Patric Knowles – From Will Scarlet to the Wolf Man

Patric Knowles had a successful acting career with 128 TV and movie credits. He stared in some of the biggest films of his time such at The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), How Green Was My Valley (1941), The Wolf Man (1941), Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), Auntie Mame (1958), The Devil’s Brigade (1968), and Chisum (1970). In retirement he worked to take care of actors that had been less fortunate than himself.

Patric Knowles was born in England on November 11, 1911. He was 14 years old when he ran away from the family bookbinding business to pursue acting. He was brought back home but left again in a few years. He was able to find some regional theater work and then entered British films in 1932 and eventually made 14 British films. Based on this work he was offered a contract with Warner Brothers. His second American movie was the hugely popular The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) with Errol Flynn.

In the 1930s, Patric Knowles has a few leads but mostly he fit as the second lead. Knowles worked again with Erroll Flynn The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) in the role of Will Scarlett, adorned in bright red. Knowles jumped from studio to studio to avoid typecasting. This seemed to work with him playing a shallow playboy in Five Came Back (1939). He was one of the brothers in How Green Was My Valley (1941) and jumped to horror as one of the trackers of the title character in The Wolf Man (1941) and as the mad doctor in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943).

This pattern of movies continued through the 1940s and 1950s. Perhaps seeing that he was never going to a super star, Knowles began to do a lot more television including live playhouse theater. He continued to make one or two movies a year such as the role of the unrequited love in Auntie Mame (1958), The Devil’s Brigade (1968) with William Holden, and Chisum (1970) starring with John Wayne. As the roles tapered he lectured at colleges, did commericals, and wrote a novel. With retirement, he worked for the betterment of less fortunate actors.

Patric Knowles died December 23, 1995 at the age of 84. He left behind a legacy of great films and great humanitarian works. 

Reviewed Patric Knowles Films

Patric Knowles on iMDB.com