H. F. Maltby

Henry Francis Maltby (25 November 1880 – 25 October 1963) was a prolific writer for the London stage and British cinema from after the

Life and career

Born in

On his return to Britain, Maltby wrote and performed in many plays for the West End theatre, some achieving success and transferring to Broadway. He wrote The Rotters in 1915, but it took nearly a year to get it to the provincial stage. The play was a success and transferred to the Garrick Theatre in the West End, playing for 86 performances and toured for the next decade, also being made into a film. The theme is satirical, dealing with a dysfunctional family and their minor 'sins' revolving around the father's obsessive respectability. The play received a tepid review from The Times, which found it formulaic,^[2] but it was popular with audiences. He also wrote an all-woman farce, Petticoats with women taking over the state (with the men away at war).^[3]

By 1919, Maltby was working on collaborations in musical theatre, with Fred Thompson adapting the libretto of the French Maggie by Étienne Rey and Jacques Bousquet. He began to turn out comedies at a rate of two a year, with his own works, such as For the Love of Mike being adapted by Clifford Grey and Sonny Miller into a musical.^[4]

Film career

Maltby's film career began with the silent Profit and the Loss

In 1950, Maltby published his autobiography, Ring Up the Curtain. He died in Hove, Sussex, England at the age of 82.

Plays and musicals

Selected filmography

References