Scott acted in four films in 1950.
In a continuing effort to escape her femme fatale typecasting, Scott played another self-sacrificing June Allyson-like character before reverting to her usual torch singer/socialite roles.
In The Company She Keeps (1951), she played Joan Willburn, a probation officer who sacrifices her fiancé to a scheming convict, Diane Stuart (Jane Greer).
While Greer's beauty was toned down for the film, Scott's was not.
As a result, critics were generally unconvinced that the leading man would choose the dowdy Diane over Joan.
Most critics thought that Scott and Greer were miscast, and should have switched roles.
Columnist Erskine Johnson wrote "Lizabeth Scott is on her second reach-for-the-handkerchief-Mabel picture for RKO."

Scott played her third torch-singer role in Dark City (1950), a traditional film noir.
Her boyfriend, Danny Haley—Charlton Heston in his film debut—is a bookie who is the apparent target of a vengeful brother of a dead man whom Haley swindled.
Originally, Burt Lancaster was cast as the leading man, but he refused to work with Scott again.

In a May interview, Scott said she was reading the entire oeuvre of Aldous Huxley.
In another interview, she admitted almost joining a "cult" endorsed by Huxley, but did not due to the vow of poverty required.
Huxley explored reincarnation and destiny, to which Scott also professed  during interviews.
During Scott's spiritual search, she eventually met the Dalai Lama at a private reception at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Yet, conversely, Scott was a friend and reader of Ayn Rand, an Aristotelian atheist.
Later that year, Scott was cast to do the summer-stock version of Tennessee Williams' Summer and Smoke (1948).
Instead, she quit the production and audited two morning courses—philosophy and political science—for six weeks at the University of Southern California.

In Two of a Kind (1951), Scott portrayed Brandy Kirby, a socialite who seduces a gambler, Michael "Lefty" Farrell (Edmond O'Brien), into joining a caper.
Red Mountain (1952) is set in the 1860s, starring Scott as Chris, the only member of her family to survive the American Civil War.
Red Mountain was the second of Scott's three Westerns, though the only traditional non-noir one.

Scott played her fourth and last torch-singer role in The Racket (1951), another conventional noir.
Irene Hayes (Scott) is caught up in a struggle between a big-city police captain (Robert Mitchum) and a local crime boss (Robert Ryan), who resembles the real-life Bugsy Siegel.
The film was released two months after the Kefauver hearings, in which Virginia Hill, and mistress of Siegel's, denied having any knowledge of organized crime.
While Irene Hayes was thought to be modeled on the smoky-voiced Hill, Scott denied the rumor.

Scott returned to Britain in October 1951 to film Stolen Face (1952), a noir that presages Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958) by several years.

Later that spring, Scott returned to her beginnings as a comedian when she began work on her first comedy noir, Scared Stiff, with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.
Scott played an heiress who inherits a haunted castle on Lost Island off the coast of Cuba.
Though Scott had fond memories of working on the set in the years ahead, at the time of filming, she found it trying.
Scott found Lewis' impersonations of her offensive, while a jealous Hal Wallis instructed director George Marshall not to let the romantic scenes between Scott and Martin get too steamy.
Despite Scott's best efforts, including making excuses for Lewis' behavior to the press, most of her scenes were cut.
The film premiered the week of 28 May 1953 in Los Angeles.
Despite the negative experience and reviews, Scared Stiff remains Scott's third favorite film.

In April 1953, the 30-year-old Scott made her last film as a Paramount contractee.
In Bad for Each Other (1953), Scott played a decadent heiress who tries to dominate a poor but idealistic physician (Charlton Heston).
The source material for the screenplay, Horace McCoy's novel Scalpel, was more nuanced than the linear moral
Scott acted in four films in 1950. In a continuing effort to escape her femme fatale typecasting, Scott played another self-sacrificing June Allyson-like character before reverting to her usual torch singer/socialite roles. In The Company She Keeps (1951), she played Joan Willburn, a probation officer who sacrifices her fiancé to a scheming convict, Diane Stuart (Jane Greer). While Greer's beauty was toned down for the film, Scott's was not. As a result, critics were generally unconvinced that the leading man would choose the dowdy Diane over Joan. Most critics thought that Scott and Greer were miscast, and should have switched roles. Columnist Erskine Johnson wrote "Lizabeth Scott is on her second reach-for-the-handkerchief-Mabel picture for RKO."
Scott played her third torch-singer role in Dark City (1950), a traditional film noir. Her boyfriend, Danny Haley—Charlton Heston in his film debut—is a bookie who is the apparent target of a vengeful brother of a dead man whom Haley swindled. Originally, Burt Lancaster was cast as the leading man, but he refused to work with Scott again.
In a May interview, Scott said she was reading the entire oeuvre of Aldous Huxley. In another interview, she admitted almost joining a "cult" endorsed by Huxley, but did not due to the vow of poverty required. Huxley explored reincarnation and destiny, to which Scott also professed  during interviews. During Scott's spiritual search, she eventually met the Dalai Lama at a private reception at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Yet, conversely, Scott was a friend and reader of Ayn Rand, an Aristotelian atheist. Later that year, Scott was cast to do the summer-stock version of Tennessee Williams' Summer and Smoke (1948). Instead, she quit the production and audited two morning courses—philosophy and political science—for six weeks at the University of Southern California.
In Two of a Kind (1951), Scott portrayed Brandy Kirby, a socialite who seduces a gambler, Michael "Lefty" Farrell (Edmond O'Brien), into joining a caper. Red Mountain (1952) is set in the 1860s, starring Scott as Chris, the only member of her family to survive the American Civil War. Red Mountain was the second of Scott's three Westerns, though the only traditional non-noir one.
Scott played her fourth and last torch-singer role in The Racket (1951), another conventional noir. Irene Hayes (Scott) is caught up in a struggle between a big-city police captain (Robert Mitchum) and a local crime boss (Robert Ryan), who resembles the real-life Bugsy Siegel. The film was released two months after the Kefauver hearings, in which Virginia Hill, and mistress of Siegel's, denied having any knowledge of organized crime. While Irene Hayes was thought to be modeled on the smoky-voiced Hill, Scott denied the rumor.
Scott returned to Britain in October 1951 to film Stolen Face (1952), a noir that presages Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958) by several years.
Later that spring, Scott returned to her beginnings as a comedian when she began work on her first comedy noir, Scared Stiff, with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Scott played an heiress who inherits a haunted castle on Lost Island off the coast of Cuba. Though Scott had fond memories of working on the set in the years ahead, at the time of filming, she found it trying. Scott found Lewis' impersonations of her offensive, while a jealous Hal Wallis instructed director George Marshall not to let the romantic scenes between Scott and Martin get too steamy. Despite Scott's best efforts, including making excuses for Lewis' behavior to the press, most of her scenes were cut. The film premiered the week of 28 May 1953 in Los Angeles. Despite the negative experience and reviews, Scared Stiff remains Scott's third favorite film.
In April 1953, the 30-year-old Scott made her last film as a Paramount contractee. In Bad for Each Other (1953), Scott played a decadent heiress who tries to dominate a poor but idealistic physician (Charlton Heston). The source material for the screenplay, Horace McCoy's novel Scalpel, was more nuanced than the linear moral
Lizabeth Scott