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
''Madonna of the Seven Moons'' is a 1945 British drama film directed by Arthur Crabtree for Gainsborough Pictures and starring Phyllis Calvert, Stewart Granger and Patricia Roc. The film was produced by Rubeigh James Minney, with cinematography ...
'' (1945) and '' The Wicked Lady'' (1945), though she only made one film in Hollywood, '' Canyon Passage'' (1946). She also appeared in ''
Millions Like Us
''Millions Like Us'' is a 1943 British propaganda film, showing life in a wartime aircraft factory in documentary detail. It starred Patricia Roc, Gordon Jackson, Anne Crawford, Eric Portman and Megs Jenkins. It was co-written and co-directed ...
'' (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. She did little acting work after the death of her second husband in 1954, making only a few television appearances including the first episode of '' The Saint''.
Early life
Born in Hampstead, London, to apparently unmarried parents, the daughter of Felix Herold, a paper merchant, and Miriam (née Angell). In 1922, her half-French mother married Dutch-Belgian stockbroker, André Magnus Riese, who legally adopted young Felicia and her sister Barbara (1919-2016; later the wife of Fred Perry). She became known as Felicia Riese and did not discover her adoption until 1949. She was educated at private schools in London and Paris, then was accepted into the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...
in 1937.
West End theatre producer Sydney Carroll discovered her and cast her in ''The Mask of Virtue'' at the Ambassadors Theatre in London. When Carroll thought Felicia Riese sounded "too foreign" and without character, he suggested she change her name to something short and memorable. As there was then a Rock Film Studios Carroll suggested "Rock" as a surname. She agreed but she suggested dropping the "k" to make the surname more memorable and shorter and "Patricia" was the nearest name to "Felicia".
Film career
Roc began her career as a stage actress, debuting in the 1938 London production of ''Nuts in May'', in which she was seen by
Alexander Korda
Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)The Divorce of Lady X'' (1938) and then a leading role as a Polish princess in ''
The Rebel Son
''The Rebel Son'' is a 1938 British historical adventure film directed by Adrian Brunel and starring Harry Baur, Anthony Bushell and Roger Livesey. Patricia Roc also appears in her first screen role. It is a re-working by Alexander Korda of Gran ...
Dr. O'Dowd
''Dr. O'Dowd'' is a 1940 British drama film directed by Herbert Mason, produced by Sam Sax for Warner Bros and starring Shaun Glenville, Peggy Cummins, Felix Aylmer and Irene Handl. Set in Ireland, it focuses on Marius O'Dowd, an Irish doctor, ...
The Farmer's Wife
''The Farmer's Wife'' is a 1928 British silent romantic comedy film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Jameson Thomas, Lillian Hall-Davis and Gordon Harker.
It is adapted from a 1916 play of the same name by British novelist, poet an ...
Vera Lynn
Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 191718 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is honorifically known as the " Forces' Sweetheart", having giv ...
.
Stardom
Roc was top-billed in ''
Millions Like Us
''Millions Like Us'' is a 1943 British propaganda film, showing life in a wartime aircraft factory in documentary detail. It starred Patricia Roc, Gordon Jackson, Anne Crawford, Eric Portman and Megs Jenkins. It was co-written and co-directed ...
'' (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
''Two Thousand Women'' is a 1944 British comedy-drama war film about a German internment camp in Occupied France which holds British women who have been resident in the country. Three RAF aircrewmen, whose bomber has been shot down, enter the ca ...
'' (1944). According to one writer these movies "established her as a symbol of war's transformative effect upon the status of women."
She appeared alongside two of Gainsborough's biggest stars,
Margaret Lockwood
Margaret Mary Day Lockwood, CBE (15 September 1916 – 15 July 1990), was an English actress. One of Britain's most popular film stars of the 1930s and 1940s, her film appearances included ''The Lady Vanishes'' (1938), ''Night Train to Munich' ...
and
Stewart Granger
Stewart Granger (born James Lablache Stewart; 6 May 1913 – 16 August 1993) was a British film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s, rising to fame thr ...
, in ''
Love Story Love Story or A Love Story may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Genres
* Romance (love)
** Romance film
** Romance novel
Films
* ''Love Story'' (1925 film), German silent film
* ''Love Story'' (1942 film), Italian drama film
* ''Love ...
'' (1944), a big hit. Roc played the jealous rival of
Margaret Lockwood
Margaret Mary Day Lockwood, CBE (15 September 1916 – 15 July 1990), was an English actress. One of Britain's most popular film stars of the 1930s and 1940s, her film appearances included ''The Lady Vanishes'' (1938), ''Night Train to Munich' ...
. 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
''Madonna of the Seven Moons'' is a 1945 British drama film directed by Arthur Crabtree for Gainsborough Pictures and starring Phyllis Calvert, Stewart Granger and Patricia Roc. The film was produced by Rubeigh James Minney, with cinematography ...
'' (1945), with Granger and
Phyllis Calvert
Phyllis Hannah Murray-Hill (née Bickle; 18 February 1915 – 8 October 2002), known professionally as Phyllis Calvert, was an English film, stage and television actress. She was one of the leading stars of the Gainsborough melodramas of the 1 ...
, 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 bisexuality in such films as ''The Wicked Lady'' was downplayed for the American market (even her
décolletage
Cleavage is the narrow depression or hollow between the breasts of a woman. The superior portion of cleavage may be accentuated by clothing such as a low-cut neckline that exposes the division, and often the term is used to describe the low neck ...
led US censors to call for retakes to de-emphasise it) and "the Goddess of Odeons", whilst
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...
said she was "a phenomenon" and "an unspoiled film star who can act".
