Malcolm Keen (8 August 1887 – 30 January 1970) was an English actor of stage, film and television. He was sometimes credited as Malcolm Keane.Malcolm Keen
at IMDb Born in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

, he made his stage debut in 1902 and his first film in 1916. Keen was an early collaborator with the director

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

, starring in his silent films '' The Mountain Eagle'', '' The Lodger'' and ''

The Manxman ''The Manxman'' is a 1929 British silent romance film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Anny Ondra, Carl Brisson and Malcolm Keen. The film is based on a popular 1894 romantic novel '' The Manxman'' by Hall Caine, which had previously ...

''. In April 1927, Keen appeared in ''Packing Up'', a short film made in the DeForest

Phonofilm Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system developed by inventors Lee de Forest and Theodore Case in the early 1920s. Introduction In 1919 and 1920, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patents on a sound-on-film proce ...

sound-on-film process. The film also featured Mary Clare and was directed by

Miles Mander Miles Mander (born Lionel Henry Mander; 14 May 1888 – 8 February 1946), was an English character actor of the early Hollywood cinema, also a film director and producer, and a playwright and novelist. He was sometimes credited as Luther Mile ...

. Keen was the father of actor

Geoffrey Keen Geoffrey Keen (21 August 1916 – 3 November 2005) was an English actor who appeared in supporting roles in many films. He is well known for playing British Defence Minister Sir Frederick Gray in the ''James Bond'' films. Biography Early lif ...

, and the two both played Iachimo in ''

Cymbeline ''Cymbeline'' , also known as ''The Tragedie of Cymbeline'' or ''Cymbeline, King of Britain'', is a play by William Shakespeare set in Ancient Britain () and based on legends that formed part of the Matter of Britain concerning the early Celti ...

'' opposite

Peggy Ashcroft Dame Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft (22 December 1907 – 14 June 1991), known professionally as Peggy Ashcroft, was an English actress whose career spanned more than 60 years. Born to a comfortable middle-class family, Ashcroft was deter ...

: Malcolm at the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

in 1932, Geoffrey at the

Shakespeare Memorial Theatre The Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST) (originally called the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre) is a grade II* listed 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the English playwright and poet William Shakes ...

in 1957. Keen played ''the Caliph'' in a production of James Elroy Flecker's ''Hassan'' at His Majesty's Theatre in London in 1923. Incidental music for the play was by

Frederick Delius Delius, photographed in 1907 Frederick Theodore Albert Delius ( 29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934), originally Fritz Delius, was an English composer. Born in Bradford in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family, he resisted atte ...

, and the ballet in the House-of-the-Moving Walls was created by Fokine. Also in the cast,

Henry Ainley Henry Hinchliffe Ainley (21 August 1879 – 31 October 1945) was an English actor. Life and career Early years Ainley was born in Morley, near Leeds, on 21 August 1879, the only son and eldest child of Richard Ainley (1851–1919), a textile ...

as Hassan,

Isabel Jeans Isabel Jeans (16 September 1891 – 4 September 1985) was an English stage and film actress known for her roles in several Alfred Hitchcock films and her portrayal of Aunt Alicia in the 1958 musical film '' Gigi''. Early life and career Bo ...

as Yasmin. He also played The Ghost of Hamlet's Father at the Old Vic's production of Hamlet in 1938-39 opposite Alec Guinness who played the title role. Keen's U.S. theatre credits include ''

Man and Superman ''Man and Superman'' is a four-act drama written by George Bernard Shaw in 1903. The series was written in response to a call for Shaw to write a play based on the Don Juan theme. ''Man and Superman'' opened at the Royal Court Theatre in London o ...

'' in 1947 at the

Alvin Theatre The Neil Simon Theatre, originally the Alvin Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 250 West 52nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1927, the theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was built for ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, ''The Enchanted'' at the Lyceum Theatre in New York in 1950, ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

'' at the

Broadhurst Theatre The Broadhurst Theatre is a Broadway theater at 235 West 44th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1917, the theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was built for the Shubert brothers. The Bro ...

in New York in 1951, and ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

'' at the

Lunt-Fontanne Theatre The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, originally the Globe Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 205 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1910, the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre was designed by Carrère and Hasti ...

, also in New York. Keen died on 30 January 1970, in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England.

Selected filmography

* '' The Lost Chord'' (1917) – David * ''

A Master of Men A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes' ...

'' (1918) – Enoch Strone * ''

The Skin Game The Skin Game may refer to: * ''The Skin Game'' (play), a play by John Galsworthy * ''The Skin Game'' (1921 film), a 1921 Dutch film, based on the play * ''The Skin Game'' (1931 film), a 1931 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, also based on the ...

