British postcard by Art Photo. Photo: Warner Bros / Vitaphone Pictures.
British Real Photograph postcard, no. 79. Photo: Warner Bros / Vitaphone Pictures.
The Queen of B pictures at Warner Brothers
Patricia Ellis was born Patricia Gene O'Brien in 1915 (sources differ about her age) in Birmingham, Michigan. Ellis was the oldest of four children born to Eugene Gladstone O'Brien, a Detroit insurance salesman, and Florence Calkins. Her parents divorced in 1929. She was later known as Patricia Leftwich after her step-father, Alexander Leftwich, an actor and New York producer of musical shows.
Her childhood activities included singing and dancing, and she learned French and German. A 1932 newspaper article said, "Since she was able to walk, Patricia has been familiar with the world of the theatre, accompanying her father constantly to rehearsals and performances."
Also in 1932, another newspaper reported, "She understudied all her father's leading women in the last few years, assisted him with lighting and costuming and knows stage production, too." Ellis attended Brantwood Hall School and Gardner School for Girls and began her stage career after leaving school. She took classes in studio facilities while pursuing her acting career.
Ellis appeared with Chamberlain Browns stock company. Given a film test, while appearing on stage in New York City, Ellis was put under contract by Warner Bros. In 1932, she had two small parts, both uncredited, in the crime dramas Three on a Match (Mervyn LeRoy, 1932) with Joan Blondell, Ann Dvorak and Bette Davis, and Central Park (John G. Adolfi, 1932), also starring Blondell. That same year, she was chosen as WAMPAS Baby Star, alongside 13 other girls considered to have potential such as Ginger Rogers and Mary Carlisle. Ellis was the youngest.
Her first credited role was in The King's Vacation (John G. Adolfi, 1933), starring George Arliss. After that film, her career took off, with her starring mostly in lower-budget B-movies but still working steadily. Ellis called herself "the Queen of B pictures at Warner Brothers".
British postcard by Film Weekly, London. Photo: First national. Joe E. Brown and Patricia Ellis in Elmer, the Great (Mervyn LeRoy, 1933).
British postcard in the Film Partners Series, London, no. P 241. Photo: London Films. Jack Hulbert and Patricia Ellis in Paradise for Two/Gaiety Girls (Thornton Freeland, 1937).
Starring alongside some of Hollywood's biggest names
Patricia Ellis had roles in eight films in 1933, co-starring that year with James Cagney in Picture Snatcher (Lloyd Bacon, 1933), and in another seven in 1934. Within a few years, she had worked her way up from juvenile supporting roles to second leads.
She started 1935 off with A Night at the Ritz (William C. McGann, 1935), in which she had the lead female role, opposite William Gargan. She starred in seven films that year and another seven in 1936. Most of her roles were in comedy films, along with some mysteries and crime dramas, and by 1936 she was playing the female lead in almost all her films.
Starring alongside some of Hollywood's biggest names, including James Cagney, Ricardo Cortez, and Bela Lugosi, Ellis's career was at its peak by 1937. That year, she demonstrated that she could carry a picture when she starred in the innocuous Republic musical Rhythm in the Clouds (John H. Auer, 1937). In Great Britain, Patricia appeared in the comedy The Gaiety Girls/Paradise for two (Thornton Freeland, 1937) with Jack Hulbert and a young Googie Withers. She proved a worthy foil to Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in Block-Heads (John G. Blystone, 1938), and, against type, played a femme fatale in Fugitive at Large (Lewis D. Collins, 1939).
She starred in five films in 1937, then only three in 1938, and finally just two in 1939. After her work in film ended, Ellis ventured into music saying, "I was just getting into a rut in Hollywood. ... I want to start a new career -- singing." She made a soundie in 1941. A review in the trade publication Billboard commented: "Miss Ellis isn't bad on voice and excels (sic) on appearance. Men will pay attention to her." In 1941, she and Blue Barron and his Orchestra were headliners, along with Henny Youngman, at Hamid's Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey and appeared on Broadway in 'Louisiana Purchase', a musical comedy.
Patricia Ellis retired in 1939 leaving Hollywood behind and in 1941, she married George Thomas O'Malley, future president of Protection Securities Systems in Kansas City, Missouri. She settled into private life, raising her family in Kansas City. The O'Malleys had one daughter. Ellis remained married to O'Malley for the remainder of her life, dying of cancer in 1970, in Kansas City. George O'Malley died thirty years later, in 2000.
Italian postcard, series no. 24. Photo: Warner Bros., Italy. Patricia Ellis in The Picture Snatcher (Lloyd Bacon, 1933). The Italian release title was Dinamita doppia.
British postcard in the Colorgraph Series, London, no. C 294. Photo: London Films. Patricia Ellis in Paradise for Two/Gaiety Girls (Thornton Freeland, 1937). Caption: A Hand-coloured Real Photograph.
Sources: I.S.Mowis (IMDb), AllMovie, Wikipedia and IMDb.
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