Miles Malleson's remarkable journey in the world of entertainment began in Croydon, Surrey, where he was born. He later received his education at Brighton College in Sussex and Emmanuel College Cambridge. Initially, Malleson intended to pursue a career as a schoolmaster, but he eventually decided to follow his passion for the stage and joined the repertory theatre in Liverpool before enrolling at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London.
Malleson's writing career started with his first play in 1913, and he went on to create works that reflected his socially progressive views. His notable plays included two about the First World War, "D Company" and "Black Eill", and one about the Tolpuddle Martyrs. He also collaborated on two documentaries with Paul Rotha, "Land of Promise" (1946) and "World of Plenty" (1943).
As the First World War broke out in July 1914, Malleson enlisted in the British Army as a Private (No. 2227) in the 1/1st (City of London) Battalion (Royal Fusiliers). He served from September 5, 1914, until receiving a medical discharge in 1915, which included a period spent in Egypt. Malleson was not afraid to express his objection to the war as a member of the Independent Labour Party and a supporter of the No-Conscription Fellowship.
Malleson's most prolific period as a screenwriter was in the 1930s and 1940s, during which he worked on historical subjects like "Nell Gwyn" (1934),"Rhodes" (1936),and "Victoria the Great" (1937). In many of these films, he also began appearing in supporting roles, and from the mid-'30s onward, he found himself in increasing demand as an actor as well. Over the next 30 years, he appeared in nearly 100 films, featuring in everything from Alfred Hitchcock thrillers and Ealing comedies to Hammer horrors.
Malleson was often cast as a befuddled judge or a doddering old doctor, academic or other local eccentric. He first caught audiences' imagination as the hearse driver in the Ealing chiller compendium "Dead of Night" (1945),after which he began to get bigger and better parts. He was particularly memorable as the philosophical hangman in "Kind Hearts and Coronets" (1949),Canon Chasuble in "The Importance of Being Earnest" (1952),Dr. McAdam in "Folly to Be Wise" (1952),the barrister Grimes in "Brothers in Law" (1957),and as Windrush Sr. in "Private's Progress" (1956) and "I'm All Right Jack" (1959).
Towards the end of his career, Malleson continued to appear in cameo roles in comedy films and made several appearances in Hammer horror films, including "Horror of Dracula" (1958) and "The Hound of the Baskervilles" (1959),before failing eyesight forced him into retirement in his late 70s.
