Lizbeth Scott


Okay we know Stanwyck was great, but what about Lizbeth Scott? she gave a great performance in this movie too. I cant believe she didn't become a huge star.

reply

and what a shower scene, eh?

reply

She was lovely, and it's unfortunate that a scandal really curtailed her career too early.

reply

ITS LIZABETH BY THE WAY... THERE IS A LIZBETH SCOTT WHO IS A COMPOSER/SINGER IN THE MOVIES WHO IS STILL WORKING TODAY...
WHAT SCANDAL? ENLIGHTEN US, PLEASE. IF ITS TABLOID STUFF IT PROBABLY WASNT TRUE...I SEEM TO REMEMBER SOMETHING BEING PUBLISHED WAY BACK THEN BUT SHE SEWED THE PULP MAGAZINE....
LIZABETH STILL LIVES UP IN THE HOLLYWOOD HILLS AND DRIVES A JAG, HAS HER HAIR MOSTLY IN A PONY TAIL NOW. ITS GRAY BUT SHE IS STILL BEAUTIFUL, STAYS OUT OF THE LIMELIGHT BUT OCCASIONALLY GOES TO FILM NOIR CONVENTIONS. SHE WAS GRAND, AND NEVER TO BE FORGOTTEN.

SHE WAS A STEADY OF HAL WALLIS, DIRECTOR/PRODUCER AND WHEN HE STOPPED MAKING MOVIES--HIS LAST WAS A ELVIS MOVIE & SHE PLAYED A DECENT PART--SHE DID TOO. HER INITIAL TRAINING CAME ON THE STAGE AND SHE WAS CONSIDERED A REAL PRO ON BROADWAY. MAYBE YOU WILL SEE HER IN STARBUCKS SIPPING A LATTE, STRANGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED.....

reply

Sorry for getting the name wrong - I was typing fast and not thinking.

I can't say if the scandal was true at all, obviously, but it did halt her career. Her initials and phone number were found in a madam's black book and when the police called the number, it was Lizbeth. Once "outed" as a lesbian, she basically stopped getting the good roles. I'm vague on the details but perhaps imdb has it in her bio. I hope she's doing well, nice to read your post.

reply

Thanks for your reply, interesting what you said. Well, if she was in a madams black book, that could be for a number of reasons, including the obvious, or as a straight contact or referral. Its a known fact many A list actors, even those married, procured women though discreetly. Even the heads of major studios had contacts.... True story. Then you shift into, "once outed as a lesbian," which is of course something different. I doubt if both a madame connection or a lesbian connection could both be true, but hey you never know. Again, most of her movies were done with Hal Wallis and when he retired that was the end of her career. Wouldnt it be great if Tarintino was to do a new movie and ask her to be in it? He does that you know, asks stars of the past to be in his films. Oh well, I will keep looking for her in Starbucks. Nice to know she has so many friends...also important to know that many actors/actresses were gay/lesbian and in those days it was no secret to those in the business. Some chose to be silent, so they could not be outed, others were discreet, but still known to the film family. I hope she is doing well too, wasnt she the best? Her acting was so pure, so clear. As a 15 year old with hormones raging I drooled over her at the Lyric theatre in Blue Island, Illinois. Thanks for the memories...

reply

She really was marvelous, beautiful and that voice was to die for. I really am glad that she's still around. If you see her at Starbucks, you should tell her you're a fan. I'm sure she'd appreciate it.

reply

I always thought she looked mannish and was not a great beauty, her voice was raspy and she was not a good actress. The part of Toni Matuchek in Strange Love was poorly written; very cliched, unlike the complicated and fascinating characters of Stanwyck, Douglas and Heflin.

reply

I only recently saw this film, one that I'd missed out on.
Frankly I was disappointed all round, far fetched plot and poor characterisations.
As far as Lizbeth Scott was concerned I thought a very wooden and pseudo-vamp performance - extremely bad acting abilities.

reply

Film that noir is rife with unusual people, even lead actresses. Lizabeth was one of a number of actresses with trombone voices and odd ways of speaking: Lauren Bacall, of course, Veronica Lake, even Lana Turner, had affects that were not of the usual girl next door.

"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne

reply

I was going to say that she's a dead ringer for Lauren Bacall: deep sexy voice, smokey bedroom eyes, knowing grin. Should have been a star.

reply

I know you wrote this 5 years ago, but I JUST finished watching this movie on Hulu, and when Lizabeth first came on screen I thought she was Lauren Bacall. They look so much alike. Personally I think that Lizabeth is the more beautiful one of the two women. I thought she was great in the movie, too.

reply

Actually it was Scott who really gets on my nerves in this other-wise fine movie. I sometimes want to slap her in her "martyrdom" towards Sam and she consistently sounds like she needs a Dristan

Even larks and katydids are, supposed by some, to dream

reply

Scott looked feminine and beautiful, and had a lovely voice. She was an excellent actress. Her role in "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers" was well written, complicated, and fascinating.

reply

Scott had decided to retire from film before the story came out. Those "reports" were printed in a rag called Confidential. It's main claim to fame was printing "scandalous" stories about famous people, and it wasn't too particular about whether the stories were true or not. Howard Rushmore, the editor who wrote the piece about Scott, eventually ended up testifying against the magazine and stating that much of what they printed was not based in fact. Much info here, including a lengthy list of documented references at the bottom: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lizabeth_Scott

reply

[deleted]

Quit Shouting!!!!!

reply

[deleted]

[deleted]

I think she's just wonderful. Such a presence - she's tough and soft all at once. I always thought of her as a kind of budget Bacall - but a really top-notch budget Bacall! What a woman...

