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Tag: film noir

  • Lizabeth Scott, Sultry Film Noir Actress, Dead At 92

    Lizabeth Scott, who was a brilliantly dark film noir actress and singer with a comedic streak, died January 31st in Los Angeles.

    She died of congestive heart failure, according to her friend.

    Lizabeth Scott was born Emma Matzo on Sept. 29, 1922, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Her father owned a store there and she studied music throughout her school days.

    Matzo moved to New York after graduating high school. She quickly adopted the stage name Elizabeth Scott, dropping the E soon after.

    Lizabeth was more dramatic. The move worked, because she landed a spot with traveling comedy company “Hellzapoppin’”.

    Lizabeth Scott starred opposite of some of Hollywood’s most influential leading men like Humphrey Bogart, Burt Lancaster, Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas.

    She also shared the spotlight with some legendary leading ladies like Mary Astor, Jane Greer and Barbara Stanwyck.

    Lizabeth Scott is most famous for her smoldering roles in 1940’s and early 50’s film noir.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRysEvOVQkY

    A stark contrast to the cookie-cutter romance films of that era, film noir brought realism and grit to a nation entrenched in Cold War tension.

    Films in which Lizabeth Scott starred during this period were her most cherished because they touched on “the psychological, emotional things that people feel and people do,” she said in a 1996 interview. “It was a new realm, and it was very exciting, because suddenly you were coming closer and closer to reality.”

    Lizabeth Scott was not just a sultry and dangerous leading lady, she also starred in comedic roles in a few movies including Elvis Presley’s 1957 movie, Loving You.

    To round her career off, Lizabeth Scott also appeared on numerous comedy and variety shows.

    Lizabeth Scott never married, but became a companion to Texas oilman William Dugger Jr. in the 1960s. He left her half of his fortune upon his death, but his sister sued and won Scott’s half.

    Lizabeth Scott’s career faltered and never really recovered after her unsuccessful $2.5 million lawsuit in 1955 against gossip magazine Confidential. The magazine published allegations she was a lesbian, effectively ending her in Hollywood.

    What do you think about Lizabeth Scott’s career?

  • Lizabeth Scott, Film Noir Actress, Dies At 92

    Lizabeth Scott, who was an actress in the 40’s and 50’s in the dark film noir genre, died of heart failure on January 31st in Los Angeles.

    She was 92.

    Lizabeth Scott was actually born Emma Matzo on Sept. 29, 1922, in Scranton, Pa., where her father owned a store.

    Throughout her childhood Lizabeth Scott studied music until she graduated high school. She then moved to New York and changed her name to Elizabeth Scott.

    Lizabeth Scott had a prolific film career. She appeared in over 20 films, most of them being film noir.

    With her sultry voice and classic beauty, Lizabeth Scott was almost always the lead female.

    She also later appeared on many TV shows, and made guest appearances on some variety shows.

    Lizabeth Scott starred opposite some of Hollywood’s most legendary male actors like Humphrey Bogart, Burt Lancaster, Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas.

    She also shared the screen with some of the most famous ladies of her time such as Mary Astor, Jane Greer and Barbara Stanwyck.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZAOmRekkEk

    Lizabeth Scott loved doing film noir, and she was amazing. Her looks and voice, coupled with natural hints of danger and betrayal, made her absolutely perfect for the genre.

    Lizabeth Scott once said of film noir, that it touched on “the psychological, emotional things that people feel and people do.”

    She added, “It was a new realm, and it was very exciting, because suddenly you were coming closer and closer to reality.”

    Lizabeth Scott never married, but she did become a companion to Texas oilman William Dugger, Jr. in the 60’s.

    When he died in 1969 he left half his fortune to Lizabeth Scott and the other half to his sister, who went to court and eventually won the full amount.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFZQFNfG7EE

    Lizabeth pretty much retired from acting after her 1965 run on a TV show, The Third Man, until she made an appearance in the 1972 movie Pulp.

    Lizabeth Scott enjoyed her long retirement.

    “I love not having the eyes of the world on me,” she said in 1987. “I never understood adulation from strangers when I was making movies. Basically I’m shy and always have been.”

    Do you enjoy Lizabeth Scott’s work in film noir?

  • Maltese Falcon Statue Sells for $4 Million

    Maltese Falcon Statue Sells for $4 Million

    The bird statue used as a prop in the 1941 film noir “The Maltese Falcon” sold for a record $4 million on Monday, during an auction of famous movie props and memorabilia.

    “The Maltese Falcon” was directed by John Huston, and stars Humphrey Bogart as womanizing private investigator Sam Spade, and Mary Astor as his “femme fatale” client. The Warner Bros.-produced film, based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett, is considered to be highly influential in the genre of film noir, which is a highly stylized crime drama, typically involving bad attitudes and sexual motivations.

    Also sold during the Bonhams New York-hosted auction, which netted over $6 million, was the Buick from “Casablanca,” as well as costumes worn by Viven Leigh, Clark Gable, Bette Davis and Cary Grant.

    Check out the 1941 trailer:

    The Maltese Falcon statue itself netted $4,085,000. Dr. Catherine Williamson, director of entertainment memorabilia for Bonhams New York, commented, “The spectacular price achieved reflects the statuette’s tremendous significance. The Maltese Falcon is arguably the most important movie prop ever, and is central to the history of cinema.” The auction was the first sale held after a partnership between Bonhams and Turner Classic Movies.

    The introductory text of “The Maltese Falcon,” appearing after the film’s opening credits reads:

    In 1539 the Knight Templars of Malta, paid tribute to Charles V of Spain, by sending him a Golden Falcon encrusted from beak to claw with rarest jewels, but pirates seized the galley carrying this priceless token and the fate of the Maltese Falcon remains a mystery to this day.

    The story then follows Bogart as a private detective, and his dealings with three unscrupulous treasure hunters, all of whom are competing to acquire a jewel-encrusted falcon statuette.”The Maltese Falcon” has been repeatedly named as one of the greatest films of all time, and was added to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry in 1989.

    Incidentally, for any Boardwalk Empire fans reading, the character Richard Harrow, who is played by British actor Jack Huston, who is the nephew of Angelica Huston, who is the daughter of “The Maltese Falcon” director John Huston, may or may not die at the end of the season 4 finale. Small world.

    “Boardwalk Empire’s” Richard Harrow, with hobos in the woods:

    Image via Wikimedia Commons.