'' (1921) – Charles Hornblower * '' A Bill of Divorcement'' (1922) – Hilary Fairfield * ''

Settled Out of Court In law, a settlement is a resolution between disputing parties about a legal case, reached either before or after court action begins. A collective settlement is a settlement of multiple similar legal cases. The term also has other meanings in t ...

'' (1925) – The Detective * '' The Mountain Eagle'' (1926) – John 'Fear o' God' Fulton * '' The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog'' (1927) – Joe, a police detective * ''

'' (1929) – Philip Christian * ''

Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

'' (1930) – Pierre * '' The House of Unrest'' (1931) – Hearne * '' 77 Park Lane'' (1931) – Sherringham * ''

Jealousy Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. Jealousy can consist of one or more emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, helplessness or disgus ...

'' (1931) – Henry Garwood * ''

Whispering Tongues ''Whispering Tongues'' is a 1934 British crime film directed by George Pearson and starring Reginald Tate, Jane Welsh and Russell Thorndike. The screenplay concerns a son who seeks revenge by stealing valuables from the men who drove his fathe ...

'' (1934) – Inspector Dawlay * '' Dangerous Ground'' (1934) – Mark Lyndon * '' The Night of the Party'' (1935) – Lord Studholme * '' Lonely Road'' (1936) – Professor * ''

Mr. Reeder in Room 13 ''Mr. Reeder in Room 13'' is a 1938 British crime film directed by Norman Lee and starring Peter Murray-Hill, Sally Gray and Gibb McLaughlin. It is based on the first J. G. Reeder book, '' Room 13'' by Edgar Wallace. The film was released in th ...

'' (1938) – Peter Kent * '' Sixty Glorious Years'' (1938) – William Ewart Gladstone * ''

The Great Mr. Handel ''The Great Mr. Handel'' is a 1942 British Technicolor historical film directed by Norman Walker and starring Wilfrid Lawson, Elizabeth Allan and Malcolm Keen. The film is a biopic of the 18th-century German-British composer Georg Friedrich H� ...

'' (1942) – Lord Chesterfield * '' The Mating Season'' (1951) – Mr. Williamson * ''

Lorna Doone ''Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor'' is a novel by English author Richard Doddridge Blackmore, published in 1869. It is a romance based on a group of historical characters and set in the late 17th century in Devon and Somerset, particularly ar ...

'' (1951) – Lord Lorne (uncredited) * '' Kind Lady'' (1951) – Mr. Blakeley (uncredited) * ''

Dick Turpin's Ride ''Dick Turpin's Ride'' (reissued as ''The Lady and the Bandit'') is a 1951 American adventure film directed by Ralph Murphy and starring Louis Hayward. It follows the career of the eighteenth century highwaymen Dick Turpin. It is based on the poem ...

'' (1951) – Sir Thomas de Veil * '' Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue'' (1953) – Duke of Marlborough * ''

Fortune Is a Woman ''Fortune Is a Woman'' is a 1957 black and white British-American film noir crime film directed by Sidney Gilliat and starring Jack Hawkins and Arlene Dahl. Its plot concerns an attempted insurance fraud that goes badly wrong. In the United Stat ...

'' (1957) – Old Abercrombie * ''

The Birthday Present ''The Birthday Present'' is a 1957 British drama film directed by Pat Jackson. The film also featured Thorley Walters and Ian Bannen in small roles. Plot Simon Scott, a top toy salesman, returns from a business trip to Germany with a watch hid ...

'' (1957) – Bristow * '' I Accuse!'' (1958) – President of France (uncredited) * ''

Operation Amsterdam ''Operation Amsterdam'' is a 1959 black and white British action film, directed by Michael McCarthy, and featuring Peter Finch, Eva Bartok and Tony Britton. It is based on a true story as described in the book ''Adventure in Diamonds'', by Da ...

'' (1959) – Johan Smit * ''

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...

'' (1961) – Bishop Guido * ''

Two and Two Make Six ''Two and Two Make Six'', also known as ''A Change of Heart'' and ''The Girl Swappers'', is a 1962 black and white British romantic comedy film directed by Freddie Francis and starring George Chakiris and Janette Scott. Unusually, the two women ...

'' (1962) – Harry Stoneham * '' Life for Ruth'' (1962) – Mr. Harris Sr. (final film role)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Keen, Malcolm 1887 births 1970 deaths English male stage actors English male film actors English male television actors English male silent film actors Male actors from Bristol 20th-century English male actors