Lizabeth Scott and Elvis Presley in "Loving You"

Actress Lizabeth Scott

Actress Lizabeth Scott, the raspy voiced actress who was most often typecast as a dark lady, playing a home-wrecker, a murderer, and a self-absorbed wife, was born Emma Matzo on September 29, 1922. Raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Ms. Scott began her acting career at age 18 when she was cast in the national tour of the original Broadway play Hellzapoppin. Although she worked steadily in films in the late forties and early fifties, she never seemed to land the signature role that would have made her a top star.

Lizabeth Scott in a scene from “The Strange Loves of Martha Ivers”, 1946.

In April 1954, Ms. Scott attended the Cannes Film Festival. Though she left for London immediately after the festival, her visit to France had unforeseen consequences. Later that month, it was announced that she would be the host of “High Adventure”, a travelogue television series for CBS, but she never appeared in it. As Ms. Scott put it, "Out of the clear blue sky one morning, I woke and decided that I never wanted to make another film again. It was just a spark, I can't explain it." Regardless, she made three more films: The Weapon (1957), Loving You (1957) and Pulp (1972),

Lizabeth Scott, Elvis’s Second Leading Lady in “Loving You”

When Elvis Presley and Lizabeth Scott were paired in Paramount’s “Loving You” in 1957, two Hollywood careers that were headed in different directions briefly merged. Elvis Presley, in only his second picture, was just 22 with a promising film career ahead of him. Lizabeth Scott, then 34, was making what would be her next to last appearance in a film career that began in 1945.

Actress Lizabeth Scott with Elvis Presley.

The person who brought the unlikely couple together on the screen was Hal Wallis. The Paramount producer brought both Scott and Presley to Hollywood, and as twilight enveloped the career of his starlet, Wallis turned his attention to his new rock ’n’ roll star. In 1956, Wallis was searching for an appropriate debut vehicle for his newest discovery—Elvis Presley. Unable to find what he was looking for, he loaned Presley out to 20th Century Fox for “Love Me Tender”.  Wallis wanted a script that would effectively feature Presley’s dual appeals—his sensuality as an actor and his raucous singing style.

In 1957, Wallis found the script he was looking for. In “Loving You” he paired Elvis Presley romantically with Dolores Hart, another newcomer for whom he had high hopes. To solidify the cast, Wallis brought in Lizabeth Scott and Wendell Corey, two veterans to help support the novices but with not enough star power to overshadow Presley.

Dolores Hart, Elvis Presley, and Lizabeth Scott.

In his 2004 book, Hal Wallis: Producer to the Stars, Bernard F. Dick evaluated Lizabeth Scott’s work in “Loving You” as follows:

“Lizabeth Scott’s performance as Glenda, the press agent capable of being both manipulative and compassionate, was as much a revelation as Elvis’s. Although she had second billing, she was clearly the female lead and had a role as important as Elvis’s. Looking trim and elegant, Lizabeth took a character that could easily have been unsympathetic and made her the kind of publicist any newcomer would welcome.

“But what was even more impressive about Lizabeth’s performance was her rapport with Elvis, which revealed deep respect for him and his talent. Deke’s falling in love with Glenda might have seemed strained in the script, yet Lizabeth and Elvis interacted so well with each other that theirs became the natural attraction of a protégé toward a patron.

“The most powerful scene in the movie is the one in which Glenda and her discovery drive to a cemetery where she learns that the singer who calls himself ‘Deke Rivers’, took that name from a gravestone to assume a new identity after losing his parents. The naturalness with which Lizabeth and Elvis played the scene—he with the wrenching sincerity of an overdue confession, she with the humility of someone to whom another has bared his soul—suggests that, under different circumstances, each might have taken a different career route.”

With her strong performance in “Loving You”, Lizabeth Scott demonstrated that she was up to many more film roles, had she wanted them. But there would be just one more movie for her.  “Pulp” in 1972 has since become a cult favorite. Elvis’s Hollywood career lasted 12 more years, but he only had a few more opportunities to show his dramatic talent.

Lizabeth Scott died of congestive heart failure at the age of 92 on January 31, 2015. Her star can be found in the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1624 Vine Street in Hollywood.

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