Miles Malleson was one of the most ubiquitous character actors in British cinema. His lack of a chin lead to him being typecast as bumbling vicars or pompous fools. Yet he was far from being the idiot he portrayed and his career as a screenwriter is at least as distinguished as his career as an actor.
He was born in Croydon and studied history at Cambridge before attending the Academy of Dramatic Art. By the twenties he was appearing on stage in classical roles. He also had a flourishing career as a dramatist. It was this skill that got him involved with the movies once talkies were established. He almost seemed to have slipped into screen acting, first taking small roles in his own scripts and then appearing in the work of others.
He became the first chairman of the Screen Writers' Association in 1937 and though his screenwriting career petered out by the end of the war he still continued to write for the stage. His stage plays included a series of Moliere adaptations, notably a version of The Miser in which he played the title role at the Old Vic.
He was married three times.
| 1921 | The Headmaster |
| 1930 | Two Worlds (writer only) |
| 1930 | The Yellow Mask (writer only) |
| 1930 | Children of Chance (writer only) |
| 1931 | Sally in Our Alley (writer only) |
| 1931 | Night in Montmartre (original author) |
| 1931 | Money Means Nothing (+ writer) |
| 1931 | City of Song (+ writer) |
| 1931 | Frail Women |
| 1931 | The W Plan (writer only) |
| 1932 | Love on Wheels |
| 1932 | The Love Contract |
| 1932 | The Mayor's Nest |
| 1932 | The Sign of Four |
| 1932 | The Water Gypsies (writer only) |
| 1932 | The Blue Danube (writer only) |
| 1933 | Summer Lightning (+ writer) |
| 1933 | Strange Evidence (+ writer) |
| 1933 | Perfect Understanding (+ writer) |
| 1933 | Bitter Sweet |
| 1934 | Nell Gwyn (+ writer) |
| 1934 | The Queen's Affair (+ writer) |
| 1935 | Vintage Wine |
| 1935 | Lazybones |
| 1935 | The 39 Steps |
| 1935 | Lorna Doone (writer only) |
| 1935 | Falling in Love (writer only) |
| 1935 | Peg of Old Drury (writer only) |
| 1936 | Rhodes of Africa (writer only) |
| 1936 | Tudor Rose (+ writer) |
| 1937 | Knight Without Armour |
| 1937 | Action for Slander (writer only) |
| 1937 | Victoria the Great (+ writer) |
| 1937 | The Rat (writer only) |
| 1938 | A Royal Divorce (writer only) |
| 1938 | Sixty Glorious Years (writer only) |
| 1939 | The Lion Has Wings |
| 1940 | The Thief of Bagdad (+ writer) |
| 1940 | For Freedom (writer only) |
| 1941 | Major Barbara |
| 1941 | Spellbound (writer only) |
| 1942 | This Was Paris |
| 1942 | They Flew Alone (+ writer) |
| 1942 | Unpublished Story |
| 1942 | The First of the Few (+ writer) |
| 1943 | Thunder Rock |
| 1943 | The Gentle Sex |
| 1943 | The Demi-Paradise |
| 1943 | Squadron Leader X (writer only) |
| 1943 | Sabotage Agent (writer only) |
| 1943 | Yellow Canary (writer only) |
| 1943 | They Met in the Dark (writer only) |
| 1945 | Dead of Night |
| 1946 | Journey Together |
| 1946 | Land of Promise |
| 1947 | The Mark of Cain |
| 1947 | While the Sun Shines |
| 1948 | Idol of Paris |
| 1948 | One Night with You |
| 1948 | Saraband for Dead Lovers |
| 1949 | The History of Mr Polly |
| 1949 | Cardboard Cavalier |
| 1949 | The Queen of Spades |
| 1949 | The Perfect Woman |
| 1949 | Kind Hearts and Coronets |
| 1949 | Train of Events |
| 1949 | Woman Hater |
| 1950 | Stage Fright |
| 1950 | Golden Salamander |
| 1951 | The Magic Box |
| 1951 | The Man in the White Suit |
| 1951 | Scrooge |
| 1952 | Treasure Hunt |
| 1952 | The Woman's Angle |
| 1952 | The Happy Family |
| 1952 | The Importance of Being Earnest |
| 1952 | Trent's Last Case |
| 1952 | Venetian Bird |
| 1953 | Folly to Be Wise |
| 1953 | The Captain's Paradise |
| 1955 | Geordie |
| 1955 | King's Rhapsody |
| 1956 | Dry Rot |
| 1956 | Three Men in a Boat |
| 1956 | Private's Progress |
| 1956 | The Silken Affair |
| 1957 | Happy is the Bride |
| 1957 | The Naked Truth |
| 1957 | Brothers in Law |
| 1957 | The Admirable Crichton |
| 1957 | Barnacle Bill |
| 1958 | Behind the Mask |
| 1958 | Gideon's Day |
| 1958 | Dracula |
| 1958 | Bachelor of Hearts |
| 1959 | Carlton-Brown of the FO |
| 1959 | I'm All Right Jack |
| 1959 | The Hound of the Baskervilles |
| 1959 | The Captain's Table |
| 1960 | And the Same to You |
| 1960 | Kidnapped |
| 1960 | Peeping Tom |
| 1960 | The Brides of Dracula |
| 1960 | The Day They Robbed the Bank of England |
| 1961 | Fury at Smugglers' Bay |
| 1961 | The Hellfire Club |
| 1961 | Double Bunk |
| 1962 | Go to Blazes |
| 1962 | Postman's Knock |
| 1962 | The Phantom of the Opera |
| 1962 | Vengence |
| 1963 | Heavens Above! |
| 1964 | A Jolly Bad Fellow |
| 1964 | Circus World |
| 1964 | Murder Ahoy! |
| 1964 | First Men in the Moon |
| 1965 | You Must Be Joking! |
