As Hal Wallis' most glamorous protegée, she zoomed up to leading roles with the same speed as Lauren Bacall, but her career began to flounder in the early 50s due to two major factors: a lack of range and her decision to sue CONFIDENTIAL over the controversial (and untrue) allegations that she was a lesbian (the term used in the exposé about a purportedly vast underworld of actresses with this sexual preference was "baritone babe," which "fingered" La Liz due to her low, smoky voice). The rumors that wouldn't go away caused Scott to hasten her departure from the big screen, appearing only sporadically on television afterwards; she was lured out of retirement for Mike Hodges' quirky PULP in 1972.
The fascination that Eddie Muller had for that aspect of Scott's reputation ultimately prevented him from interviewing her in the late 90s during his pre-Noir City festivals at the American Cinematheque (which later, of course, got folded into the "czar's empire"). The brashness of Eddie's Dark City, which whistled around the legend in a way that made it clear that he was convinced it was true, essentially stymied him from ever achieving access to Scott.
That (and a great deal more) was discussed in Todd Hughes' memoir about his unlikely friendship with Scott in his 2022 book LUNCH WITH LIZABETH. Scott remained charming and charismatic into her late eighties, and was by no means invisible in Hollywood until her health failed her in 2014. Hughes captures many details that (naturally enough) eluded the purveyor of that ridiculous video, which you can read for yourself by purchasing his book, which is still available at Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Lunch-Lizabeth-Todd-Hughes/dp/1949790681
It was covered here shortly after it came out, but as it's buried back on page 10 of the Board, it's arguably more forgotten than Scott herself, who was just seen on the big Screen at the Egyptian Theater during the latest NC "Hollywood" series in the film that teeters with homosexual subtext from several angles simultaneously, DESERT FURY.
You can access my post on Hughes' book at the link below. As per Dan K., Scott indicates that PITFALL is her favorite film, considering it her best performance, an assessment with which I concur. She's also very good in the role of a trophy wife for medically-challenged football star Victor Mature in Jacques Tourneur's EASY LIVING, a film unfairly forgotten but very occasionally played on TCM.
Supposedly Alan Rode is preparing a bio of La Liz; the big revelation of such a book was scooped already by Hughes, however, who reveals that Scott was both heterosexual and a Republican.
https://members.boardhost.com/mrvalentine/msg/1666454646.html
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