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Today is
the birthday actor Randolph Scott (1898-1987)
and we here at The Jade Sphinx are
delighted to participate in the Randolph
Scott Blogathon, sponsored by Toby
Roan and his wonderful site, 50
Westerns From the 50s.
In
thinking about the many attributes of this fine performer, I came to realize
that he was not only a capable Western performer, but someone who personified
the most admirable attributes of a Western Hero.
Born George
Randolph Scott, this tall, handsome Southerner hailed from Virginia. From a well-off family, he attended private
schools (which, clearly, added a level of polish that was evident in his
acting), and was an excellent athlete, concentrating on swimming and
football. When the Great War came
around, he enlisted and saw action in France.
He returned home and went to college, dropping out before earning his
degree and joining his father at the textile firm.
But …
something about acting has also intrigued the handsome Virginian, and he moved
West, thinking of a career in the movies.
He worked as a bit player and extra in several films, and then worked on
stage to further develop his abilities.
After time he garnered a contract from Paramount, and went on to star in
a series of Westerns based on the novels of Zane Grey. His first
important, starring role was in Heritage
of the Desert (1932), and he went on to make 10 B Westerns for Paramount in
their Zane Grey series. A Western star
was born.
Well …
not quite. In his early career, the Virginian
starred in a wide variety of movies, including musicals (including turns with Shirley Temple!), comedies, crime pictures
and adventure movies. He appeared in everything
from the science-fantasy She (1935)
to the musical Roberta, with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
But it
was in Westerns that the Virginian made his most significant impact. He would appear in more than 100 films, but
the majority of them would be Westerns.
In his early Westerns, he is capable – and, in bigger-budgeted pictures,
often the second banana. But as he aged,
he brought to his Western performances a gravitas, a hardness, and a touch of
tragedy. He wears stoicism like a suit
of armor, only emerging from under it to write wrongs and mete out justice.
His face
and body only improved with age. As the
Virginian entered his 50s, he lost much of his callow handsomeness, leaving him
with an impressive, sculptural beauty.
It is a handsome face, but one carved from stone, with all the strength
and impassivity associated with rock. His
muscular frame became leaner and harder as the Virginian aged into indestructability. It is almost impossible to imagine, in these
days of films made almost exclusively for addled children and undemanding
adults, such a mature action hero. But the
maturity and the gravity were key ingredients to the Virginian’s later
greatness; without them, he was diminished.
This
Western persona hit its stride in the 1950s, and was particularly majestic in a
series of seven Westerns he made with director Budd Boetticher (1916-2001).
Each and every one is a small masterpiece in its way, with the best
being Ride Lonesome (1959). When introducing people new to Westerns to
the genre, this is usually the film I chose … and if you only see one Western,
it may as well be this one.
When
thinking about Scott and his Western screen persona for this retrospective, I
realized that the actor had seemingly walked off of the very pages of the first
great Western novel, The Virginian, written
in 1902 by Owen Wister (1860-1938).
Like the
nameless Virginian, Scott was a tall, handsome native of that state. Like Wister’s hero, he would come to
represent all of the virtues of the Western Hero – justice, chivalry,
integrity, mercy and a sense of honor.
He is a straight-shooter, a man of moral substance and of
self-respect. He has seen it all and it
has cost him much; but it has not made him bitter or hateful … merely
watchful. He is self-possessed and a
gentleman around women, but not a ‘ladies man’ in the traditional sense.
For all
of his exterior hardness and privacy, there is warmth and approachability in
both Virginians. There is a flinty hint
of laughter around the crinkles of his eyes, and a wry humor. Both Virginians live simply, speak honestly
and are nature’s noblemen. As the
narrator in Wister’s novel says, often
in their spirit sat hidden a true nobility, and often beneath its unexpected
shining their figures took a heroic stature.
Scott’s
final film was the excellent Ride the
High Country (1962), which may be only good film by Sam Peckinpah. In it, Scott
and fellow-Western star Joel McCrea (1905-1990)
are aging lawmen tasked with transporting gold across the frontier. Both have lived hard lives, and both have
seen the world change too much. During
the trip, one of the pair plans to make off with the gold and fund a
comfortable retirement. Playing against
type – Scott plays the potential thief.
The real
joy of High Country is the continual interplay between McCrea and Scott. Originally, the roles were to be reversed,
with Scott playing the honest and honorable lawman, and McCrea the more
cynical, out-for-what-he-can-get ex-lawman.
However, during the initial reading, both realized that switching parts
would be more effective, and they were entirely correct. McCrea’s flat, Midwestern delivery is perfect
for the moral compass of the picture, and Scott, in the role of a lifetime,
uses his rich, Virginian accent to great effect as he makes sardonic, pithy
remarks throughout the film. In fact,
his running commentary is one of the most satisfying elements of the
screenplay, and the timbre of his voice is essential.
Throughout
the 1950s (and much of the 1940s), the Virginian focused primarily on Western
films, and he brought to his performances the full weight of his screen image,
and he played upon audience expectations of who he was and what he would do.
There
have been many Western stars who rode tall in the saddle, but the Virginian,
Randolph Scott, was one of the most impressive.
With his calm demeanor, steely reserve and moral compass, he was a
reflection of the best part of ourselves.
