Patricia Roc
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Patricia Roc (born Felicia Miriam Ursula Herold; 7 June 1915 – 30 December 2003) was an English film actress, popular in the Gainsborough melodramas such as Madonna of the Seven Moons (1945) and The Wicked Lady (1945), though she only made one film in Hollywood, Canyon Passage (1946). She also appeared in Millions Like Us (1943), Jassy (1945), The Brothers (1947) and When the Bough Breaks (1947). She was employed by the studio of J. Arthur Rank, who called her "the archetypal British beauty" She achieved her greatest level of popularity in British films during the Second World War in escapist melodramas for Gainsborough Studios. Roc began as a stage actress, debuting in the 1938 London production of Nuts in May, in which she was seen by Alexander Korda who gave her an uncredited bit in The Divorce of Lady X (1938) and her in a leading role as a Polish princess in The Rebel Son. She had roles in The Gaunt Stranger (1939), The Mind of Mr. Reeder (1939), and The Missing People (1940). She had a bigger part in A Window in London (1940), the comedy Pack Up Your Troubles (1940), Dr. O'Dowd (1940), Three Silent Men (1940), It Happened to One Man (1940), and The Farmer's Wife (1941). Her parts grew bigger: My Wife's Family (1941), Suspected Person (1942), Let the People Sing (1942), and We'll Meet Again (1943) with Vera Lynn. Roc was top billed in Millions Like Us (1943) from Gainsborough Studios. It was a success and Gainsborough gave her another lead, as a nun interned by the Germans in Two Thousand Women (1944). She appeared alongside two of Gainsborough's biggest stars, Margaret Lockwood and Stewart Granger in Love Story (1944), a big hit. Roc played the jealous rival of Margaret Lockwood. She later commented that although they were required to slap each other's faces, she and Lockwood were always the best of friends. Madonna of the Seven Moons (1945), with Granger and Phyllis Calvert, was another success. Neither of them, however, did as well as The Wicked Lady (1945), where Roc played Lockwood's best friend. It was the most successful movie at the British box office in 1946. Roc's more overt sexuality in such films as The Wicked Lady was downplayed for the American market; her décolletage led US censors to call for retakes to de-emphasise it) and "the Goddess of Odeons", whilst Noël Coward said she was "a phenomenon" and "an unspoiled film star who can act". She was also in Johnny Frenchman (1945). Co starring in that film was Ralph Michael who soon after divorced his wife Fay Compton; Roc was named in proceedings. Her brief move to Hollywood to film Canyon Passage (1946) was a lend lease agreement between Rank Pictures and Universal Studios of British in return for American film actors. During filming, Roc was romantically linked with Ronald Reagan, while her US co-star Susan Hayward stated "that Limey glamour girl is a helluva dame." Roc returned to Britain to make The Brothers (1947), a melodrama that was a commercial disappointment. She was in an expensive British-US co production So Well Remembered (1947) which was a hit in Britain but failed to recoup its cost. Jassy(1947), a melodrama with Lockwood, was a big hit. When the Bough Breaks (1947), another melodrama, performed reasonably well.
Canyon Passage
as Caroline MarshIn 1850s Oregon, a businessman is torn between his love of two very different women and his...
Movie pageThe Wicked Lady
as CarolineA married woman finds new thrills as a masked robber on the highways.
Movie pageThe Man on the Eiffel Tower
as Helen KirbyA down-and-out student is hired to kill a wealthy woman. When someone else is suspected of the...
Movie pageMillions Like Us
as Celia CrowsonWhen Celia Crowson is called up for war service, she hopes for a glamorous job in one of the...
Movie pageThe Divorce of Lady X
as Minor Role (uncredited)The morning after a London barrister lets a mystery woman stay in his suite, a friend files for...
Movie pageFugitive from Montreal
as Helen BeringPierre Chambrac, a French industrialist, and Canadian Paul Laforêt, two former brothers in arms,...
Movie pageMadonna of the Seven Moons
as Angela LabardiIn the early part of this century, Maddelena a teenage Italian girl, is attacked whilst walking...
Movie pageSo Well Remembered
as Julie MorganA mill-owner's ambitious daughter almost ruins her husband's political career.
Movie pageReturn to Life
as Lieutenant Evelyne (segment "Le retour d'Antoine")In France in 1946, the difficult return to civilian life of five deportees and prisoners of war...
Movie pageHoliday Camp
as HerselfThe Huggett family go to a holiday camp, and get involved in crooked card players, a murderer on...
Movie pageThe Hypnotist
as Mary FosterCulver is a psychiatrist who uses hypnotism to treat his patients. When Carpenter, a test pilot,...
Movie pageSomething Money Can't Buy
as uncreditedA British Army Officer returning to civilian life after WWII, starts a catering company with...
Movie pageCircle of Danger
as Elspeth GrahamAn American comes to Britain to investigate the murky circumstances of his brother's death that...
Movie pageOne Night with You
as Mary SantellTwo strangers meet when they both miss their trains, and end up spending a penniless day and...
Movie pageWe'll Meet Again
as Ruth ColeA young dancer trying to make it in London during World War II discovers that people like her...
Movie pageJassy
as Dilys HelmarIn 19th century England, Jassy is a young Gypsy girl blessed with the gift of second sight....
Movie pageThree Silent Men
as Pat QuentinAn inventor of a deadly weapon to be used against the allies is injured in a crash. Surgeon, Sir...
Movie pageTwo Thousand Women
as Rosemary BrownDuring the Second World War, three downed English airmen hide out with women's internment camp...
Movie pageThe Brothers
as MaryAn orphan wreaks havoc on a remote Scottish island when she causes an age-old feud to be reignited.
Movie pageSuspected Person
as Joan RaynorAfter a $50,000 heist in New York, two of the suspected robbers walk free from the courtroom and...
Movie pageA Window in London
as Pat ThompsonA man witnesses a murder that isn't a murder, only to get involved with the magician and his...
Movie pageLet the People Sing
as Hope OllertonAn out-of-work comedian persuades a drunken nobleman to join a protest against the closing of a...
Movie pageThe Gaunt Stranger
as Mary LenleyA lawyer receives a note telling him that he'll be dead in 48 hours - and Scotland Yard must...
Movie pageBluebeard's 10 Honeymoons
as VivienneA murderer enriches his finances by marrying and then killing off a series of wealthy women.
Movie pageThe Perfect Woman
as Penelope BelmanIn need of cash, Roger Cavendish and his valet take a job escorting the perfect woman for a...
Movie pageBlack Jack
as Ingrid DekkerA man who lost everything in the war now smuggles contraband into and out of Spain, but the...
Movie pageThe Widow
as DianaA woman falls in love with a race-car driver who two-times her for another girl.
Movie pageJohnny Frenchman
as Sue PomeroyThe fisherman from a Cornish village have a friendly rivalry with the fishermen (and one...
Movie pageThe Farmer's Wife
as SibleyEden Philpotts' "provincial" comic novel and play The Farmer's Wife was first filmed in the...
Movie pageLove Story
as JudyAfter discovering that she has only a short time left to live, concert pianist Lissa travels to...
Movie pageDr. O'Dowd
as RosemaryMarius O'Dowd is an Irish doctor who is often drunk. His daughter-in-law Moira dies during a...
Movie pageThe Saint
as Madge ClarronSimon Templar is The Saint, a handsome, sophisticated, debonair, modern-day Robin Hood who...
TV Show pageNo Hiding Place
as uncreditedNo Hiding Place is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by...
TV Show page