Lizabeth Scott and Humphrey Bogart in "Dead Reckoning"

Lizabeth Scott is my favorite actress of that time period (along with Stanwyck)--and far, far superior to Bacall in both beauty and talent. Never saw her give anything but a compelling performance; her acting style was more natural and organic than was typical of the era. Never a tricked-up or hammy moment with her. OP, thanks for reminding me that I want to see Dead Reckoning. Can't believe I missed it.

Scott was thought to be a closeted lesbian but denied all rumors. I guess we'll never know, but we have her movies, thank goodness.

You know this role was planned for Rita Hayworth after Gilda and she chose to make The Lady from Shanghai instead.

R1 agreed. I know she was rumored to have had a relationship with producer Hal Wallis, but many suspect this was contractual. She never married, which is a bit unusual for that time period and it does make me wonder. I also think she was transfixing onscreen—she had a similar deep voice to Bacall, but hers was more kittenish and alluring. "Too Late for Tears" and the bizarre but gorgeous "Desert Fury" are also major highlights in her filmography. I found this article on her very interesting.

She was also terrific in Loving You - one of Elvis Presley's early movies. I think Desert Fury is my favorite because it also features Mary Astor.

Sort of spoiler:

Her death scene in Dead Reckoning is wonderful and always makes me shed a tear.

R4 Desert Fury is wild. The mother-daughter relationship between Scott and Astor in that movie is extremely bizarre. There is also a strong gay subtext between John Hodiak and Wendell Corey's characters that is hard to ignore. I got the Blu-ray recently, and it looks fucking fantastic. The color photography reminds me a lot of Leave Her to Heaven. It is exquisitely shot.

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (also starring Stanwyck, which I'm assuming R1 has seen) is another good one with Lizabeth. Van Heflin and Kirk Douglas co-star with them.

I think Scott was a pretty bad actress without much range but her noir movies are entertaining.

I like her speaking voice, and she could sing too; she does one number in "Dead Reckoning" and this is a good one from TV.

The recent book by her stalker faux friend doesn't answer the lesbian question directly but offers insight into the issue as seen by an actress of that era.

Lizabeth Scott was a talented actress. Lauren Bacall was a grifter who made life hell for Humphrey Bogart.

Between about 1990 and 2010, I used to frequently see Scott at Kate Mantilini at lunch time in Beverly Hills. She was a friend of my parents and was always friendly when she saw me. People recognized her and she was gracious and generous in speaking with them. Lizabeth Scott was a classy lady, unlike rude and crude Lauren Bacall.

Todd Hughes sounds like Truman Capote.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Dead Reckoning, so thank you OP for alerting me to its existence. I love Lizabeth Scott, and just started watching her films in the last few years when I discovered her acting alongside the bisexual atheist and DL icon Burt Lancaster in a couple films. I will now watch anything she’s in.

R7 I didn't know Lizabeth recorded an album. It's not bad. Her voice at times reminds me a bit of Julie London's.

Lizabeth understudied Tallulah.

Acting chops aside, I'd have much rather cruised Sunset Boulevard with Lizabeth in her Jaguar than sipped High Point in the Dakota with the mean-spirited Betty. Lizabeth seemed fun, was gracious to her fans, and overall a class act. Betty fancied herself a class act, but she was in reality a pretentious and bitter old bitch who dressed up her cuntery with the stance of "not suffering fools." I liked Bacall as an actress, but she was by most all accounts a hideous person in real life. The stories about her are legendary. The only gossip you ever heard about Lizabeth was that she was a dyke.

I always thought Jaime King (at one point in time) would've made for a good Lizabeth in a biopic. The resemblance is there. I don't know how you'd recreate that voice, though.

Jaime King for The Ann Jillian Story Redux.

I find it amazing that the lesbian rumors were so strong that she was so often forced to publicly deny them, as far back as the 50s and 60s. However, in that several part interview on YouTube from the 90s, the person who interviewed her (a close friend and also the one who uploaded the videos to YT) posted several touchy comments insisting that Liz was indeed a lez, insulted that deniers would believe their own opinions over someone who actually knew her. She was a real beauty, and sometime in the mid 60s she hit a wall, hard. Always assumed it was because a man she was set to marry had died suddenly, but following the revelations from those YT comments I wonder what caused her to age so quickly during that period. Was she a drinker?

R18 I think most women (and men) of that era hit the wall hard because of the lifestyles that were the norm of the period—mainly boozing and smoking, which was everywhere. Lana Turner, born the same year as Lizabeth, had a similar hardened look that really set in in her forties, and we know she was a big drinker and a lifelong chainsmoker. I don't know if Lizabeth was a heavy drinker or not, but I assume she was a smoker at least—probably both. She was one of the rare ones who made it into her nineties. Quite a life.

