A small role can go a long way. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re looking at actors who weren’t on screen for long, but left a strong enough impression to take home the Academy Award.
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00:00 "What do you love so much?"
00:02 "Your Majesty..."
00:04 "Speak up girl, I know who I am."
00:06 Welcome to Ms Mojo, and today we're looking at actors who weren't on screen for long,
00:10 but left a strong enough impression to take home the Academy Award.
00:14 "Oh, see darling, I knew it was just plain sociable for me to come and say hello."
00:20 10. Gail Sondergaard
00:24 Anthony Adverse
00:26 13 minutes and 34 seconds
00:28 The 9th Academy Awards introduced the best supporting actor and supporting actress categories,
00:34 with Gail Sondergaard winning the latter.
00:36 She maintained the record for the shortest Oscar-winning performance for over 15 years.
00:41 "Rather interesting, don't you think, darling?"
00:43 Starting as a Shakespearean stage actress,
00:46 Sondergaard made her film debut here as Faith, a diabolical housekeeper.
00:51 Sondergaard casts an icy shadow over every scene she's in,
00:55 delivering her lines with devious elegance.
00:58 "Hurts, doesn't it? Makes you cringe."
01:01 "Detestable creature. What is it you want?"
01:05 "Your name in marriage."
01:08 Her expressions alone are enough to make the audience feel as if they've entered a spider's lair.
01:13 The Oscar-winning role set the stage for Sondergaard to play more villains,
01:17 even being considered for the Wicked Witch of the West.
01:20 Sondergaard turned down that role due to the makeup, but was always bewitching, no matter how small a role.
01:26 "I never played her ugly. If you look back over all the films I've done, I've played against it always, and it's much more intriguing."
01:36 9. Margaret Rutherford - VIPs
01:39 13 minutes and 6 seconds
01:42 1964 saw Patricia Neel win the Best Actress Oscar for HUD.
01:47 At just under 22 minutes, it'd be the category's shortest winning performance ever.
01:52 Yet, it wasn't that year's shortest Oscar-winning role.
01:55 "I'd go in for those prize contests. How shiny that shampoo changed my life in 20 words or less.
02:00 They'd give free two-week trips to Europe, but I'd end up with the fountain pens and the Japanese binoculars."
02:07 Margaret Rutherford won Best Supporting Actress for her delightful work in VIPs.
02:12 This aptly titled ensemble piece included big names such as Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and Orson Welles, among others.
02:20 Rutherford stood out with her comedic turn as the absent-minded Duchess of Brighton, who takes one too many pills before boarding a plane.
02:28 "You see, it's the first time I've ever flown. And this morning I had to borrow one of my maid Armstrong's pep-up pills.
02:34 It's pepped me up alright, but not just up in all directions, it would seem."
02:39 Also winning a Golden Globe, Rutherford showed that even on an aircraft full of A-listers, a character actress can soar above the rest.
02:47 Humorously, Rutherford was at the hairdresser when she won, while Patricia Neill was asleep.
02:53 "Duchess, please, your plane."
02:55 "Tell it it can go without me."
02:58 Number 8. Jack Palance - City Slickers
03:01 12 minutes and 24 seconds
03:04 1991 gave us two Oscar-winning roles that were low on screen time.
03:09 "I just turned around and rode away."
03:12 "Why?"
03:14 "I figured it wasn't going to get any better than that."
03:18 These characters possess such larger-than-life presences that you'd swear they were in their respective films longer.
03:25 In under 25 minutes, Anthony Hopkins hissed his way to a Best Actor Oscar as Hannibal Lecter.
03:31 "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti."
03:40 Almost 40 years after being nominated for Shane, Jack Palance lassoed Best Supporting Actor for a different kind of Western.
03:51 While sadly short-lived, the rugged Curly Washburn scored one of the funniest one-liners in City Slickers.
03:58 "Sorry, I didn't mean anything by that."
04:01 "I crap bigger than you."
04:03 At the same time, Palance brings surprising depth to Curly, as he teaches Billy Crystal's Mitch about finding that one thing in life.
04:11 Palance was 73 when he won, but he had the energy of a 23-year-old, doing one-armed push-ups during his speech.
04:18 "Did you see that guy? That is the toughest man I've ever seen in my life."
04:24 7. Jason Robards - Julia
04:28 10 minutes and 49 seconds.
