Scott’s more than 30 years as a motion picture actor resulted in his working with many acclaimed screen directors, including Henry King, Rouben Mamoulian, Michael Curtiz, John Cromwell, King Vidor, Allan Dwan, Fritz Lang, Sam Peckinpah, Henry Hathaway (eight times), Ray Enright (seven), Edwin L. Marin (seven), Andre DeToth (six), and most notably, his seven film collaborations with Budd Boetticher. Scott also worked with a diverse array of cinematic leading ladies, including Shirley Temple, Irene Dunne, Claire Trevor, Mae West, and Marlene Dietrich.
Tall (6 ft 2½ in; 189 cm), lanky and handsome, Scott displayed an easygoing charm and courtly Southern drawl in his early films that helped offset his limitations as an actor, where he was frequently found to be stiff or “lumbering”. As he matured, however, Scott’s acting improved while his features became burnished and leathery, turning him into the ideal “strong, silent” type of stoic hero. During the early 1950s, Scott was a consistent box-office draw. In the annual Motion Picture Herald Top Ten Polls, he ranked 10th in 1950, seventh in 1951, and 10th in both 1952 and 1953. Scott also appeared in the Quigley’s Top Ten Money Makers Poll from 1950 to 1953.
Each review will be linked to the title below.
(*seen originally in theaters)
(**seen rereleased in theaters)
- Sharp Shooters (1928) – directed by John G. Blystone – uncredited
- Weary River (1929) – directed by Frank Lloyd – uncredited
- Why Be Good? (1929) – directed by William A. Seiter – uncredited
- The Far Call (1929) – directed by Allan Dwan – uncredited – lost
- The Black Watch Bit (1929) – directed by John Ford – uncredited
- Sailor’s Holiday (1929) – directed by Fred C. Newmeyer – uncredited
- Illusion (1929) – directed by Lothar Mendes – uncredited
- Half Marriage (1929) – directed by William J. Cohen – uncredited
- The Virginian (1929) – directed by Victor Fleming – uncredited
- Dynamite (1929) – directed by Cecil B. DeMille – uncredited/unconfirmed
- Born Reckless (1930) – directed by John Ford – uncredited
- Women Men Marry (1931) – directed by Charles Hitchinson
- Sky Bride (1932) – directed by Stephen Roberts
- A Successful Calamity (1932) – directed by John G. Adolfi
- Heritage of the Desert (1932) – directed by Henry Hathaway – reissued as When the West Was Young
- Hot Saturday (1932) – directed by William A. Seite
- Wild Horse Mesa (1932) – directed by Henry Hathaway
- Hello, Everybody! (1933) – directed by William A. Seiter
- Murders in the Zoo (1933) – directed by A. Edward Sutherland
- The Thundering Herd (1933) – directed by Henry Hathaway – reissued as Buffalo Stampede
- Supernatural (1933) – directed by Victor Halperin
- Sunset Pass (1933) – directed by Henry Hathaway
- Cocktail Hour (1933) – directed by Victor Schertzinger
- Man of the Forest (1933) – directed by Henry Hathaway – reissued as Challenge of the Frontier
- To the Last Man (1933) – directed by Henry Hathaway – reissued as Law of Vengeance
- Broken Dreams (1933) – directed by Robert G. Vignola
- The Last Round-Up (1934) – directed by Henry Hathaway
- Wagon Wheels (1934) – directed by Charles Barton a reissued as Caravans West
- Home on the Range (1935) – directed by Arthur Jacobson
- Rocky Mountain Mystery (1935) – reissued as The Fighting Westerner
- Roberta (1935) – directed by William A. Seiter
- So Red the Rose (1935) – directed by King Vidor
- Village Tale (1935) – directed by John Cromwell
- She (1935) – directed by Lansing C. Holden & Irving Pichel
- Pirate Party on Catalina Island (1935) – uncredited cameo – short
- Follow the Fleet (1936) – directed by Mark Sandrich
- And Sudden Death (1936) – directed by Charles Barton
- The Last of the Mohicans (1936) – directed by George B. Seitz
- Go West, Young Man (1936) – directed by Henry Hathaway
- High, Wide, and Handsome (1937) – directed by Rouben Mamoulian
- Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938) – directed by Allan Dwan
- The Texans (1938) – directed by James P. Hogan
- The Road to Reno (1938) – directed by S. Sylvan Simon – reissued as The Ranger and the Lady
- Jesse James (1939) – directed by Henry King
- Susannah of the Mounties (1939) – directed by William A. Seiter
- Frontier Marshal (1939) – directed by Allan Dwan
- Coast Guard (1939) – directed by Edward Ludwig
- 20,000 Men a Year (1939) – directed by Alfred E. Green
- Virginia City (1940) – directed by Michael Curtiz
- My Favorite Wife (1940) – directed by Garson Kanin
- When the Daltons Rode (1940) – directed by George Marshall
- Western Union (1941) – directed by Fritz Lang
- Belle Starr (1941) – directed by Irving Cummings
- Paris Calling (1941) – directed by Edwin L. Marin – reissued as Paris Bombshell
- To the Shores of Tripoli (1942) – directed by H. Bruce Humberstone
- The Spoilers (1942) – directed by Ray Enright
- Pittsburgh (1942) – directed by Lewis Seiler
- Bombardier (1943) – directed by
- Richard Wallace
- The Desperadoes (1943) – directed by Charles Vidor
- Corvette K-225 (1943) – directed by Richard Rosson – released in UK as The Nelson Touch
- Gung Ho!: The Story of Carlson’s Makin Island Raiders (1943) – directed by Ray Enright – aka Gung Ho!
