Humphrey Bogart and Lizabeth Scott face a “Dead Reckoning”

Dead Reckoning (1947) is an American film noir directed by John Cromwell and starring Humphrey Bogart and Lizabeth Scott.

Bogart plays Capt. Warren “Rip” Murdock who is trying to unlock the mystery surrounding the disappearance and death of his WW II buddy Sergeant Johnny Drake. During his search he meets Drake’s girlfriend Coral (Scott). During his search, Rip falls in love with Coral but is she worthy of his trust.

Humphrey Bogart and Lizabeth Scott

John Cromwell (1886 – 1979) was an American film and stage director. Cromwell started his career as an actor on the stage and in the early days of talking pictures. He was under contract to Paramount where he directed many pre-Code films. Some of the stars he directed during this time included Kay Francis, William Powell, and Jean Arthur. In 1933, he moved to RKO and directed Irene Dunne in Ann Vickers (1933), Spitfire (1934) with Katharine Hepburn, and Of Human Bondage (1934) with Leslie Howard and Bette Davis. Of Human Bondage was a tremendous box office success and made Cromwell a top director in Hollywood. Other films he directed include Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936) The Prisoner of Zenda (1937), Since You Went Away (1944), Anna and the Kind of Siam (1946), and Dead Reckoning. He is the father of actor James Cromwell.

Lizabeth Scott (1922 – 2015) was an American actress dubbed “The Threat” because she had a similar husky voice and screen persona as Lauren Bacall. Scott was understudy to Tallulah Bankhead in The Skin of Our Teeth but never got the opportunity to replace Bankhead’s run of the play. When Bankhead was replaced by Miriam Hopkins, Scott did go on for one night and received good reviews. It wasn’t long for Hollywood to take notice and producer Wallis signed her to a contract. She made her film debut as Ivy Hotchkiss in You Came Along (1945) with Robert Cummings. The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) was Scott’s second feature. She went on to star in Dead Reckoning (1947) with Humphrey Bogart, I Walk Alone (1947) with Burt Lancaster, and Dark City (1950) with Charlton Heston in his film debut. She had a falling out with producer Wallis after starring in Loving You (1957) with Elvis Presley and another Wallis contract player, Wendell Corey. She basically retired from film after Loving You but appeared on television sporadically during the 1950s and 1960s.

Dead Reckoning trivia

• Rita Hayworth was the original choice to play Coral but she was committed to The Lady from Shanghai with her estranged husband, Orson Welles.
• Lizabeth Scott was on loan from Paramount to play Coral and Bogart was on loan from Warner Bros. to play Rip.
• Bogart was miffed about the terms of his loan out from Warner Bros. because Columbia paid Warner Bros. more than his salary.
• Coral’s car is a 1941 Lincoln Continental convertible. Only 400 were made.
• Lizabeth Scott was billed as “The Threat.” Lauren Bacall was tagged as “The Look” and Scott was often compared to Bacall.
• Lauren Bacall supposedly thought Scott did a good job in the picture.

 

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Discussion questions

1. Does this film fit all the film noir tropes?
2. What did you think of the pairing of Bogart and Scott?
3. Like many film noirs, the plot has many twists and turns. Were you able to follow it?
4. What did you think of the film’s production? Does it fit your idea of a “film noir style?”
5. Do you think the film would have been different had Rita Hayworth played Cora?

Lizabeth Scott the quintessential “noir dame” dead at 92

Lizabeth Scott who became a star playing the femme fatale in many popular noir films from the mid-1940s to the early-1950s, passed away on January 31, 2015. She was 92 years old. In her prime, Scott starred opposite Burt Lancaster, Dick Powell, Robert Mitchum, and Humphrey Bogart. Scott was often compared, sometimes unfavorably, to Lauren Bacall because of her striking blond good looks and her husky voice.

Scott started out pursuing a career in the theater. In 1938 at 18, she found herself touring in Hellzapoppin. Her role in this production required her to do sketch comedy. Her next big break came as understudy to Tallulah Bankhead in the original Broadway production of Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth. Bankhead never missed a performance. After Bankhead left, she was replaced by Miriam Hopkins. During Hopkins’s run, Scott went on for one night with great success. After Hopkins, Gladys George took over. George had no understudy, but Scott was called in to replace George during a brief illness. Scott’s performance was noted by Hollywood, but she wasn’t interested in a career in film, so she continued her theater studies and earned a living by modeling.

Producer Hal Wallis, who had just left Warner Brothers for Paramount, persuaded Scott to sign a film contract. Her first picture was the comedy-drama You Came Along (1945) costarring Robert Cummings. With a script by Ayn Rand, the plot centered on an Army Air Force officer (Cummings) hiding his leukemia from a US Treasury PR woman (Scott) traveling with him on a bond tour. Scott’s next role in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) would define her movie persona for the rest of her film career. The legendary Lewis Milestone directed the popular film noir starring the top-billed Barbara Stanwyck and Van Heflin. Though her role wasn’t all that big, she received good notices. Her blond good looks and husky low voice fascinated moviegoers.

Scott’s breakout performance came in Dead Reckoning (1947) where she shared equal billing with Humphrey Bogart. As Bogart’s duplicitous girlfriend and torch singer Coral “Dusty” Chandler, Scott is both mysterious and beguiling. Next up was the Hal Wallis production of Desert Fury (1947). One of the few noir films shot in Technicolor, Scott was billed under John Hodiak, but above Burt Lancaster. Panned by the critics when first released, today it is considered a classic by many noir aficionados. Scott had a brief reprieve from heavy drama with a comedy sketch in Paramount’s all-star Variety Girl (1947). The next year would see Scott back in another noir, I Walk Alone (1948) once again costarring Burt Lancaster. More roles followed, Pitfall (1948) costarring Dick Powell, Too Late For Tears (1948) costarring Don Defore, Dan Duryea, and Aruthur Kennedy, Easy Living (1949) costarring Victor Mature and Lucille Ball.

By the early 1950s, with the movie business changing, film roles were harder to come by. Scott, like many movie stars, worked on television during its golden age. A trained singer, Scott recorded an album in 1957 titled Lizabeth. That same year, Scott starred opposite Elvis Presley in Loving You where she played the manager of a country band who discovers Deke Rivers (Presley) and makes him a star. After Loving You, Scott pretty much vanished, pursuing personal interests in education and charity work. Her last film was Pulp (1972), a comedy that poked fun at the noir genre.

Scott will go down in history as someone who appeared in more noir films than any other actress. She will also be remembered for her iconic look and sensual low voice. To film fans, she will be remembered as the perfect “noir dame” who could hold her own against any tough guy that crossed her path.