In April 1936, she sailed for the United States and Hollywood. A report in the
Los Angeles Times said she was going to England, but she decided to stay in the US. (She later said she was stranded in the country due to a maritime strike.) On August 5 1936 it was reported she had tried to kill herself because she was "despondent about getting work", although shortly afterwards it was claimed this was an accident.
RKO In October 1936 she signed a year long contract with
RKO Pictures. Worth tested for a film by
Edward Small,
Clementina. It was not made. However she was top billed in her first film for RKO:
China Passage (1937), originally called
Miss Customs Agent. Because she appeared opposite established Hollywood actor
Vinton Hayworth, RKO decided to give her a new name "Constance Worth". In December 1936 RKO announced she would co star with
Robert Donat in
Son of Monte Cristo. In February 1937 RKO announced her for
Borrowed Time. Instead she was in
Windjammer (1937) which she made with
George O'Brien. She broke her hip during filming. After
Windjammer, RKO offered her no more films. Her next role was in
Willis Kent's 1938
exploitation quickie,
The Wages of Sin (1938), playing a young woman lured into prostitution. Worth had a supporting role in
Mystery of the White Room (1939) at Universal. In June 1939, she returned to Australia for a three-month visit. She returned in late October. Her name was linked romantically to
Ivan Goff around this time.
Columbia In August 1940 she signed a contract with Columbia. She had a supporting part in
Angels Over Broadway (1940) with
Rita Hayworth; Worth wanted to resume her name "Joy Howarth" but it was felt this was too close to Hayworth so she kept her new stage name. Columbia put her in
Meet Boston Blackie (1940). At
PRC she had a supporting role in
Criminals Within (1941), directed by
Joseph H. Lewis, then she appeared in an uncredited minor role in Alfred Hitchcock's
Suspicion (1941). In November 1940, she reportedly signed a three-picture deal with Paramount but appears not to have made movies for this studio. She lost a part in
They Dare Not Love because Brent was cast. Worth was fourth billed in the gangster B film
Borrowed Hero (1941) at Monogram and
The Dawn Express (1942) at RKO. Back at Columbia, she was billed third in
Boston Blackie Goes Hollywood (1942), then at Universal, she was uncredited in
When Johnny Comes Marching Home (1942). In January 1942, she was linked to
Clementina again. She went to work as a waitress at a drive-in restaurant, which led to an item in a gossip column and drew the attention of Harry Cohn. In December 1942, she reportedly signed a five-year contract with Columbia. "It was not a star's contract by any means", she said later, "but I grabbed it very gratefully. I stayed at Columbia for about two years, but never did anything but small roles and a few leads in B pictures. In fact, I became known as 'Queen of the B's' at Columbia." At Columbia, she had a supporting role in ''
Let's Have Fun (1943) and She Has What It Takes (1943), then was uncredited in Crime Doctor (1943), Appointment in Berlin (1943), Dangerous Blondes (1943), My Kingdom for a Cook (1943). She had billing in The Crime Doctor's Strangest Case (1943) and had a decent role in Klondike Kate (1943), directed by William Castle. She was billed third in Who's Hugh?'' (1943). Worth had uncredited roles in
Cover Girl (1944) and
Jam Session (1944). At Paramount, she had an uncredited role in ''
Frenchman's Creek'' (1944). At Columbia, she was
Charles Starrett's leading lady in the Westerns
Cyclone Prairie Rangers (1944) and
Sagebrush Heroes (1945).
Last roles For
Sigmund Neufeld at PRC, she played a supporting part in
The Kid Sister (1945) and was unbilled in
Dillinger (1945) at Monogram. Worth had a supporting part in PRC's
Why Girls Leave Home (1945) and Monogram's
Sensation Hunters (1945), and a minor role in RKO's
Deadline at Dawn (1946). In August 1945, she said "I have no desire to play romantic leads any more, though I do think I still look good enough for such roles. I'm now concentrating on character parts, similar to those that have made Claire Trevor famous. I think I can do them, and I feel they'll offer me a longer screen life than romantic leads. At least the competition won't be so stiff." She had an uncredited role in
The Set-Up (1949). Her last film was a minor role in the
Johnny Mack Brown Monogram Western
Western Renegades (1949). Throughout her career and as late as 1961, publicity in Australia repeatedly suggested she was on the verge of signing a major studio contract again. This did not happen. ==Personal life==