04:30 Jason Robards received his first Oscar for portraying Washington Post editor Ben Bradley in All The President's Men.
04:37 That role clocked in below 13 minutes, but Robards topped himself one year later, winning Best Supporting Actor again for an even briefer performance.
04:47 "That's what I like, that's what we work for. I don't know what happened, but you better tear that up."
04:53 Playing another historical figure, Robards slips into the role of Dashiell Hammett, the author of hard-boiled detective novels such as The Maltese Falcon.
05:02 The 1977 film Julia is based on a story by Hammett's longtime romantic partner Lillian Hellman, portrayed by Jane Fonda.
05:11 "It's only fame, Lillian. It's just a paint job. If you want a stable coat, buy one.
05:17 Just remember, it doesn't have anything to do with writing. It's only a stable coat and doesn't have anything to do with writing."
05:26 Hellman's friendship with the titular Julia wasn't exactly as autobiographical as the author claimed.
05:31 However, the film touches upon the very real friendship between Hellman and Hammett, with Fonda and Robards sharing natural chemistry during their fleeting screen time.
05:42 "And when you die, will you want me to feel that way about you?"
05:47 "I'll outlive you. Maybe not, you're stubborn."
05:52 6. Martin Balsam - A Thousand Clowns (10 minutes and 18 seconds)
05:58 Funnily enough, Jason Robards took centre stage in this 1965 dramedy, but co-star Martin Balsam won the Oscar for his supporting work as agent Arnold Burns.
06:10 "I wish the garden didn't enjoy you so much. I don't do you any damn good at all."
06:17 The brother of Robards' Murray, Arnold, couldn't be more different than his sibling.
06:22 When Murray is a joker who refuses to conform, Arnold is a practical thinker who wishes that his brother would blend in with the crowd.
06:29 "Murray, I finally figured out your problem. There is only one thing that really bothers you. Other people. The enemy. Watch out, Murray. They're everywhere."
06:42 Despite being at odds, Arnold loves his brother and can't bring himself to be that mad at him.
06:48 Arnold could have been a one-dimensional role, especially with such limited screen time.
06:53 Yet, Balsam brings layers to a former prankster who surrenders to society for the sake of his family, and sincerely believes that Murray needs to do the same.
07:02 "We fellows have those officers high up there so that we can catch the wind and go with it however it blows. But, and I'm not going to apologize for it, I take pride. I am the best possible Arnold Burns."
07:20 5. Ben Johnson - The Last Picture Show
07:23 9 minutes and 54 seconds
07:26 Martin Balsam's record for the shortest winning performance in the Best Supporting Actor category was broken six years later.
07:32 It's hard to believe that Ben Johnson appears for less than 10 minutes as Sam the Lion, which speaks volumes about his charisma.
07:40 "You boys can get on out of here. I don't want to have no more to do with you. Scaring a poor unfortunate creature like Billy just so you could have a few laughs. I've been around that trashy behavior all my life. I'm getting tired of putting up with it."
07:56 In his finest scene, Balsam delivers a nostalgic monologue about the one who got away, and his longing for more time.
08:03 It's a simple yet profound moment that's only more powerful knowing that this is Sam's swan song.
08:09 "I don't do to think about things like that too much. If she was here, I'd probably be just as crazy now as I was then in about five minutes."
08:20 According to director Peter Bogdanovich, Johnson turned down the part three times because he thought it was too wordy.
08:27 Johnson remained uncertain even when John Ford pushed him to accept.
08:31 He eventually got on board after Bogdanovich said that he could win the Oscar.
08:36 "What are you grinning about? Chicken prime me a steak and try to use meat this time."
08:40 4. Gloria Graham - The Bad and the Beautiful
08:44 9 minutes and 32 seconds
08:46 Breaking the record previously held by Gail Sondergaard, Gloria Graham prevailed in Best Supporting Actress with 9 and a half minutes.
08:55 She doesn't appear until the third act of The Bad and the Beautiful as Rosemary Bartlow, a Southern belle married to a screenwriter.
09:02 "Of course I realised that in two weeks. I can't do more than just barely scratch the surface."
09:08 In a film full of cutthroat characters, Graham shines as a shallow wife with wandering eyes, ultimately leading to her downfall.
09:15 Graham kept her Oscar acceptance speech short as well, summoning a "thank you very much" before darting off.
