Looking for suggestions here. Hopefully this hasn't been done before.
So I was watching Fargo last night, and when the short scene with Officer Olson interviewing the bartender Mr. Mohra came on, I found myself backing up the DVD and playing this scene several times. Mr. Mohra only appears in this one scene, but it is such a hilarious show stopper that I began to wonder what other movies contain scenes in which a character only appears once, yet nearly steals the film. Margie's interview with the hookers almost plays as well, but then the hookers are featured briefly in one other scene, don'cha know......
Another example off the top of my head is Mickey Roarke's brief appearance in Body Heat, but it's been so long since I've seen that film, that I'm not sure if Roarke was in more than one scene.
For your amusement, here's the Mr. Mohra scene...
Full Version: One-Scene Wonders
| QUOTE (FARGO) |
OUTSIDE Officer Olson slams shut his car door and approaches a man shoveling snow. The man stops shoveling and plants the shovel in the snow. Mr. Mohra : How ya doon? Officer Olson : Mr. Mohra? Mr. Morah : Yah. Officer Olson : Officer Olson. Mr. Mohra : Yah, right-o... So, I'm tendin' bar there at Ecklund and Swedlin's last Tuesday and this little guy's drinkin' and he says, "So where can a guy find some action? I'm goin' crazy out there at the lake." And I says, "What kinda action?" and he says, "Woman action, what do I look like?" And I says, "Well, what do I look like, I don't arrange that kinda thing," and he says, "I'm goin' crazy out there at the lake," and I says, "Well, this ain't that kinda place." Officer Olson : Uh-huh. Mr. Mohra : So he says, "So I get it, so you think I'm some kinda jerk for askin'," only he doesn't use the word jerk. Officer Olson : I understand. Mr. Mohra : And then he calls me a jerk and says the last guy who thought he was a jerk was dead now. So I don't say nothin' and he says, "What do ya think about that?" So I says, "Well, that don't sound like too good a deal for him then." Officer Olson : Ya got that right. Mr. Mohra : And he says, "Yah, that guy's dead and I don't mean of old age." And then he says, "Geez, I'm goin' crazy out there at the lake." Officer Olson : White Bear lake? Mr. Mohra : Well, Ecklund & Swedlin's, that's closer ta Moose Lake, so I made that assumption. Officer Olson : Oh sure. Mr. Mohra : So, ya know, he's drinkin', so I don't think a whole great deal of it, but Mrs. Mohra heard about the homicides down here and she thought I should call it in, so I called it in.... End o' story. Officer Olson : What'd this guy look like anyway? Mr. Mohra : Oh, he was a little guy. Kinda funny lookin'. Officer Olson : Uh-huh. In what way? Mr. Mohra : Just a general way. Officer Olson : Okay, well thanks a bunch, Mr. Morah. You're right, it's probably nothin', but thanks for callin' her in. Mr. Mohra : Oh sure... They say she's gonna turn cold tomorrow. Officer Olson : Yah, got a front movin' in. Mr. Mohra : Ya got that right. |
P.S. The actor who played Mr. Mohra - Bain Boehlke - directed a show at the theatre I work for, back in 2002. He sounds and acts in person the same as the character he played in Fargo.
Of course, Fargo is a pretty darn good film. Thinking of one which isn't so good, how about Sleep with Me? A very tedious, self indulgent film which isn't nearly as interesting as it thinks it is. It does, however, have one of the *great* scene stealing cameos. Which is Quentin Tarantino's rant on why Top Gun is really all about man's struggle with heterosexuality. The best thing about which is the longer it goes on, the more plausable it sounds.
