Malcolm Keen
Malcolm Keen (8 August 1887 – 30 January 1970) (born Malcolm Knee; he later changed his surname to Keen) was an English actor of stage, film and television. He was sometimes credited as Malcolm Keane. Keen was an early collaborator with the director Alfred Hitchcock, starring in his silent films The Mountain Eagle, The Lodger and The Manxman.
Malcolm Keen

Paul Duncan, (2011) Alfred Hitchcock: Architect of Anxiety 1899–1980, Taschen, page 27, publicity still · Public domain
- Name
- Malcolm Keen
- Born
- 8 August 1887
- Birthplace
- Bristol, England
- Died
- 30 January 1970
- Place of death
- London, England
- Occupation
- Actor
- Nationality
- United Kingdom · United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
- Languages
- English
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wikidata · Q629955 · wikipedia · Malcolm Keen
In this article
Biography
Biography
In April 1927, Keen appeared in Packing Up, a short film made in the DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process. The film also featured Mary Clare and was directed by Miles Mander. Keen was the father of actor Geoffrey Keen, and the two both played Iachimo in Cymbeline opposite Peggy Ashcroft: Malcolm at the Old Vic in 1932, Geoffrey at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre 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, and the ballet in the House-of-the-Moving Walls was created by Fokine. Also in the cast, Henry Ainley as Hassan, Isabel Jeans 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 in 1947 at the Alvin Theatre in New York, The Enchanted at the Lyceum Theatre in New York in 1950, Romeo and Juliet at the Broadhurst Theatre in New York in 1951, and Much Ado About Nothing at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, also in New York. Keen died on 30 January 1970, in London.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Malcolm Keen • Born — 8 August 1887 • Birthplace — Bristol, England • Died — 30 January 1970 • Place of death — London, England • Occupation — Actor • Children — Geoffrey Keen
Selected filmography
Selected filmography
• The Lost Chord (1917) – David • A Master of Men (1918) – Enoch Strone • The Skin Game (1921) – Charles Hornblower • A Bill of Divorcement (1922) – Hilary Fairfield • Settled Out of Court (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 • The Manxman (1929) – Philip Christian • Wolves (1930) – Pierre • The House of Unrest (1931) – Hearne • 77 Park Lane (1931) – Sherringham • Jealousy (1931) – Henry Garwood • Whispering Tongues (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 (1938) – Peter Kent • Sixty Glorious Years (1938) – William Ewart Gladstone • The Great Mr. Handel (1942) – Lord Chesterfield • The Mating Season (1951) – Mr. Williamson • Lorna Doone (1951) – Lord Lorne (uncredited) • Kind Lady (1951) – Mr. Blakeley (uncredited) • Dick Turpin's Ride (1951) – Sir Thomas de Veil • Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue (1953) – Duke of Marlborough • Fortune Is a Woman (1957) – Old Abercrombie • The Birthday Present (1957) – Bristow • I Accuse! (1958) – President of France (uncredited) • Operation Amsterdam (1959) – Johan Smit • Francis of Assisi (1961) – Bishop Guido • Two and Two Make Six (1962) – Harry Stoneham • Life for Ruth (1962) – Mr. Harris Sr. (final film role)
Identity
Identity
Malcolm Keen is recorded as actor.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1970
Malcolm Keen died at London.
Places
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Places
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Bristol.
Birth place
London.
Death place
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Malcolm Keen, revision 1303241794 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Malcolm Keen.
- 2.Malcolm Keen at IMDb
- 3.McFarlane, Brian. The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition. Manchester University Press. 2. 16 May 2016. 978-1-5261-1196-8.
- 4.Malcolm Keen – The Alfred Hitchcock Wiki. the.hitchcock.zone.
- 5.Silent Era : Progressive Silent Film List. www.silentera.com.
- 6.Shorter, Eric. Obituary: Geoffrey Keen. 10 November 2005.
- 7.Production of Cymbeline – Theatricalia. theatricalia.com.
- 8.Production of Cymbeline – Theatricalia. theatricalia.com.
- 9.Flecker, James Elroy. The Collected Poems of James Elroy Flecker. Read Books Limited. 24. 23 March 2011. 978-1-4465-4766-3.
- 10.Head, Dominic. The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English. Cambridge University Press. 491. 2006. 978-0-521-83179-6.
- 11.Fabia Drake, Blind Fortune, p. 50-51
- 12.League, The Broadway. Malcolm Keen – Broadway Cast & Staff – IBDB. www.ibdb.com.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
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