Patricia Molly Owens (January 17, 1925 – August 31, 2000) was a Canadian-born American actress, working in Hollywood. She appeared in about 40 films and 10 television episodes in a career lasting from 1943 to 1968.

Early work

Owens moved to England in 1933 with her parents (her Welsh father

Arthur Owens Arthur Graham Owens, later known as Arthur Graham White (14 April 1899 – 24 December 1976), was a Welsh double agent for the Allies during the Second World War. He was working for MI5 while appearing to the Abwehr (the German intelligence agency ...

was later to become an MI5

double agent In the field of counterintelligence, a double agent is an employee of a secret intelligence service for one country, whose primary purpose is to spy on a target organization of another country, but who is now spying on their own country's organ ...

), and 10 years later, at age 18, she made her motion-picture debut in the musical comedy ''

Miss London Ltd ''Miss London Ltd.'' is a 1943 British, black-and-white, comedy, musical, war film, directed by Val Guest and starring Arthur Askey and Evelyn Dall. It was produced by Edward Black, Maurice Ostrer, Fred Gunn and Gainsborough Pictures. Plot ...

''. The following year, she had a small role in Harold French's social satire '' English Without Tears''. Her career continued in this manner for a few years, Owens getting ever-larger roles in movies. Her career received a boost when she was seen by a

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film studio, film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm o ...

executive while performing in a stage production of '' Sabrina Fair'', and was offered a screen test. The result was a contract with the studio and a move to Hollywood. Her first American film was '' Island in the Sun'' (1957), followed by ''

No Down Payment ''No Down Payment'' is a 1957 drama film directed by Martin Ritt. It was written by Philip Yordan, who fronted for an uncredited and blacklisted Ben Maddow, and is based on the novel of the same name by John McPartland. The film stars Joanne ...

'', both for Fox, after which Owens was lent to Warner Bros. to appear in the critically acclaimed drama ''

Sayonara ''Sayonara'' is a 1957 American Technicolor drama film starring Marlon Brando in Technirama. It tells the story of an American Air Force fighter pilot during the Korean War who falls in love with a famous Japanese dancer. The picture won four ...

'' (1957).

Success in ''The Fly''

Owens spent the rest of 1957 working mostly on loan, but a successful Fox production secured her best known role, as Hélène Delambre, the wife of scientist André Delambre in '' The Fly'' (1958). Owens carried much of that horror film's narrative, which was largely presented in flashback from her character's point of view. None of Owens' subsequent films ever attained the same level of success as ''The Fly''. She co-starred in the 1960 war film '' Hell to Eternity'', then in 1961 appeared in the threadbare, backlot POW/jungle chase drama '' Seven Women from Hell''. Owens made occasional television appearances, on series such as ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a cli ...

'' and '' Burke's Law'', but these were relatively infrequent. Owens starred in the 1959 episode " The Crystal Trench" of the series ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was r ...

''. She was also in an episode of ''

Tales of Wells Fargo ''Tales of Wells Fargo'' is an American Western television series starring Dale Robertson that ran from 1957 to 1962 on NBC. Produced by Revue Productions, the series aired in a half-hour format until its final season, when it expanded to a ...

'' titled "Assignment In Gloribee" in 1962. She plays an uptight, cynical Bostonian who is sent out west to write a "favorable" review of the west, on behalf of Wells Fargo.

Retirement

By 1965, Owens was working in '' Black Spurs'', a B-Western produced by

A.C. Lyles Andrew Craddock Lyles Jr. (May 17, 1918 – September 27, 2013) was an American film producer for Paramount Pictures, who is best known for producing a variety of Westerns in the 1950s and '60s. Career Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Lyles bega ...

, who was renowned for using older stars in that genre. She retired from feature films in 1968 after portraying the love interest in the low-budget espionage thriller ''The Destructors''. Later that same year, she made her last professional appearance in a televised episode of ''

Lassie Lassie is a fictional female Rough Collie dog and is featured in a short story by Eric Knight that was later expanded to a full-length novel called '' Lassie Come-Home''. Knight's portrayal of Lassie bears some features in common with another ...

''.

Personal life

Owens was married and divorced three times. Her first husband, producer and screenwriter Sy Bartlett, and she wed in 1956 and remained together for two years. She next married Jerome Nathanson in 1960, and they had one child before their divorce in 1961. Her third marriage was to John Austin from 1969 until their divorce in 1975.

Partial filmography

* ''

Miss London Ltd. ''Miss London Ltd.'' is a 1943 British, black-and-white, comedy, musical, war film, directed by Val Guest and starring Arthur Askey and Evelyn Dall. It was produced by Edward Black, Maurice Ostrer, Fred Gunn and Gainsborough Pictures. Plot ...

'' (1943) - Miss London (uncredited) * '' English Without Tears'' (1944) - Girl Getting Autograph (uncredited) * ''

Give Us the Moon ''Give Us the Moon'' is a 1944 British comedy film directed and written by Val Guest and starring Vic Oliver, Margaret Lockwood and Peter Graves. Plot Made in 1943-44, the film is set in a future peacetime Britain, after the end of World War I ...

