
Patricia Roc
Actor · 1915 – 2003 · Hampstead, London, England, UK
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.
Movies24
Movie5.9ComedyRomanceA London barrister believes the woman who spent the night in his hotel suite is the erring wife of his newest client.
The Divorce of Lady X
1938 · 26 votes
Movie5.2ThrillerA down-and-out student is hired to kill a wealthy woman. When someone else is suspected of the crime, the student taunts police until they realize that they may have to wrong man.
The Man on the Eiffel Tower
1949 · 24 votes
Movie6.8WesternIn 1850s Oregon, a businessman is torn between his love of two very different women and his loyalty to a compulsive gambler friend who goes over the line.
Canyon Passage
1946 · 71 votes
Movie7.0DramaMysteryA novelist and his wife go to stay at a cottage owned by a painter whose wife has just died.
The House in the Woods
1957 · 2 votes
Movie5.8HistoryDramaThe son of an ailing nobleman returns to France to clear his name and prove where the true guilt lies.
Movie6.3DramaMysteryIn the early part of this century, Maddelena a teenage Italian girl, is attacked whilst walking in the woods. The attack leaves her mentally scarred and our story flashes forward to the 1940s where Maddelena is still troubled. She disappears one day and her daughter vows to find her.
Madonna of the Seven Moons
1945 · 15 votes
Movie6.4MysteryA murderer enriches his finances by marrying and then killing off a series of wealthy women.
Bluebeard's 10 Honeymoons
1960 · 11 votes
Movie7.2ComedyMusicTwo strangers meet when they both miss their trains, and end up spending a penniless day and night together. An English version of 'It Happened One Night'.
One Night with You
1948 · 2 votes
Movie6.2ThrillerA man witnesses a murder that isn't a murder, only to get involved with the magician and his wife who created the illusion. The insanely jealous magician husband eventually kills his wife, making for complications in life of unhappily married man who is now involved more than he ever thought he would be.
A Window in London
1940 · 7 votes
- Movie9.0ComedyMusic
Garage owner Tommy and ventriloquist friend Eric join the army and go to France, where they are captured by the Nazis. However, Eric's voice-throwing skills come in handy in engineering their escape and obtaining top secret information.
Pack Up Your Troubles
1940 · 1 votes
Movie6.8ComedyAn out-of-work comedian persuades a drunken nobleman to join a protest against the closing of a village hall.
Let the People Sing
1942 · 7 votes
- Movie6.8Drama
The bewildered wife of a bigamist allows her child to be adopted and then regrets it.
When The Bough Breaks
1947 · 4 votes
Movie6.4DramaComedyIn France in 1946, the difficult return to civilian life of five deportees and prisoners of war after having lived through the hell of the Second World War.
Movie6.3DramaAdventureA married woman finds new thrills as a masked robber on the highways.
The Wicked Lady
1945 · 36 votes
- Movie7.0MysteryCrime
Mr. Reeder, a somewhat eccentric old gentleman employed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, gets it into his head to break up a counterfeiting ring.
The Mind of Mr. Reeder
1939 · 1 votes
Movie5.6DramaWarWhen Celia Crowson is called up for war service, she hopes for a glamorous job in one of the services, but as a single girl, she is directed into a factory making aircraft parts. Here she meets other girls from all different walks of life and begins a relationship with a young airman.
Millions Like Us
1943 · 15 votes
Movie6.5MysteryThrillerAn American comes to Britain to investigate the murky circumstances of his brother's death that occurred during a WW2 commando raid.
Circle of Danger
1951 · 27 votes
Movie5.7ComedyDramaA British Army Officer returning to civilian life after WWII, starts a catering company with some of his ex-army pals.
Something Money Can't Buy
1952 · 3 votes
- Movie8.0Drama
A notorious swindler who returns from abroad and decides to reform his life for the sake of his estranged family.
It Happened to One Man
1940 · 1 votes
Movie5.2RomanceDramaA mill-owner's ambitious daughter almost ruins her husband's political career.
So Well Remembered
1947 · 15 votes
Movie6.4ComedyScience FictionIn need of cash, Roger Cavendish and his valet take a job escorting the perfect woman for a night on the town. She is in fact the robotic creation of Professor Belman, but it turns out rather to be the Professor's niece Penelope doing a pretty good imitation of the perfect Olga who winds up with them in the bridal suite at the Hotel Splendide.
The Perfect Woman
1949 · 7 votes
Movie7.0DramaEden Philpotts' "provincial" comic novel and play The Farmer's Wife was first filmed in the silent era by Alfred Hitchcock. The 1940 talkie version was directed by Leslie Arliss, son of stage star George Arliss. The story remained the same: A middle-aged widower attempts to select a wife from his rural district's eligible females (Basil Sydney). Three unsuccessful dalliances later, the farmer settles for his housekeeper, whom the audience has been rooting for all along. The Farmer's Wife is a prime example of the sort of fare that struck a proper chord with British filmgoers, but whose appeal would be lost to any other nationality.
The Farmer's Wife
1941 · 2 votes
Movie7.0ComedyA farce concerning the attempts of a naval officer to avoid a visit from his wife's overbearing mother-in-law, and cope with a former girlfriend at the same time.
My Wife's Family
1941 · 1 votes
Movie6.9WarComedyDuring the Second World War, three downed English airmen hide out with women's internment camp in France.
Two Thousand Women
1944 · 11 votes
Series2
TV7.4Action & AdventureCrimeSimon Templar is The Saint, a handsome, sophisticated, debonair, modern-day Robin Hood who recovers ill-gotten wealth and redistributes it to those in need.
The Saint
1962 · 136 votes
TV4.8CrimeDramaNo Hiding Place is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967. It was the sequel to the series Murder Bag and Crime Sheet, all starring Raymond Francis as Detective Superintendent, later Detective Chief Superintendent Tom Lockhart.
No Hiding Place
1959 · 4 votes