 1942, when he took the role of production supervisor for RKO/Hughes Productions. As a director, he made his last film, The Bat, for Universial Studios in 1959. Broughton died in 1979.