She was also in ''
Johnny Frenchman
''Johnny Frenchman'' is a 1945 British comedy-drama romance war film produced by Ealing Studios and directed by Charles Frend. The film was produced by Michael Balcon from a screenplay by T. E. B. Clarke, with cinematography by Roy Kellino.
...
'' (1945). Co-starring in that film was Ralph Michael, who soon after divorced his wife
Fay Compton
Virginia Lilian Emmeline Compton-Mackenzie, (; 18 September 1894 – 12 December 1978), known professionally as Fay Compton, was an English actress. She appeared in several films, and made many broadcasts, but was best known for her stage per ...
; Roc was named in proceedings.
Her brief move to Hollywood to film '' Canyon Passage'' (1946), a Western in
Technicolor
Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades.
Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...
, was a
lend-lease
Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...
agreement between Rank Pictures and Universal Studios of British in return for American film actors. During filming, Roc was romantically linked with
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
, while her US co-star
Susan Hayward
Susan Hayward (born Edythe Marrenner; June 30, 1917 – March 14, 1975) was an American film actress, best known for her film portrayals of women that were based on true stories.
After working as a fashion model for the Walter Thornton Model A ...
stated "that Limey glamour girl is a helluva dame." Despite good reviews and a remarked likeness to
Deanna Durbin
Edna Mae Durbin (December 4, 1921 – April 17, 2013), known professionally as Deanna Durbin, was a Canadian-born actress and singer, who moved to the USA with her family in infancy. She appeared in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s. With t ...
, she didn’t click with the American filmgoing public.
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
''So Well Remembered'' is a 1947 British drama film starring John Mills, Martha Scott, and Trevor Howard. The film was based on James Hilton's 1945 novel of the same title and tells the story of a reformer and the woman he marries in a fictional ...
'' (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.
In 1947 British exhibitors voted Roc the sixth-most-popular British star in the country. The following year she was 9th.
She walked out of ''
London Belongs to Me
''London Belongs to Me'' (also known as ''Dulcimer Street'') is a British film released in 1948, directed by Sidney Gilliat, and starring Richard Attenborough and Alastair Sim. It was based on the novel ''London Belongs to Me'' by Norman Colli ...
'' claiming she was miscast.
After making a cameo as herself in ''
Holiday Camp
A holiday camp is a type of holiday accommodation that encourages holidaymakers to stay within the site boundary, and provides entertainment and facilities for them throughout the day. Since the 1970s, the term has fallen out of favour with term ...
'' (1947), Roc was in '' One Night with You'' (1948), a musical comedy with
Nino Martini
Nino Martini (7 August 1902 — 9 December 1976) was an Italian operatic tenor and actor. He began his career as an opera singer in Italy before moving to the United States to pursue an acting career in films. He appeared in several Holl ...
.
France
She made two films in France, ''
Return to Life
''Return to Life'' (french: Retour à la vie) is a 1949 French drama portmanteau film in five parts directed by Georges Lampin, André Cayatte, Henri-Georges Clouzot and Jean Dréville (who directed the last two parts). It was entered into the 1 ...
'' (1949) and ''
The Man on the Eiffel Tower
''The Man on the Eiffel Tower'' is a 1950 American Ansco Color film noir mystery film directed by Burgess Meredith and starring Charles Laughton, Franchot Tone, Meredith, and Robert Hutton. It is based on the 1931 novel '' La Tête d'un homme' ...
''. She returned to Britain to appear in a comedy '' The Perfect Woman'' (1949) then walked out on her contract with Rank in March 1949.
In August 1949 she married French cameraman André Thomas.
In Paris she made '' Black Jack'' (1950). She also appeared in ''
Fugitive from Montreal
''Fugitive from Montreal'' (french: L'inconnue de Montréal) is a 1950 French-Canadian drama film directed by Jean Devaivre, written by Charles Exbrayat, and starring René Dary, Patricia Roc and Paul Dupuis. A Royal Canadian Mounted Police of ...
'' (1951), a French-Canadian co production.
Roc returned to Britain for the first time in 18 months to make '' Circle of Danger'' (1951) with
Ray Milland
Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and film director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985. He is remembered for his Academy Award and Cannes Film Festival Award-winning ...
. She then returned for ''
Something Money Can't Buy
''Something Money Can't Buy'' is a 1952 British comedy drama film directed by Pat Jackson and starring Patricia Roc, Anthony Steel and Moira Lister. The film was made with backing from the NFFC as part of its British Film-Makers project with ...
'' (1952).
Later films
Roc's later films included '' The Widow'' (1955) and '' The Hypnotist'' (1957).
Roc returned to Britain later in the decade following the death of husband, André Thomas. She produced only 3 more films and made a few television appearances (including the first episode of '' The Saint'', her final acting role).
Later life and death
In 1964 she married businessman Walter Reif and retired from acting. She was all but forgotten until 1975 when she made the headlines for being fined £25 for
shoplifting
Shoplifting is the theft of goods from an open retail establishment, typically by concealing a store item on one's person, in pockets, under clothes or in a bag, and leaving the store without paying. With clothing, shoplifters may put on item ...
from
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...
in
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and ...
. It is thought that this was a means of regaining attention from the public. Soon after, she and her husband retreated to Switzerland, Reif died in 1986, Roc died 17 years later in 2003.