Patric Knowles

Patric Knowles (born Reginald Lawrence Knowles; 11 November 1911 – 23 December 1995) was an English film actor. Born in Horsforth, West Riding of Yorkshire, he later changed his name to reflect his Irish heritage. He made his film debut in 1932, and played either first or second film leads throughout his career. He appeared in films from the 1930s to the 1970s.

Career British acting career Knowles began his acting career with the British sound films early in 1932, calling himself Patric Knowles. He made his film debut in Men of Tomorrow (1932), produced by Alexander Korda.

He later joined the repertory group of the Oxford Playhouse theater and began touring with various companies and was involved in some seasons in regional theater, being featured in 14 British films, including The Poisoned Diamond (1933), directed by W. P. Kellino; Norah O'Neale (1934), directed by Brian Desmond Hurst; Regal Cavalcade (1935); and The Girl in the Crowd (1935), directed by Michael Powell.

He had the male lead in The Student's Romance (1935) with Grete Natzler and Honours Easy (1935) with Greta Nissen and was in Abdul the Damned (1935), Mister Hobo (1935) with George Arliss, Wrath of Jealousy (1936), and Two's Company (1936).

After a few tours Knowles went to London and appeared in By Appointment in 1936, where he was spotted by Irving Asher of Warner Bros. and got a Hollywood contract for more than 2 years. He had the lead in his final British films, The Brown Wallet (1936), directed by Powell; Fair Exchange (1936), directed by Ralph Ince; and Crown v. Stevens (1936), directed by Powell.

Warner Bros Knowles' first American film was Give Me Your Heart (1936) with Kay Francis (released in Great Britain as Sweet Aloes.) Knowles was cast as a titled Englishman of means.

His second film for Warners was The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), where he played the younger brother of Errol Flynn, who was loved by Olivia de Havilland. Knowles returned to England to make Irish for Luck (1936), and then supported Bette Davis in It's Love I'm After (1937).

Knowles was top billed in some B pictures at Warners: Expensive Husbands (1937) and The Patient in Room 18 (1938). He was re-teamed with Flynn and De Havilland in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), playing Will Scarlett, and again with the pair in Four's a Crowd (1938). He supported Flynn and Bette Davis in The Sisters (1938). Knowles had supporting roles in two more B pictures before leaving the studio: Heart of the North (1938) and Torchy Blane in Chinatown (1939).

Republic Pictures borrowed Knowles to play the lead in Storm Over Bengal (1938).

RKO

Knowles signed a contract at RKO, for whom he made Beauty for the Asking (1939) with Lucille Ball; Five Came Back (1939) also with Ball, directed by John Farrow; and The Spellbinder (1939).

He went to MGM for Another Thin Man (1939) with William Powell and Myrna Loy and 20th Century-Fox for The Honeymoon's Over (1939). He was back at RKO for two more films with John Farrow: Married and in Love (1940) and a remake of A Bill of Divorcement (1940) with Maureen O'Hara and Adolphe Menjou. They were followed by Anne of Windy Poplars (1941), playing Gilbert Blythe.

Again at 20th Century-Fox, he was in How Green Was My Valley (1941) for John Ford.

Paramount

Knowles went to Paramount where he supported Paulette Goddard and Ray Milland in Kitty (1945), Dorothy Lamour in Masquerade in Mexico (1945), Barbara Stanwyck in The Bride Wore Boots (1946), and Alan Ladd in O.S.S. (1946).

He went to Warners for Of Human Bondage (1946) and Universal borrowed him to play Joan Fontaine's leading man in the thriller Ivy (1947). He went back to Paramount for Monsieur Beaucaire (1946) with Bob Hope, Variety Girl (1947) with practically every performer on the Paramount lot, Dream Girl (1948), and Isn't It Romantic? (1949).

Knowles went to RKO for The Big Steal (1949) with Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer and William Bendix, and 20th Century-Fox for Three Came Home (1950), second billed, playing Claudette Colbert's husband.