'' (1944) - Chambermaid (uncredited) * '' One Exciting Night'' (1944) - Minor Role (uncredited) * ''

While the Sun Shines ''While the Sun Shines'' is a 1947 British comedy film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Barbara White, Ronald Squire, Brenda Bruce, Bonar Colleano, and Michael Allan. It was based on Terence Rattigan's 1943 play of the same name Pl ...

'' (1947) - Minor Role (uncredited) * '' Things Happen at Night'' (1948) * ''

Panic at Madame Tussaud's Panic is a sudden sensation of fear, which is so strong as to dominate or prevent reason and logical thinking, replacing it with overwhelming feelings of anxiety and frantic agitation consistent with an animalistic fight-or-flight reactio ...

'' (1948) - Phyllis Edwards * '' Paper Orchid'' (1949) - Mary MacSweeney * ''

Bait Bait may refer to: General * Bait (luring substance), bait as a luring substance ** Fishing bait, bait used for fishing Film * ''Bait'' (1950 film), a British crime film by Frank Richardson * ''Bait'' (1954 film), an American noir film by Hu ...

'' (1950) - Anna Hastings * '' The Happiest Days of Your Life'' (1950) - Angela Parry * ''

Old Mother Riley, Headmistress ''Old Mother Riley, Headmistress'' is a low budget black and white 1950 British comedy film, starring Arthur Lucan and Kitty McShane. The 13th film in the Old Mother Riley series, it features the Luton Girls Choir playing many of Mother Rile ...

'' (1950) - Girl * '' Mystery Junction'' (1951) - Mabel Dawn * '' Crow Hollow'' (1952) - Willow * ''

Ghost Ship A ghost ship, also known as a phantom ship, is a ship, vessel with no living crew aboard; it may be a fictional ghostly vessel, such as the ''Flying Dutchman'', or a physical Flotsam, jetsam, lagan and derelict, derelict found adrift with its cre ...

'' (1952) - Joyce - Party Girl * ''

House of Blackmail ''House of Blackmail'' is a 1953 British drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Mary Germaine, William Sylvester and Alexander Gauge. Its plot follows a soldier and his girlfriend, who become mixed up with a blackmailer. Cast * ...

'' (1953) - Joan * ''

Knights of the Round Table The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in li ...

'' (1953) - Lady Vivien (uncredited) * '' The Good Die Young'' (1954) - Winnie (uncredited) * ''

A Stranger Came Home ''A Stranger Came Home'' is a 1954 British film noir directed by Terence Fisher and starring Paulette Goddard, William Sylvester and Patrick Holt. The film was produced by Hammer Films at Bray Studios with sets designed by the art director J. E ...

'' (1954) - Blonde * '' Tale of Three Women'' (1954) - Mary (segment "Final Twist' story) * ''

Windfall Windfall or Windfalls may refer to: Arts and media Film and television * ''Windfall'' (1935 film), adaptation of R. C. Sherriff's 1933 play, directed by Frederick Hayward and George King * ''Windfall'' (1955 film), a British comedy film by Jo ...

'' (1955) - Connie Lee * '' Colonel March Investigates'' (1955, TV Series) - Betty Hartley * '' Alive on Saturday'' (1957) - Sally Parker * '' Island in the Sun'' (1957) - Sylvia Fleury * ''

'' (1957) - Jean Martin * ''

'' (1957) - Eileen Webster * '' The Law and Jake Wade'' (1958) - Peggy * '' The Fly'' (1958) - Helene Delambre * '' The Gun Runners'' (1958) - Lucy Martin * ''

These Thousand Hills ''These Thousand Hills'' is a 1959 American Western film directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Don Murray, Richard Egan, Lee Remick, Stuart Whitman and Patricia Owens. The screenplay was written by Alfred Hayes. It is based on the novel ...

'' (1959) - Joyce * '' Five Gates to Hell'' (1959) - Joy * '' Hell to Eternity'' (1960) - Sheila Lincoln * '' Seven Women from Hell'' (1961) - Grace Ingram * ''

X-15 The North American X-15 is a hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft. It was operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as part of the X-plane series of experimental aircraft. The X-15 set speed ...

'' (1961) - Margaret Brandon * ''Gunfight in Black Horse Canyon'' (1961, TV Movie) - Katherine (archive footage) * '' The Untouchables'' (1963, Episode: "The Charlie Argos Story") - Marcy Devon * ''

Walk a Tightrope ''Walk a Tightrope'' is a 1964 Anglo-American crime film directed by Frank Nesbitt, written by Neil McCallum (actor), Neil McCallum, and starring Dan Duryea, Patricia Owens, Terence Cooper, Richard Leech, Neil McCallum (actor), Neil McCallum and T ...

'' (1964) - Ellen Sheppard * '' Black Spurs'' (1965) - Clare Grubbs * '' The Destructors'' (1968) - Charlie

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Owens, Patricia 1925 births 2000 deaths Actresses from British Columbia Canadian expatriates in the United Kingdom Canadian people of Welsh descent People from the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian film actresses Canadian television actresses 20th-century Canadian actresses