by Hal Erickson
biography
Not to be confused with the famed espionage novelist of the same name, Australian-born actor Ian Fleming was one of the best and longest-established character players in British films. On stage since the age of sixteen, Fleming made his first film, Second to None in 1926--and his last, Return of Mr. Moto, in 1965. The actor's cinematic stock in trade was a fussy dignity who disguised hidden strength. In this, Ian Fleming was an ideal Dr. Watson opposite Arthur Wontner in a series of British Sherlock Holmes films produced in the mid '30s.
