Patricia Roc

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).

Patricia Roc
Born	Felicia Miriam Ursula Herold 7 June 1915 St Pancras, London, England[1]
Died	30 December 2003 (aged 88) Locarno, Switzerland
Other names	Felicia Riese
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1938 – 1962
Spouse(s)	Dr. Murray Laing ​ ​ (m. 1939; div. 1944)​ André Thomas ​ ​ (m. 1949; died 1954)​ Walter Reif ​ ​ (m. 1962; died 1986)​
Children	1
Website	patriciaroc.com

She was employed by the studio of J. Arthur Rank, who called her "the archetypal British beauty".[2] She achieved her greatest level of popularity in British films during the Second World War in escapist melodramas for Gainsborough Studios.[3] She did little acting work after the death of her husband, making only a few television appearances including the first episode of The Saint.

Early life

The adopted daughter of a Dutch-Belgian stockbroker, André Riese, and a half-French mother, she was educated at private schools in London and Paris, then was accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1937.[3] She did not learn that she was adopted until 1949.

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 he 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".[4]

Film career

Roc began her career as a stage actress, debuting in the 1938 London production of Nuts in May,[5] in which she was seen by Alexander Korda, who gave her an uncredited bit in The Divorce of Lady X (1938) and then a leading role as a Polish princess in The Rebel Son.[3]

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).[6]

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.

Stardom

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). According to one writer these movies "established her as a symbol of war's transformative effect upon the status of women."[7]

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.[3] Madonna of the Seven Moons (1945), with Granger and Phyllis Calvert, was another success.[3]

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[8]) and "the Goddess of Odeons", whilst Noël Coward said she was "a phenomenon" and "an unspoiled film star who can act".[2]

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.[9]

Her brief move to Hollywood to film Canyon Passage (1946), a Western in Technicolor, was a lend-lease agreement between Rank Pictures and Universal Studios of British in return for American film actors.[3][10] 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." Despite good reviews and a remarked likeness to Deanna Durbin, she didn’t click with the American filmgoing public.[11]

Roc returned to Britain to make The Brothers (1947), a melodrama that was a commercial disappointment.[12] 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.

In 1947 British exhibitors voted Roc the sixth-most-popular British star in the country.[13] The following year she was 9th.[14]

She walked out of London Belongs to Me claiming she was miscast.[15]

After making a cameo as herself in Holiday Camp (1947), Roc was in One Night with You (1948), a musical comedy with Nino Martini.

France

She made two films film in France, Return to Life (1949) and The Man on the Eiffel Tower. She returned to Britain to appear in a comedy The Perfect Woman (1949) then walked out on her contract with Rank in March 1949.[16][17]

In August 1949 she married French cameraman Andre Thomas.[18]

In Paris she made Black Jack (1950). She also appeared in Fugitive from Montreal (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. She then returned for Something Money Can't Buy (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).

