skimpole Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 As forum readers probably know, Beatrice Straight has the dubious distinction of having the shortest oscar winning performance on record for her 5 minute, 40 second appearance in Network. !976 was clearly not a good year for women actresses. Who nowadays or ever remembers All the President's Men for Jane Alexander? Then there was last year's winner in an apparent piece of oscarbait that has long wore out its welcome (though to be fair, I haven't seen Voyage of the Damned so I might be quite unfair.) . And then there are two roles probably too sordid for Oscar, Piper Laurie in the overrated Carrie as a religious bigot who kills her own daughter, and Jodie Foster as a child prostitute in Taxi Driver. Anyway the point of this post is to ask three questions concentrating on the first: (1) What great screen performances are shorter than five minutes and forty seconds. My first thought is Cyd Charisse in Singin' in the Rain. (2) Is there a website or something that actually allows you to measure screen performances, so that we can help answer the first question? (3) What is the oscar winner with the longest screen time? My guess would be Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swithin Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Interesting subject, Skimpole, but you complicate it by adding the adjective "great," which makes it very subjective. Or are you asking about short performances that were Oscar nominees/winners?" I think Sylvia Miles Oscar-nominated part in Midnight Cowboy was pretty short, wasn't it? There are plenty of short performances in films, shorter than the ones you mention, maybe not so famous. Also, I tend to disagree with you about Carrie, possibly the only movie I like that is based on a Stephen King book. Long Oscar-winning roles? Since Olivier's Hamlet is an edited version of the play, it could be Miss Scarlett. Edited by: Swithin on Oct 8, 2012 8:50 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 How about John Qualen as Muley in The Grapes of Wrath? His part was fairly short, but it was one of the most realistic and moving of any short roles in movie history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValentineXavier Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 > {quote:title=skimpole wrote:}{quote} > > (3) What is the oscar winner with the longest screen time? My guess would be Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind. It sure seemed like it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpompper Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Dame Judi Dench's Oscar-winning portrayal of Elizabeth I in "Shakespeare in Love" got fairly short screen time -- 8 minutes (according to NNDB). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 At first I thought this might be a thread about greatest performances in short subjects, or any of the works of Mickey Rooney and Bob Steele. In this case, I might nominate John Huston's annoyed American in *Treasure of Sierra Madre* . Sepiatone Edited by: Sepiatone on Oct 9, 2012 2:39 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swithin Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 *Victor Francen* as Grodek in The Mask of Dimitrios gives a truly perfect performance in a brief scene. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Faiola Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Just that one sympathetic smile from Harry Carey when James Stewart holds up those lying telegrams in MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrroberts Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 My first thought was about the poor young guy in *Rope* , who gets strangled to death in the opening seconds of the film. His name was Dick Hogan and ironically he appeared in quite a number of films, but *Rope* was his last film, he retired after that. (Did his last part intimidate him that much?) But my nomination goes to Noel Francis for her role in *I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang* . Her one brief scene as "Linda" made me a lifetime fan of her's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredCDobbs Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 >But my nomination goes to Noel Francis for her role in I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang . Her one brief scene as "Linda" made me a lifetime fan of her's. The role she played was every man's secret fantasy. I never will forget her last lines in that film: "I know what you're thinking.......That's alright.......You're among friends." Fade Out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LonesomePolecat Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Ward Bond has lots of performances that were great but didn't last long, like the memorable bus driver in IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingrat Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Just saw a terrific short performance by Elsa Lanchester as the smart and sympathetic barmaid in SON OF FURY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infinite1 Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 {font:Times New Roman}How about MICKEY ROONEY? He gave the greatest short performances in all of the films he was in. If you want a modern actor, how about MICHAEL J. FOX? {font} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo2 Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Yeah, and so in THAT case, how could we ever forget Billy Barty, eh?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo2 Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 I think I'm going to nominate someone who appears to be somewhat forgotten...one Leon Ames. I always thought his short stints in two WWII movies were very memorable: His role as the Major hoping to get on the last C47 flight out of the Philippines near the end of They Were Expendable, and his role as the Army Chaplain in Battleground Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infinite1 Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 > {quote:title=Dargo2 wrote:}{quote}Yeah, and so in THAT case, how could we ever forget Billy Barty, eh?! Never forgotten and definitely on the short list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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