Television

Knowles began appearing on TV shows such as The Bigelow Theatre, Studio One in Hollywood, Lights Out, Hollywood Opening Night, Robert Montgomery Presents, The Revlon Mirror Theater, The United States Steel Hour, The Whistler, Studio 57, The Ford Television Theatre, and Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre.

He still appeared in features such as Quebec (1951), Mutiny (1952), Tarzan's Savage Fury (1952) (as the villain), Jamaica Run (1953), Flame of Calcutta (1953) for Sam Katzman (second billed to Denise Darcel), World for Ransom (1954), Khyber Patrol (1954) and No Man's Woman (1955).

From the late 1950s Knowles became an almost exclusively television actor appearing in Star Stage, The 20th Century-Fox Hour, Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers , Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Lux Video Theatre, Matinee Theatre, Schlitz Playhouse, The Millionaire, Lux Playhouse, Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, Wagon Train, General Electric Theater, 77 Sunset Strip, Tightrope, Maverick in episodes "The Wrecker" with James Garner and Jack Kelly and "Guatemala City" with James Garner, The Barbara Stanwyck Show, Klondike, The Jim Backus Show, Death Valley Days, The Islanders, Checkmate, Peter Gunn, Whispering Smith, Hawaiian Eye, Have Gun – Will Travel (as Phileas Fogg in the episode "Foggbound", and as August in “Savages”) with Richard Boone, Gunsmoke, The Rogues, Mickey with Mickey Rooney, and Jericho.

He had a small role in the feature Band of Angels (1957) with Clark Gable and Sidney Portier, From the Earth to the Moon (1958) and Auntie Mame (1958) with Rosalind Russell.

Later career Knowles' later appearances included television guest star roles on Family Affair, Garrison's Gorillas, and Marcus Welby, M.D.. He appeared in three films for director Andrew McLaglen,The Way West (1967) with Kirk Douglas and Robert Mitchum, as Lord Mountbatten in The Devil's Brigade (1968) with William Holden and Cliff Robertson, and as John Tunstall in Chisum (1970) with John Wayne. He also appeared in In Enemy Country (1968) with Tony Franciosa, D.A.: Murder One (1969), Getting Together (1971), The Man (1972) with James Earl Jones, Terror in the Wax Museum (1973) with Ray Milland and Elsa Lanchester, and Arnold (1973) with Stella Stevens.

Knowles was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame under the category Television on 8 February 1960. He married the 23-year-old on 3 October 1935. Under contract to Warner Studios, in 1936 they moved to New York City. In 1939, the couple moved to Tarzana in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Sometime after 1936, Knowles became interested in flying, which led him to enlist in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He had hundreds of hours of flying experience, but because an eye ailment prevented him from flying, he became an instructor. After returning to Hollywood, while between films he served as a civilian flying instructor with the U.S. Army Air Force at the Mira Loma Academy for air cadets at Oxnard, California.

Knowles and his wife Enid had a daughter, Antonia Vaughan, and a son, Michael.

