Patricia Ellis(1918-1970)
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Patricia Ellis called herself "the Queen of B pictures at Warner
Brothers". With only three years of theatrical experience in New York
under her belt, she started in films in 1932. Alongside other ladies
considered to have potential (such as
Ginger Rogers and
Mary Carlisle), Patricia was selected as a
WAMPAS (Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers) baby star.
Within a few years she had worked her way up from juvenile supporting
roles to second leads, averaging seven films a year. By 1937, she was
given starring roles in comedies and the occasional mystery or crime
picture, with such co-stars as
James Cagney,
Adolphe Menjou, and
Joe E. Brown. Reviewers called her "comely
and spontaneous" in the baseball farce
Elmer, the Great (1933) and
"personable" in
Here Comes the Groom (1934)
co-starring Jack Haley and referred
to her "blonde winsomeness" in
Boulder Dam (1936).
The problem was that the majority of her screen roles were purely ornamental and the films themselves were, without exception, second features. Towards the end of her run, Patricia appeared in the 1937 English comedy 'The Gaiety Girls' (with Jack Hulbert and a young Googie Withers) and, against type, played a femme fatale in Fugitive at Large (1939). At the end of the decade she called it a day, leaving Hollywood, first to appear in "Louisiana Purchase" on Broadway and then to marry George T. O'Malley, future president of Protection Securities Systems in Kansas City.
The problem was that the majority of her screen roles were purely ornamental and the films themselves were, without exception, second features. Towards the end of her run, Patricia appeared in the 1937 English comedy 'The Gaiety Girls' (with Jack Hulbert and a young Googie Withers) and, against type, played a femme fatale in Fugitive at Large (1939). At the end of the decade she called it a day, leaving Hollywood, first to appear in "Louisiana Purchase" on Broadway and then to marry George T. O'Malley, future president of Protection Securities Systems in Kansas City.
