--- name: "Martha Scott" canonical: "https://film.one/person/martha-scott" fi1m_id: "martha-scott" imdb_id: "nm0779549" tmdb_id: 10022 wikidata_id: "Q236394" roles: ["Actor"] born: "22 September 1912" died: "28 May 2003" reviewed_on_fi1m: 5 average_fi1m_score: 72 average_as: "actor" average_over: 5 updated: "2026-09-20T05:55:24.556956+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Martha Scott ## Identity Martha Scott - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/martha-scott - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** martha-scott - **IMDb ID:** nm0779549 - **TMDB ID:** 10022 - **Wikidata ID:** Q236394 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Scott, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q236394, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0779549/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10022 Actor. Born 22 September 1912 in Jamesport, Missouri, USA. Died 28 May 2003. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 22 September 1912, Jamesport, Missouri, USA - **Died:** 28 May 2003 - **Active:** 1940–1977 - **Frequently works with:** [Beulah Bondi](https://film.one/person/beulah-bondi.md), [Charlton Heston](https://film.one/person/charlton-heston.md) - **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination - **Average Fi1m score:** 72, as actor, over 5 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1940s 73 (2), 1950s 72 (2), 1970s 70 (1) - **Score spread:** 0 at 80+, 5 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 2 of 5 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Drama 5, History 2, Romance 2, Adventure 1 - **Screen time:** 12 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $287m across 2 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Scott, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q236394, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0779549/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10022 ## Streaming the US now - **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Our Town*](https://film.one/film/our-town.md) (72), [*The Ten Commandments*](https://film.one/film/the-ten-commandments.md) (67) - **Tubi:** [*Ben-Hur*](https://film.one/film/ben-hur.md) (76) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Martha Scott > Martha Scott spent four decades being the sensible woman in someone else's story, and was best at it when the story was small. Emily Webb in *Our Town* is why she is remembered; the mothers in the epics are why she is recognised. In *Our Town* (1940) a girl leans out of a bedroom window to help the boy next door with his algebra, and she will not simply hand over the answer. Martha Scott plays Emily Webb as a schoolgirl and is plainly not one; she was in her late twenties and had been playing the part on Broadway since 1938. The film does not mind and neither, after a minute, do we. What she has at that window is the thing she kept for the rest of her career: she looks at whoever she is talking to as if she had decided in advance to be fair to them. It was her first film, and it fixed her. The year after, *Cheers for Miss Bishop* (1941) gave her a teacher to play across a whole working life, and from then on the studios saw a woman who could be trusted with age before she had any. The parts that followed through the 1950s and into the 1970s were wives and mothers: Ellie Hilliard in *The Desperate Hours* (1955), Yochabel in *The Ten Commandments* (1956), Miriam in *Ben-Hur* (1959), Adelaide the ballet company manager in *The Turning Point* (1977). Twice she was mother to Charlton Heston while still in her forties, and she took it with the dryness it deserved. "I played his mother twice and his wife twice," she said in 1988, meaning the wives were on stage. Later there was a good deal of television, and the Plumstead Playhouse, a production company she started with Henry Fonda and Robert Ryan. The sincerity is real and it is the whole method. Scott does not do anything clever with a line; she says it as though it were true and lets the camera decide. In *Our Town* that is exactly right, because Wilder's play is built on people saying ordinary things plainly, and for an hour we were moved by her more than we had expected to be, watching her give Holden his algebra with conditions and knowing what the town would eventually ask of her. Then the film changes