Partial filmography Year Film Role Director Notes 1932 Men of Tomorrow Leontine Sagan 1933 The Poisoned Diamond Jack Dane W.P. Kellino 1934 Irish Hearts Pip Fitzgerald Brian Desmond Hurst 1935 Royal Cavalcade Army Officer Marcel Varnel The Girl in the Crowd Tom Burrows Michael Powell The Student's Romance Max Brandt Otto Kanturek Honours Easy Harry Markham Herbert Brenon Abdul the Damned Hilmi's Attaché Karl Grune The Guv'nor Paul Milton Rosmer 1936 Wedding Group Robert Smith Campbell Gullan Two's Company Lord Jerry Wendower Tim Whelan Fair Exchange Tony Meredith Ralph Ince The Brown Wallet John Gillespie Michael Powell Crown v. Stevens Chris Jensen Give Me Your Heart Robert Melford Archie Mayo The Charge of the Light Brigade Captain Perry Vickers Michael Curtiz Irish for Luck Terry O'Ryan Arthur B. Woods 1937 It's Love I'm After Henry Grant Archie Mayo Expensive Husbands Prince Rupert Heinrich Franz Von Rentzau Bobby Connolly 1938 The Patient in Room 18 Lance O'Leary Crane Wilbur The Adventures of Robin Hood Will Scarlett Four's a Crowd Patterson Buckley Michael Curtiz The Sisters Norman French Anatole Litvak Storm Over Bengal Capt. Jeffrey Allison Sidney Salkow Heart of the North Corporal Jim Montgomery Lewis Seiler 1939 Torchy Blane in Chinatown Captain Condon William Beaudine Beauty for the Asking Denny Williams Glenn Tryon Five Came Back Judson Ellis John Farrow The Spellbinder Tom Dixon Jack Hively Another Thin Man Dudley Horn W. S. Van Dyke The Honeymoon's Over Pat Shields Eugene Forde 1940 Married and in Love Paul Wilding John Farrow A Bill of Divorcement John Storm Women in War Lt. Larry Hall John H. Auer Anne of Windy Poplars Gilbert Blythe Jack Hively 1941 How Green Was My Valley Ivor John Ford The Wolf Man Frank Andrews George Waggner 1942 The Strange Case of Doctor Rx Jerry Church William Nigh The Mystery of Marie Roget Dr. Paul Dupin Philip Rosen Lady in a Jam Doctor Enright Gregory La Cava Sin Town Wade Crowell Ray Enright Who Done It? Jimmy Turner Erle C. Kenton Abbott & Costello film 1943 Forever and a Day Trimble-Pomfret Son Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man Dr. Mannering Roy William Neill Hit the Ice Dr. Bill Elliot (Credits) / Dr. William 'Bill' Burns (in Film) Charles Lamont Abbott & Costello film All by Myself Dr. Bill Perry Felix E. Feist Always a Bridesmaid Tony Warren Erle C. Kenton Crazy House Edmund 'Mac' MacLean Edward F. Cline 1944 Chip Off the Old Block Commander Judd Corrigan Charles Lamont This Is the Life Maj. Hilary Jarret Felix E. Feist Pardon My Rhythm Tony Page 1945 Kitty Brett Harwood Earl of Carstairs Mitchell Leisen Masquerade in Mexico Thomas Grant 1946 The Bride Wore Boots Lance Gale Irving Pichel O.S.S. Cmdr. Brady Of Human Bondage Harry Griffiths Edmund Goulding Monsieur Beaucaire Duc le Chandre George Marshall 1947 Ivy Roger Gretorex Sam Wood Variety Girl Patric Knowles George Marshall 1948 Dream Girl Jim Lucas Mitchell Leisen Isn't It Romantic? Richard 'Rick' Brannon Norman Z. McLeod 1949 The Big Steal Jim Fiske Don Siegel 1950 Three Came Home Harry Keith Jean Negulesco 1951 Quebec Charles Douglas George Templeton 1952 Mutiny Capt. Ben Waldridge Edward Dmytryk Tarzan's Savage Fury Edwards, English Traitor Cy Endfield 1953 Jamaica Run William Montague Lewis R. Foster Flame of Calcutta Capt. Keith Lambert Seymour Friedman 1954 World for Ransom Julian March Robert Aldrich (uncredited) Khyber Patrol Lt. George Kennedy Seymour Friedman 1955 No Man's Woman Wayne Vincent Franklin Adreon 1957 Band of Angels Charles de Marigny Raoul Walsh With Clark Gable and Sidney Portier 1958 From the Earth to the Moon Josef Cartier Byron Haskin Auntie Mame Lindsay Woolsey Morton DaCosta 1967 The Way West Captain Grant Andrew V. McLaglen With Kirk Douglas and Robert Mitchum 1968 The Devil's Brigade Adm. Lord Mountbatten In Enemy Country General Lloyd-Griffis Harry Keller 1970 Chisum Henry Tunstall Andrew V. McLaglen With John Wayne 1972 The Man South African Consul Joseph Sargent 1973 Terror in the Wax Museum Mr. Southcott Georg Fenady Arnold Douglas Whitehead final film role