Lizabeth was a glam lesbian and a beautiful woman. She looked perhaps her very best in this movie. Bacall couldn't touch her in terms of beauty. I also don't think there is a huge argument to be made that Bacall was a master thespian herself, despite what her fans might say. I'm not sure I'd say she was a better actress than Scott by any stretch.

R10, thank you for sharing that personal story. I'm thrilled to know Scott was gracious in addition to being a great beauty and fascinating performer.

R13, I had no idea Scott could sing, too. She had a unique, rich voice. Thank you for the link.

I can't get enough of watching her. She was captivating.

I think she was dubbed in all her movies when she had to sing. Here she is doing the song from DR. I guess it was composed after the fact of Rita withdrawing because it's not a dance number.

"Scott performs “Either It’s Love or It Isn’t,” although she is dubbed by Trudy Stevens, who also sang Scott’s vocals in the noirs I Walk Alone (1948) and Dark City (1950). It is not clear to me why Scott was so often dubbed when she could sing."

The contrast of her appearance from as late as 1964 to the end of the decade is startling. These aren't the best examples, but the best I could do in a pinch. Pert and perky with George Hamilton in 1963:

And here in 1971. The thing is, her character in this film (her last) is a horny Mrs. Robinson type. She's supposed to read as sexy.

Bonus: Liz airing it out in the 50s.

My grandfather and father were in the film business. I grew up around a lot of well-known people and used to recount memories on DL. But that came across as name-dropping to some people, so I stopped that. One story I mentioned years ago was about Lizabeth Scott, who was a friend of my parents. Scott was at our house before Christmas one year and was looking over Christmas cards we’d received. She suddenly said, “That fucking bitch!” It was because of a card we received from an actress (can’t remember who) that was more elaborate than one she’d received from the same person. There were A, B, and even C lists in Hollywood for everything, even Christmas cards. My father was an executive producer, so we usually got A-list cards. My mother’s saleswoman at the old Francis-Orr stationery store in Beverly Hills used to secretly give my mother a list of who ordered what cards each year.

I can’t say I really knew Lizabeth Scott, but the person I remember was forthright and direct, but still good-natured. As an actress and person, I like her very much.

Has there ever been a discussion on DL about Desert Fury? Scott is in this but she’s admittedly just one strong element in a film that has several compelling characteristics. Overall, I think Mary Astor dominates the film, as do the very strong gay overtones between Astor and Scott (as mother and daughter!) and between John Hodiak and Wendell Corey. Burt Lancaster is simply available. Anyone interested in discussing this film?

A pretty, pretty lesbian.

R27 I see Desert Fury was discussed about a year ago, but there were only seven comments.

How do you pronounce her first name?

It seems those YouTube interviews have been deleted.

How do you pronounce her first name?

The b is silent.

One night on Merv Griffin's show Alfred Hitchcock when they were talking he mentioned Lizbeth Scott and Hitchcock said that dropping the first letter of an actress's name could lead to some interesting credits.

Hitchcock said that the first one he thought of was "Reer Garson."

R33 It wasn’t just dropping the first letter of a person’s name that Alfred Hitchcock thought about. Sometimes he’d drop an entire syllable. He would sometimes say to people, “Just call me ‘Hitch’, without the ‘cock’.”

Is Desert Fury available on any streaming service? Last I looked a few years ago you had to buy the video.

P.S. Her memorial in Scranton is a few feet from our statute of Jason Miller from the Exorcist.

R35 Desert Fury was at one time streaming on the Criterion Channel (I'm not a subscriber, but I follow their social media and remember seeing that they were posting about it awhile back). It doesn't appear to be streaming anywhere currently though, even for digital rental. This is the reason I tend to prefer having a physical media library.

I own the Desert Fury Blu-ray from Kino Lorber, which I'd highly recommend getting. Kino has a huge catalog of great releases of films like this (they also put out The Strange Love of Martha Ivers). Unfortunately, their releases often don't tend to be in print for more than a few years, and when the production run ends, they become expensive collector's items that eBay sellers like to hawk for high prices. I learned my lesson on this some time ago, so now if I see they are putting out a title I want to own, I make sure to buy it ASAP.

Here’s a free copy I found.

R24, 25, one word: MENOPAUSE.

Thank you, R38!

I always forget about the wealth of material available — often in Blu-ray (?) quality (!) — on that website.