Patricia Ellis

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, wit