Later life and death

In 1964 she married businessman Walter Reif and retired from acting. She was all but forgotten until 1975 when she hit headline once again for being fined £25 for shoplifting from Marks & Spencer in Oxford Street. 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. [19]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1938	The Divorce of Lady X	Minor role	Uncredited
	The Gaunt Stranger	Mary Lenley
	The Barbarian and the Lady	Marina
1939	The Mysterious Mr. Reeder	Doris Bevan
	The Missing People
1940	Pack Up Your Troubles	Sally Brown
	A Window in London	Pat	Released as Lady in Distress in USA
	Dr. O'Dowd	Rosemary
	Three Silent Men	Pat Quentin
	It Happened to One Man	Betty Quair
1941	The Farmer's Wife	Sibley
	My Wife's Family	Peggy Gay
1942	Suspected Person	Joan Raynor
	Let the People Sing	Hope Ollerton
1943	We'll Meet Again	Ruth
	Millions Like Us	Celia Crowson
1944	Love Story	Judy
	Two Thousand Women	Rosemary Brown / Mary Maugham
1945	Madonna of the Seven Moons	Angela Labardi
	Johnny Frenchman	Sue Pomeroy
	The Wicked Lady	Caroline
1946	Canyon Passage	Caroline Marsh
1947	The Brothers	Mary
	So Well Remembered	Julie Morgan
	Jassy	Dilys Helmar
	When the Bough Breaks	Lily Bates
	Holiday Camp	Herself
1948	One Night with You	Mary Santell
1949	The Perfect Woman	Penelope Belman
	Return to Life	Lieutenant Evelyne	(segment 2 : "Le retour d'Antoine")
	The Man on the Eiffel Tower	Helen Kirby
1950	Fugitive from Montreal	Helen Bering
	Black Jack	Ingrid Dekker
1951	Circle of Danger	Elspeth Graham
1952	Something Money Can't Buy	Anne Wilding
1953	La mia vita è tua	Laura
1955	Cartouche	Donna Violante
	The Widow	Diana
1956	The Errol Flynn Theatre		Episode : "Farewell Performance"
1957	The Hypnotist	Mary Foster
	The House in the Woods	Carol Carter
1958	White Hunter	Marge Wilson	Episode: "Pegasus"
1959	No Hiding Place	Mrs. Ottlone	Episode: "Who Is Gustav Varnia?"
1960	Bluebeard's Ten Honeymoons	Mme. Vivienne Dureaux
	Skyport	Iris West	1 episode
1961	Dixon of Dock Green	Brenda	Episode: "A Kiss for the Constable"
1962	The Saint	Madge Clarron	Episode: "The Talented Husband", (final appearance)

References

1. http://search.findmypast.co.uk/results/world-records/england-and-wales-births-1837-2006?firstname=felicia%20m&lastname=herold
2. "Actress Patricia Roc dies, aged 88". Daily Telegraph. London. 31 December 2003. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
3. Bergan, Ronald (31 December 2003). "Actress Patricia Roc, Rank starlet seen as the epitome of the English rose". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 31 December 2008.
4. p. 27 Hodgson, Michael Patricia Roc Author House, 2013
5. "PATRICIA ROC". The Forbes Advocate. 38 (2). New South Wales, Australia. 7 January 1949. p. 1. Retrieved 30 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
6. "Patricia Roc A new favourite". Lachlander and Condobolin and Western Districts Recorder. New South Wales, Australia. 2 October 1947. p. 4. Retrieved 30 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
7. Sweet, Matthew (2005). Shepperton Babylon : the lost worlds of British cinema. Faber and Faber. p. 201.
8. "Obituary". Daily Telegraph. London. 30 December 2003. Retrieved 8 March 2008.
9. "New romance for Patricia Roc". The Mail. 37 (1, 902). Adelaide. 13 November 1948. p. 3 (SUNDAY MAGAZINE). Retrieved 30 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
10. "Patricia Roc's First Hollywood Film". The Farmer & Settler. XLI (46). New South Wales. 13 December 1946. p. 19. Retrieved 30 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
11. Eduardo Moreno, The Films of Susan Hayward, Citadel Press, Secaucus, NJ, 1979, p. 111.
12. "PATRICIA ROC IS HOME AGAIN". The Sydney Morning Herald (34, 228). 4 September 1947. p. 10. Retrieved 30 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
13. 'Bing's Lucky Number: Pa Crosby Dons 4th B.O. Crown', The Washington Post (1923-1954) [Washington, D.C] 3 January 1948: 12.
14. 'Britten's Rape of Licretia: New York Divided', The Manchester Guardian (1901-1959) [Manchester (UK)] 31 December 1948: 8.
15. "PATRICIA ROC QUITS PICTURE". The News. 49 (7, 595). Adelaide. 6 December 1947. p. 1. Retrieved 30 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
16. "England". The Sun (2472). Sydney. 3 September 1950. p. 54. Retrieved 30 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
17. "Margaret Aylwards". The Sun (2397). Sydney. 20 March 1949. p. 12. Retrieved 30 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
18. "PATRICIA ROC IS MARRIED". The Barrier Miner. LXII (17, 933). New South Wales. 17 August 1949. p. 1. Retrieved 30 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
19. Bergan, Ronald (2003). "Obituary: Patricia Roc | Rank starlet seen as the epitome of the English roes". The Guardian.

External links

• Patricia Roc at IMDb
• Photographs of Patricia Roc film.virtual-history.com