the play's ending, in a way we will not describe, and the change takes the weight off her part at the moment it should be carrying most of it. We felt that as an actor being let down rather than a character. The epics are the other side of the same coin. In *Ben-Hur* we found nothing to say about her, and that is not carelessness on our part; Miriam is there to be wept over, not played, and Scott gives the part its dignity and no more because there is no more in it. The complaint that followed her for years, that she kept being cast in damp, sentimental roles as women older than herself, is fair as far as the parts go. The performances are never damp. The scripts are. See *Our Town* for the first hour and for the window, and *The Desperate Hours* if you want to know what she could do with a small part in a tight room. The mothers can wait. They are, after all, mostly waiting themselves. ## Biography Martha Scott (1912–2003) was an American actress. She originated the role of Emily Webb in Thornton Wilder's *Our Town* on Broadway in 1938 and recreated it in the 1940 film adaptation, for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Scott appeared in major films including Cecil B. DeMille's *The Ten Commandments* (1956), in which she played Yochabel, and William Wyler's *Ben-Hur* (1959), as Miriam. She frequently played Charlton Heston's mother on screen and his wife on stage. Her later work included roles in *Airport 1975* (1974) and numerous television series such as *Columbo*, *Murder, She Wrote*, *Magnum, P.I.* and *Dallas*. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (5) - *The Turning Point* (1977), Fi1m 70, as Adelaide — [page](https://film.one/film/the-turning-point.md) - *Ben-Hur* (1959), Fi1m 76, as Miriam — [page](https://film.one/film/ben-hur.md) - *The Ten Commandments* (1956), Fi1m 67, as Yochabel — [page](https://film.one/film/the-ten-commandments.md) - *One Foot in Heaven* (1941), Fi1m 74, as Hope Morris Spence — [page](https://film.one/film/one-foot-in-heaven.md) - *Our Town* (1940), Fi1m 72, as Emily Webb — [page](https://film.one/film/our-town.md) ## Complete filmography (69) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Daughter of the Streets* (1990), as Sarah - *Love and Betrayal* (1989), as Ginger - *Doin' Time on Planet Earth* (1988), as Virginia Camalier - *Adam: His Song Continues* (1986), as Gram Walsh - *Murder, She Wrote* (1984), series, as Georgia Wilson - *Highway to Heaven* (1984), series, Actor - *Adam* (1983), as Gram Walsh - *Summer Girl* (1983), as Martina Shelburne - *Hotel* (1982), series, as Estelle - *Magnum, P.I.* (1980), series, as Jeanie LaSalle - *Secrets of Midland Heights* (1980), series, as Martha Millington - *Father Figure* (1980), as Hilda Wollman - *Beulah Land* (1980), series, as Penelope Pennington - *Married: The First Year* (1979), series, Actor - *Charleston* (1979), as Mrs. Farrell (Aunt Louisa) - *The Word* (1978), series, as Sarah Randall - *Dallas* (1978), series, as Mrs. Shepard, Patricia Shepard - *The Turning Point* (1977), as Adelaide — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/the-turning-point.md) - *The Love Boat* (1977), series, as Janet Latham - *The Bionic Woman* (1976), series, Actor - *Medical Story* (1975), series, as Miss McDonald - *The Legendary Curse of the Hope Diamond* (1975), as Mumsie - *The Bionic Woman* (1975), as Helen Elgin - *The Abduction of Saint Anne* (1975), as Mother Michael - *Airport 1975* (1974), as Sister Beatrice - *Police Woman* (1974), series, Actor - *Murder in the First Person Singular* (1974), as Mrs. Emerson - *Thursday's Game* (1974), as Mrs. Reynolds - *The Man from Independence* (1974), as Mamma Truman - *Sorority Kill* (1974), as House Mother - *The Six Million Dollar Man* (1974), series, as Helen Elgin - *Police Story* (1973), series, Actor - *Charlotte's Web* (1973), as Mrs. Arable (voice) - *The Devil's Daughter* (1973), as Mrs. Stone - *Delphi Bureau* (1972), series, as Martha - *The Sandy Duncan Show* (1972), series, Actor - *The Bob Newhart Show* (1972), series, as Mrs. Martha Hartley, Mrs. Eleanor Hartley - *Lemonade* (1971), as Mabel - *Columbo* (1971), series, as Margaret Meadis — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/tv/columbo.md) - *Marcus Welby, M.D.* (1969), series, as Mrs. Loring - *The Courtship of Eddie's Father* (1969), series, as Grandmother - *The Mod Squad* (1968), series, as Belle Fuller - *Cimarron Strip* (1967), series, Actor - *The F.B.I.