09:21 "The James Lee Bartlows in Hollywood, isn't that a ridiculous idea? Besides which, what could Hollywood possibly offer us?"
09:30 She described this as a really bad attack of Oscar fright.
09:34 Graham allowed her son Timothy to play and sleep with the statue, saying "no fond mother takes away her child's favourite plaything."
09:42 The Oscar would move to Graham's mantle during her later years, however.
09:46 "You take a good look at yourself in that mirror. You've changed since you've come to Hollywood."
09:51 3. Maureen Stapleton - Reds
09:54 9 minutes and 15 seconds
09:56 This historical epic is over three hours long, with Maureen Stapleton appearing in less than 5% of the picture.
10:03 "Out on here I wait. They've jailed more anarchists. What? They made Bill Shallop head of the Siberian Railway.
10:09 They treated me very well, and I'm reserving my judgement."
10:12 Just because her screen time is brief, doesn't mean that the shoot flew by for Stapleton.
10:17 One scene required her to perform 80 takes, leading Stapleton to ask director Warren Beatty if he was out of his mind.
10:25 It paid off in Oscar gold, as Stapleton won Best Supporting Actress for playing real-life Russian-born activist Emma Goldman.
10:33 "Will you tell Max I'd like a picture of myself in the magazine, and under it I would like the words 'deported'.
10:39 In 1919 the government of the most powerful country in the world is afraid of this woman."
10:43 Stapleton portrays Goldman as someone who might not seem imposing on the surface.
10:48 If you challenge her to a debate, though, she'll always hold her own with firm resilience and rapid-fire eloquence.
10:54 It's a small role that manages to be towering, scoring Stapleton the Oscar after three previous nominations.
11:02 "The dream may be dying in Russia, but I'm not. It may take some time, I'm getting out."
11:06 2. Judi Dench - Shakespeare in Love
11:09 5 minutes and 52 seconds.
11:12 "Yes, the illusion is remarkable. And your error, Mr. Tilney, is easily forgiven.
11:18 But I know something of a woman in a man's profession. Yes, by God, I do know about that."
11:25 Accepting her Oscar for portraying Queen Elizabeth I, Dame Judi Dench famously said,
11:31 "I feel for eight minutes on the screen. I should only get a little bit of him."
11:35 Actually, Dench's screen time was closer to six minutes.
11:38 In any case, it's funny to think that Dench spent hours in costume and makeup departments for what's practically a cameo.
11:45 Nevertheless, Dench still brings an all-encompassing presence to the sharp-tongued queen.
11:50 "Nature and truth are the very enemies of play acting. I'll wager my fortune."
11:54 "I thought you were here because you had none."
11:56 As intimidating as she can be, Dench injects the role with a sly playfulness and a soft spot for a good romance.
12:04 It might not be the most complex role of Dench's illustrious career.
12:07 As Robin Williams said when he opened the envelope, though, "There is nothing like a dame."
12:13 "Too late, too late."
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12:38 Network marked several Academy Awards records.
12:41 It remains tied for the film with the most acting wins.
12:44 Peter Finch became the first posthumous acting winner.
12:47 Last but not least, Beatrice Straits still holds the record for the shortest Oscar-winning performance.
12:53 "I know I'm obsessed with her."
12:56 "Then say it. Don't keep telling me that you're obsessed, that you're infatuated. Say that you're in love with her."
13:05 Besting Gloria Graham's record by 4 minutes and 30 seconds, Straits played Louise Schumacher,
13:12 the wife of a news division president.
13:14 Straits is nothing short of explosive in a scene where Louise's husband comes clean about an affair.
13:20 "This is your great winter romance, isn't it? Your last roar of passion before you settle into your emeritus years."
13:27 "Is that what's left for me? Is that my share? She gets the winter passion and I get the note inch?"
13:33 As her earlier restraint crumbles, Louise unleashes all of the anger, sadness and neglect she's been bottling up for years.
13:41 And somehow, there's an ounce of love left as Louise accepts that her marriage is over.
13:47 It's an Oscar scene in every sense.
13:50 "You're in for some dreadful grief, Max."
13:52 "I know."
13:56 What small role would you award an Oscar? Let us know in the comments.
14:00 "I get up, I go, I lie a little, I peddle a little, I watch the rules, I talk the talk."
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14:18 [Music]