Patricia Roc Movies
Blonde, radiantly beautiful British actress Patricia Roc had only a few months of stage experience when she was cast in her first film, Taras Bulba (1938). Her popularity peaked in the mid-'40s, thanks to such escapist film fare as Madonna of the Seven Moons (1944) and Jassy (1947). During this decade, hardly a week went by without Roc's face adorning the cover of at least one of the leading British fan magazines; she was frequently voted "best actress" by movie exhibitors, more a reflection of her box-office pull than her talent. Active in films in England and the Continent until 1960, Patricia Roc also starred in two American productions, Canyon Passage (1946) and The Man on the Eiffel Tower (1949). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1944
The "2000 Women" of the film's title are the female inmates in a WW II German concentration camp in France. Though many of the women don't get along, they are united in their hatred for their Nazi captors. The story takes a truly melodramatic turn when three English airmen parachute into the camp, offering a ray of hope for those inmates planning an escape. Some of the humor is "black" indeed, involving a card-playing corpse and other questionable sources of laughter, but this was the sort of material that wartime audiences wanted. Heading the cast of 2000 Women are Phyllis Calvert, Flora Robson and Patricia Roc, fine British actresses all who overcome an abundance of script deficiencies. The film was the first production of Individual Pictures, formed by the producer-director-writer team of Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phyllis Calvert, Flora Robson, (more)
- 1943
Millions Like Us is a fundamentally honest dramatization of the British "home front" during World War II. Patricia Roc plays a worker in a defense plant who lives in an all-female rooming house. Shy and sheltered, Roc loses some of her inhibitions when she falls in love with an airman (Gordon Jackson). After they marry, he is killed in battle. Roc's coworkers and friends rally round her, giving her the strength to persevere. Millions Like Us attempts to show the temporary breakdown of the British class structure during the war, with everyone--highborn to low--pitching in, working together, and bolstering one another's morale. That the old social system would inevitably resume after the war wasn't important to British movie fans, who lined up in droves to see Millions Like Us. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Portman, Patricia Roc, (more)
- 1943
Suspected Person was one of several Associated British Pathe productions released in the U.S. by PRC pictures. Clifford Evans stars as Jim Raynor, one of a trio of American bank robbers. When Raynor flees to England with the loot, he leaves his two accomplices at the mercy of the Law. Winning unexpected acquittals, the two crooks chase after Raynor -- while Scotland Yard, hoping to recover the money, chases after all three. A very young Patricia Roc essays one of her first major roles as Raynor's sister, while future "Dr. Who" William Hartnell plays a minor role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clifford Evans, Patricia Roc, (more)
- 1942
Let the People Sing is an offshoot of J. B. Priestly's earlier show business-based fable The Good Companions. In Companions, a trio of mismatched dogooders save a musical troupe from ruin. In Let the People Sing, Alastair Sim is a besotted nobleman who comes to the aid of indigent comedian Fred Emney. Through Sim's intervention, the planned closing of a local music hall is prevented. Even if Sim hadn't let the people sing, as the title implores, they probably would have done so anyway. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alastair Sim, Fred Emney, (more)
- 1942
This musical is loosely based upon the career of the British "Forces' Sweetheart" Vera Lynn, a popular BBC radio singer who spent much time entertaining the troops in London. It all begins when she falls in love with a Scottish soldier who breaks her heart when he jilts her in favor of her best friend. Following the break up, she decides to leave London and spend her time entertaining troops all over Europe. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1941
Eden 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. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Basil Sydney, Wilfred Lawson, (more)
- 1941
In this old-joke-filled farce, a married couple has to put up with an obnoxious mother-in-law whose husband gets caught necking with a young actress, a traveling salesman, and a piano being mistaken in a conversation for an illegitimate child. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide
- 1941
Released in England as Gentleman of Venture, It Happened to One Man was produced in England with "frozen funds" accumulated in that country by RKO Radio Pictures. Inspired by a true story, the film stars Wilfred Lawson as financier Felton Quair. Thanks to the chicanery of his crooked business partner Ackroyl (Reginald Tate), Quair loses his fortune, his family and his freedom. The second half of the story deals with Quair's attempts to find redemption after a four-year prison term. Based on a stage play by Roland Pertwee and John Hastings Turner, the film wisely retains the play's ambiguous ending. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wilfred Lawson, Nora Swinburne, (more)
- 1940