If she really was a lesbian, more power to her.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm writing all this down in my memoirs so if I grow up twisted & warped, the world will know why.

reply

I'm with you OP, and with the "Variety" quote. I think Lizabeth Scott out-acted Stanwyck all the way in this one, and is the real stand-out of the movie. I just love this movie, and it is mostly because of Miss Scott.

reply

Have to admit when I first heard her speak I was wondering what that was, later decided she needed to smoke a few less ciggies, but I have to also admit --- she was a truly lovely looking actress and did have some talent as well.

reply

I love Lizabeth Scott, but neither she nor anyone else EVER out acted Barbara Stanwyck in a Stanwyck film.

reply

acadia, go back and check your own punctuation and syntax errors before you start correcting others. Your writing is less than flawless.

"Don't worry. I'm not on the side of the saints yet."

reply

[deleted]

"Okay we know Stanwyck was great, but what about Lizbeth Scott? she gave a great performance in this movie too. I cant believe she didn't become a huge star. "--DianaDorsFan


I agree. Then I went to her bio and figured out what probably happened was that she was the victim of her generation's unfair prejudice against sexual orientation other than hetereosexual. This is what prejudice does folks, it destroys potential ---for all parties concerned! Lizabeth Scott had the ingredients to be a major Hollywood star of her generation and it didn't happen through no fault of her own!

Live Long and Prosper!

reply

It's ironic that Scott's career was damaged by her lesbianism, given that Barbara Stanwyck had a vastly more successful career (granted, she was obviously more talented) and even portrayed a lesbian in a later film "A Walk on the Wild Side". Of course, Stanwyck (even though she was never tied to any studio by a long term contract) knew how to play the game in Hollywood- she was married twice (once to Robert Taylor, who needed the protective coloration of marriage as much as she did). She also made it a point to be cooperative with the Hollywood press corps and with her coworkers on the set. In that time, gay actors and actresses who wanted careers (Van Johnson, Rock Hudson, Agnes Moorehead, Tab Hunter) had to at least pretend that they were straight.

reply

The public has not changed as much as we think. Some actresses and actors who outed themselves have not been doing well with getting work.

It is the actor or actresses call to out themselves, but I think it is a bad career choice in the long run, IMHO.








Live Full & Die Empty. Tap Your Potential and Realise Your Dreams!

reply

Filmbuff1974, such as? What openly gay actors hurt their careers by coming out? (With the exception of Rupert Everett, which closet defenders always point to, completely ignoring the horrendous plastic surgery that ruined his face and his career).

Maybe Neil Patrick Harris? Matthew Bomer? Ian McKellen? Ah, I forget -- they're all stars.

Passing along the "stay closeted" conventional wisdom just perpetuates the myth.

reply

I've sad this before -- altho I rather like Lauren Bacall, Lizabeth Scott was more Lauren Bacall than Lauren Bacall ever was.

A real shame if her orientation hurt her career -- she was a super-cool actress and I loved her in this movie. The whole thing was really well-acted... I even loved the kids who played the younger versions of Sam, Martha and Walter.

Matthew

reply

Xdayton, a relative of mine (Rock Hudson's generation) used to be a HUGE fan of MCMILLIAN AND WIFE. When Rock Hudson came out and revealed he was sick with the AIDS virus, my father just refused to watch the show anymore.

I wish we lived in a society where this wasn't an issue, but it is.

I think you would be astonished at how many top Hollywood celebrities are keeping their sexuality out of the press. Outing oneself is just not good for career longevity. Sad, but true.










Live Full & Die Empty. Tap Your Potential and Realise Your Dreams!

reply

Hardly can be considered as empirical evidence to support your earlier assertion.

reply

I guess I'll just have to disagree all around about Ms. Scott. I don't find her particularly attractive and in every movie I've seen that she was cast, I found her to be the weakest actor in the film.

reply

[deleted]

Scott and Douglas totally eclipsed Stanwyck and Heflin, as far as I'm concerned. Incidentally, I thought Lizabeth was easy on the eyes (as always).


Hey there, Johnny Boy, I hope you fry!

reply

I have to agree with posters on here who have compared her to Lauren Bacall. Lizbeth Scott has such a husky voice. I like these noirs where a man is caught between a good girl and a bad girl. I'm always compromised too as I wait to see which one he is going to pick. Lizbeth Scott plays the good girl well in this.

reply