James Marne Kumar Maitland was born on 18 December 1914 in Calcutta, India.
He served in the Royal Artillery during the Second World War, commissioned as a second lieutenant on 20 November 1941. He made his film debut in Cairo Road (1950). His sharp, dark features and small stature saw him typecast as villains from the Middle and Far East, particularly for Hammer Films. He had over 160 film and television credits.
Marne Maitland died in March 1992 in Rome.