Malcolm Keen

Malcolm Keen (born Malcolm Knee; 8 August 1887 – 30 January 1970) was an English actor of stage, film, and television, born in Bristol, England. He later changed his surname from Knee to Keen and was sometimes credited as Malcolm Keane. His stage career began in 1902, and he made his first film appearance in 1916.

Keen became an early collaborator with director Alfred Hitchcock, appearing in the silent films The Mountain Eagle, The Lodger, and The Manxman. In April 1927, he appeared in Packing Up, a short film produced in the DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process, alongside Mary Clare and directed by Miles Mander.

His stage work in London included a notable role as the Caliph in James Elroy Flecker's Hassan at His Majesty's Theatre in 1923, a production that featured Henry Ainley as Hassan and Isabel Jeans as Yasmin, with incidental music by Frederick Delius and ballet choreography by Fokine. In 1932, Keen played Iachimo in Cymbeline at the Old Vic opposite Peggy Ashcroft, and in the 1938–39 season he appeared at the Old Vic as the Ghost of Hamlet's Father in a production of Hamlet in which Alec Guinness played the title role.

Keen's son, Geoffrey Keen, also became an actor, and both father and son played Iachimo in Cymbeline opposite Peggy Ashcroft — Malcolm at the Old Vic in 1932 and Geoffrey at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in 1957.

Keen maintained an active presence on Broadway from 1930 to 1963, appearing in productions including The School for Scandal, Much Ado About Everything, Three Wishes for Jamie, Romeo and Juliet, and The Enchanted April, among others. His American theatre credits included Man and Superman in 1947 at the Alvin Theatre in New York, The Enchanted at the Lyceum Theatre in 1950, Romeo and Juliet at the Broadhurst Theatre in 1951, and Much Ado About Nothing at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York. Keen died on 30 January 1970, in London.