* (1965), series, as Katharine Lamberth - *The Greatest Show on Earth* (1963), series, as Claire Kyle - *Route 66* (1960), series, Actor - *Ben-Hur* (1959), as Miriam — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/ben-hur.md) - *Sayonara* (1957), as Mrs. Webster - *Eighteen and Anxious* (1957), as Lottie Graham - *The Ten Commandments* (1956), as Yochabel — Fi1m 67, [page](https://film.one/film/the-ten-commandments.md) - *The Desperate Hours* (1955), as Eleanor 'Ellie' Hilliard - *Modern Romances* (1954), series, Actor - *Revlon Mirror Theatre* (1953), series, Actor - *When I Grow Up* (1951), as Mother Reed - *Lux Video Theatre* (1950), series, as Esmerelda - *Your Show of Shows* (1950), series, Actor - *Robert Montgomery Presents* (1950), series, as Ellen Scott, Julia Brougham, Marietta Jackson, Madeleine - *Strange Bargain* (1949), as Georgia Wilson - *Suspense* (1949), series, Actor - *So Well Remembered* (1947), as Olivia - *Kraft Television Theatre* (1947), series, as Joanna - *In Old Oklahoma* (1943), as Catherine Elizabeth Allen - *Hi Diddle Diddle* (1943), as Janie Prescott - *Stage Door Canteen* (1943), as Martha Scott - *One Foot in Heaven* (1941), as Hope Morris Spence — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/one-foot-in-heaven.md) - *They Dare Not Love* (1941), as Marta Keller - *Cheers for Miss Bishop* (1941), as Ella Bishop - *The Howards of Virginia* (1940), as Jane Peyton-Howard - *Our Town* (1940), as Emily Webb — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/our-town.md) ## Gallery - ![Colonial Theater advertisement for the American film The Howards of Virginia (1940) - 3 Oct. 1940 Morning Call, Allentown PA](https://film.one/media/person/105595/gallery-ceca9b1bedb8.jpg) Colonial Theater advertisement for the American film The Howards of Virginia (1940) - 3 Oct. 1940 Morning Call, Allentown PA — Columbia Pictures, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/1940_-_Colonial_Theater_Ad_-_3_Oct_MC_-_Allentown_PA.jpg/1280px-1940_-_Colonial_Theater_Ad_-_3_Oct_MC_-_Allentown_PA.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Photograph of Frank Craven, Martha Scott and John Craven in the original Broadway production of Our Town Snipe on reverse side reads as follows:SCENE FROM 1938 ](https://film.one/media/person/105595/gallery-5d239c89e63c.jpg) Photograph of Frank Craven, Martha Scott and John Craven in the original Broadway production of Our Town Snipe on reverse side reads as follows:SCENE FROM 1938 — Vandamm Studio, distributed by World Wide photo; published by Amarillo Sunday News and Globe and other newspapers, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Craven-Scott-Craven-Our-Town.jpg/1280px-Craven-Scott-Craven-Our-Town.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![L. to R. : John Wayne, Martha Scott & Albert Dekker in In Old Oklahoma aka War of the Wildcats - cropped screenshot (1943)](https://film.one/media/person/105595/gallery-9b9faed2776b.jpg) L. to R. : John Wayne, Martha Scott & Albert Dekker in In Old Oklahoma aka War of the Wildcats - cropped screenshot (1943) — film screenshot (Republic Pictures), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/In_Old_Oklahoma_%281943%29_2.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Photograph of Martha Scott, Uta Hagen, Frances Farmer and Julie Haydon, whose performances during the 1937–38 season were cited for excellence in the theatre by (1938)](https://film.one/media/person/105595/gallery-b0eee26f32ac.jpg) Photograph of Martha Scott, Uta Hagen, Frances Farmer and Julie Haydon, whose performances during the 1937–38 season were cited for excellence in the theatre by (1938) — Stage Publishing Company, Inc.; photograph by Alfredo Valente, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/Scott-Hagen-Farmer-Haydon-1938.jpg/1280px-Scott-Hagen-Farmer-Haydon-1938.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Martha Scott](https://film.one/media/person/105595/gallery-dab53f9e7553.jpg) Martha Scott — Image via TMDB - ![Martha Scott](https://film.one/media/person/105595/gallery-a3ce36c43d4e.jpg) Martha Scott — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated - 1941: Best Actress (nominated), for *Our Town (1940 film)* *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/martha-scott