
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0733540
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q275397
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Bluebeard's 10 Honeymoons
Character:Vivienne
Release Date:02/04/1960

The House in the Woods
Character:Carol Carter
Release Date:31/10/1957

The Hypnotist
Character:Mary Foster
Release Date:29/07/1957

The Widow
Character:Diana
Release Date:01/08/1955

Cartouche
Character:Donna Violante
Release Date:01/07/1955

Something Money Can't Buy
Character:Anne Wilding
Release Date:09/07/1952

Torticola versus Frankensberg
Character:A Penitent
Release Date:19/04/1952

Circle of Danger
Character:Elspeth Graham
Release Date:17/04/1951

Black Jack
Character:Ingrid Dekker
Release Date:20/11/1950

Fugitive from Montreal
Character:Helen Bering
Release Date:17/11/1950

The Man on the Eiffel Tower
Character:Helen Kirby
Release Date:12/12/1949

Return to Life
Character:Lieutenant Evelyne (segment "Le retour d'Antoine")
Release Date:14/09/1949

The Perfect Woman
Character:Penelope Belman
Release Date:23/05/1949

One Night with You
Character:Mary Santell
Release Date:25/04/1948

When The Bough Breaks
Character:Lily Bates
Release Date:19/11/1947

Jassy
Character:Dilys Helmar
Release Date:13/08/1947

Holiday Camp
Character:Herself
Release Date:05/08/1947

So Well Remembered
Character:Julie Morgan
Release Date:09/07/1947

The Brothers
Character:Mary
Release Date:07/05/1947

Canyon Passage
Character:Caroline Marsh
Release Date:17/07/1946

The Wicked Lady
Character:Caroline
Release Date:15/11/1945

Johnny Frenchman
Character:Sue Pomeroy
Release Date:29/10/1945

Madonna of the Seven Moons
Character:Angela Labardi
Release Date:22/01/1945

Love Story
Character:Judy
Release Date:20/11/1944

Two Thousand Women
Character:Rosemary Brown
Release Date:06/11/1944

Millions Like Us
Character:Celia Crowson
Release Date:01/06/1943

We'll Meet Again
Character:Ruth Cole
Release Date:18/01/1943

Let the People Sing
Character:Hope Ollerton
Release Date:11/08/1942

Suspected Person
Character:Joan Raynor
Release Date:01/06/1942

My Wife's Family
Character:Peggy Gay
Release Date:22/07/1941

The Farmer's Wife
Character:Sibley
Release Date:20/04/1941

It Happened to One Man
Character:Betty Quair
Release Date:12/10/1940

Three Silent Men
Character:Pat Quentin
Release Date:07/09/1940

Dr. O'Dowd
Character:Rosemary
Release Date:22/06/1940

A Window in London
Character:Pat Thompson
Release Date:15/06/1940

Pack Up Your Troubles
Character:Sally Brown
Release Date:01/02/1940

Bits of Our Aircraft are Missing
Character:(uncredited)
Release Date:01/01/1940

The Missing People
Character:Doris Bevan
Release Date:01/05/1939

The Mind of Mr. Reeder
Character:Doris Bevan
Release Date:04/03/1939

The Gaunt Stranger
Character:Mary Lenley
Release Date:27/10/1938

The Rebel Son
Character:Marina
Release Date:02/02/1938

The Divorce of Lady X
Character:Minor Role (uncredited)
Release Date:15/01/1938