- Follow the Boys (1944) – directed by A. Edward Sutherland – uncredited cameo as himself
- Belle of the Yukon (1944) – directed by William A. Seiter
- China Sky (1945) – directed by Ray Enright
- Captain Kidd (1945) – directed by Rowland V. Lee
- Abilene Town (1946) – directed by Edwin L. Marin
- Badman’s Territory (1946) – directed by Tim Whelan
- Home, Sweet Homicide (1946) – directed by Lloyd Bacon
- Trail Street (1947) – directed by Ray Enright
- Gunfighters (1947) – directed by George Waggner – released in the UK under the title The Assassin
- Christmas Eve (1947) – directed by Edwin L. Marin – reissued as Sinner’s Holiday
- Albuquerque (1948) – directed by Ray Enright – released UK as Silver City
- Coroner Creek (1948) – directed by Ray Enright
- Return of the Bad Men (1948) – directed by Ray Enright
- The Walking Hills (1949) – directed by John Sturges
- Canadian Pacific (1949) – directed by Edwin L. Marin
- The Doolins of Oklahoma (1949) – directed by Gordon Douglas – released in UK as The Great Manhunt
- Fighting Man of the Plains (1949) – directed by Edwin L. Marin
- The Nevadan (1950) – directed by Gordon Douglas – released in the UK as The Man from Nevada
- Colt .45 (1950) – directed by Edwin L. Marin – reissued as Thundercloud
- The Cariboo Trail (1950) – directed by Edwin L. Marin
- Sugarfoot (1951) – directed by Edwin L. Marin – reissued as Swirl of Glory
- Santa Fe (1951) – directed by Irving Pichel
- Fort Worth (1951) – directed by Edwin L. Marin
- Man in the Saddle (1951) – directed by Andre DeToth – released in UK as The Outcast
- Starlift (1951) – directed by Roy Del Ruth – cameo appearance as himeself
- Carson City (1952) – directed by Andre DeToth
- Hangman’s Knot (1952) – directed by Roy Huggins
- The Man Behind the Gun (1953) – directed by Felix Feist
- The Stranger Wore a Gun (1953) – directed by Andre DeToth
- Thunder Over the Plains (1953) – directed by Andre DeToth
- Three Lives (1953) – short
- Riding Shotgun (1954) – directed by Andre DeToth
- The Bounty Hunter (1954) – directed by Andre DeToth
- Ten Wanted Men (1955) – directed by H. Bruce Humberstone
- Rage at Dawn (1955) – directed by Tim Whelan
- Tall Man Riding (1955) – directed by Lesley Selander
- A Lawless Street (1955) – directed by Joseph H. Lewis
- 7 Men from Now (1956) – directed by Budd Boetticher
- 7th Cavalry (1956) – directed by Joseph H. Lewis
- The Tall T (1957) – directed by Budd Boetticher
- Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend (1957) – directed by Richard L. Bare – filmed in 1955
- Decision at Sundown (1957) – directed by Budd Boetticher
- Buchanan Rides Alone (1958) – directed by Budd Boetticher
- Ride Lonesome (1959) – directed by Budd Boetticher
- Westbound (1959) – directed by Budd Boetticher
- Comanche Station (1960) – directed by Budd Boetticher
- Ride the High Country (1962) – directed by Sam Peckinpah
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