Will Fyffe makes another appearance as Mr. Reeder, the seemingly absent-minded Scotland Yard sleuth created by Edgar Wallace. This time, the canny Reeder is hot on the trail of a counterfeiting gang. In his own disshevelled fashion, he puts the criminals off guard long enough to swoop in for the kill in the final reel. Among the suspects is George Curzon, the eye-twitching murderer from Hitchcock's Young and Innocent. In keeping with his character's essential Britishness, Will Fyffe dispenses with his trademarked Scottish accent in this outing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Fyffe, Kay Walsh, (more)
- 1940
In this crime drama, a peace-loving surgeon must operate upon the man who invented a catastrophic new weapon. The trouble begins when the patient dies of too much ether and the doctor finds himself accused of murder. Fortunately, his daughter and her lover prove that he is innocent. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1940
Boozy doctor O'Dowd gets into deep trouble after he is accused of operating under the influence and causing the death of his daughter-in-law in this sudsy drama. Now the Irish physician must somehow redeem his good name. He gets his chance during a diphtheria outbreak. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peggy Cummins, Mary Merrall, (more)
- 1940
In this wartime comedy, a garage owner, and his pal, a ventriloquist enlist and head for France where they are soon captured by the Nazis. Fortunately, the ventriloquist throws his voice, and they manage to escape. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1939
Filmed in 1939 but not put into general release until 1942, Lady in Distress stars Michael Redgrave as an innocent bystander who thinks he's witnessed a murder. In fact, what he's seen is the rehearsal of an illusion conjured up by stage magician Paul Lukas. Sally Gray, Lukas' wife and assistant, eventually finds herself the victim of her husband's jealousy. This time around, Lukas is certain that Redgrave's suspicions will be laughed off by the police in light of the young man's earlier misapprehensions. Incredibly enough, the central situation of the British Lady in Distress served as the basis for a Columbia 2-reel comedy, Hiss and Yell (1946). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Redgrave, Sally Gray, (more)
In this mystery a Scotland Yard investigator and a police doctor unite to find "The Ringer" a mysterious killer and master of disguise before he can kill a lawyer who just received notice of his impending demise via a lovely bouquet with a note informing him that he has 48 hours to live. During their hurried investigation, the pair learn that the attorney's secretary had recently killed herself and that The Ringer blames the lawyer for the death. Time flies, and the lawyer does indeed die. It is only then that the investigators learn the killer's true identity. The story is based on an Edgar Wallace story. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wilfred Lawson, Sonnie Hale, (more)
- 1939
Long after the company went out of business in the US, Grand National Pictures thrived in England, turning out such bread-and-butter features as The Missing People. Scottish comedian Will Fyffe once again plays Mr. Reeder, the seemingly bucolic Scotland Yard detective who's a lot shrewder than he appears. In this one, Mr. Reeder tackles the case of 27 missing persons, all of whom had been receiving remittance checks from their wealthy families. With beefy, bushy-eyebrowed Lyn Harding in the cast, it doesn't take a Sherlock Holmes to figure out who's behind the disappearances. Future star Patricia Roc has a key supporting role in this easygoing who- and why-dunit. The Missing People was based on a story by Edgar Wallace, who despite the fact that he died in 1932 was well represented on the British screen for the next four decades. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Fyffe, Kay Walsh, (more)
- 1938
Harry Baur, who in the 1930s was the most distinguished character actor in Europe, was the star of the 1936 French historical epic Tarass Boulba. Based on a story by Gogol, the film depicted the 16th century struggle between the Poles and the Russian Cossacks, with emphasis on the rift between Tartar leader Tarass Boulba and his scholarly son. The film did well enough on the continent to prompt an English-language version in 1939, The Rebel Son, which also starred Harry Baur. The film utilized generous portions of the 1936 French production; the result was a hodgepodge of contrasting styles. Andre Brunel, director of the English version, failed to properly match the film work of the original French version's director Alexis Granowsky; in turn, the additional scenes directed by an uncredited Albert de Coureville bore little relation to Brunel's work. Even at 88 minutes, The Rebel Son was tough sledding, with many filmgoers walking out after half an hour. In desperation, the British distributors pared the film down to 70 minutes and shipped it out to double bills under the title The Barbarian and the Lady (the "lady" in the film is the girlfriend of barbarian Tarass Boulba's son--the daughter of his hated rival). Despite the utter failure of this enterprise, producer Samuel Bronston had another go at the Gogal original with his 1962 production Taras Bulba, starring Yul Brynner and Tony Curtis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
