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 ODowd 1940 Three Silent Men 1940 It Happened to One Man 1940 and The Farmers Wife 1941 Her parts grew bigger My Wifes Family 1941 Suspected Person 1942 Let the People Sing 1942 and Well 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 Gainsboroughs 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 others 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 Lockwoods best friend It was the most successful movie at the British box office in 1946 Rocs 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 deemphasise 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 costar 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 BritishUS co production So Well Remembered 1947 which was a hit in Britain but failed to recoup its cost Jassy1947 a melodrama with Lockwood was a big hit When the Bough Breaks 1947 another melodrama performed reasonably well
HydraHD