The following transcript has been edited for language:
The following transcript has been edited for language:
| QUOTE |
Sid: You want subversion on a massive level. You know what one of the greatest scripts ever written in the history of Hollywood is? Top Gun. Duane (Todd Field): Oh, come on. Sid: Top Gun is great. What is Top Gun? You think it's a story about a bunch of fighter pilots. Duane: It's about a bunch of guys waving their dicks around. Sid: It is a story about a man's struggle with his own homosexuality. It is! That is what Top Gun is about, man. You've got Maverick, all right? He's on the edge, man. He's right on the line, all right? And you've got Iceman, and all his crew. They're gay, they represent the gay man, all right? And they're' saying, go, go the gay way, go the gay way. He could go both ways. Duane: What about Kelly McGillis? Sid: Kelly McGillis, she's heterosexuality. She's saying: no, no, no, no, no, no, go the normal way, play by the rules, go the normal way. They're saying no, go the gay way, be the gay way, go for the gay way, all right? That is what's going on throughout that whole movie... He goes to her house, all right? It looks like they're going to have sex, you know, they're just kind of sitting back, he's takin' a shower and everything. They don't have sex. He gets on the motorcycle, drives away. She's like, "What the... what's going on here?" Next scene, next scene you see her, she's in the elevator, she is dressed like a guy. She's got the cap on, she's got the aviator glasses, she's wearing the same jacket that the Iceman wears. She is, okay, this is how I gotta get this guy, this guy's going towards the gay way, I gotta bring him back, I gotta bring him back from the gay way, so I'm do that through subterfuge, I'm gonna dress like a man. All right? That is how she approaches it. Okay, now let me just ask you--I'm gonna digress for two seconds here. I met this girl Amy here, she's like floating around here and everything. Now, she just got divorced, right?...All right, but the REAL ending of the movie is when they fight the MIGs at the end, all right? Because he has passed over into the gay way. They are this gay fighting force, all right? And they're beating the Russians, the gays are beating the Russians. And it's over, and they land, and Iceman's been trying to get Maverick the entire time, and finally, he's got him, all right? And what is the last line that they have together? They're all hugging and kissing and happy with each other, and Ice comes up to Maverick, and he says, "Man, you can ride my tail, anytime!" And what does Maverick say? "You can ride mine!" Swordfight! Swordfight! |
Phil.
| QUOTE (Shantih @ Sep 16 2004, 02:44 AM) | ||
| Of course, Fargo is a pretty darn good film. Thinking of one which isn't so good, how about Sleep with Me? A very tedious, self indulgent film which isn't nearly as interesting as it thinks it is. It does, however, have one of the *great* scene stealing cameos. Which is Quentin Tarantino's rant on why Top Gun is really all about man's struggle with heterosexuality. The best thing about which is the longer it goes on, the more plausable it sounds. The following transcript has been edited for language:
Phil. |
I know I've heard or read that dialogue before, but I'm pretty sure I've never seen Sleep With Me? Does it appear in any other movies? And yes, it is quite a piece of work.
My contribution to this thread is the scene with The Bride at Hattori Hanza's sushi bar. Particularly Hanza's interaction with his assistant.
Just off the top of my head, which all happen to be either Mamet or Leigh:
Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross (probably the most famous example of this genre).
Saīd Taghmaoui (as The Convict) in Spartan (which might actually be a two-scene role; I don't precisely recall).
Robert Wilfort (as The Doctor) in All or Nothing.
Leslie Manville (as The Social Worker) in Secrets and Lies.
Dale
Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross (probably the most famous example of this genre).
Saīd Taghmaoui (as The Convict) in Spartan (which might actually be a two-scene role; I don't precisely recall).
Robert Wilfort (as The Doctor) in All or Nothing.
Leslie Manville (as The Social Worker) in Secrets and Lies.
Dale
Also, whoever played the second social worker in Leigh's TV movie Home Sweet Home -- which is an even more extreme case, as this character is in the final scene of the movie, but no other.
Dale
Dale
Giovanni Ribisi does it in just about every film he's got a cameo in--but the one that jumps out the most was also the only redeemable factor in a movie I personally hated in a way that it achieves the top ten of my hated films of all time, Masked and Anonymous--Ribisi plays a soldier on the bus who, at the end of his scene, walks out with his M16 and confronts a group of guerrillas, who summarily blow him away.
| QUOTE (Shantih @ Sep 16 2004, 03:44 AM) |
| Quentin Tarantino's rant on why Top Gun is really all about man's struggle with heterosexuality. The best thing about which is the longer it goes on, the more plausable it sounds. |
COMPLETELY plausible!! I always thought TG had strong homoerotic undertones, right down to the Kenny Loggins song "Playing with the Boys"
which plays over a montage of beefy guys playing volleyball. (The title of the movie alone is a pretty big clue.)Back on topic, I'll second Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross.
How about Ned Beatty in Network? It's been some time since I've seen, but I believe he got an Oscar nomination for one short, but very memorable, scene as a crazed TV station owner.
Opening sequence of Prince of Egypt
The dialogue in the hotel hallway with Paul Giamatti in My Best Friend's Wedding
The dialogue in the hotel hallway with Paul Giamatti in My Best Friend's Wedding
| QUOTE (Mark @ Sep 16 2004, 01:17 PM) |
| How about Ned Beatty in Network? It's been some time since I've seen, but I believe he got an Oscar nomination for one short, but very memorable, scene as a crazed TV station owner. |
I'll always go back to that one. It's a classic.
Beatrice Straight was not only nominated, but won an Oscar for her single scene in Network, as William Holden's neglected wife.
There's always Billy Crystal in The Princess Bride...
How about Al Pacino in Gigli?
Oh wait. That can't be right...
Oh wait. That can't be right...
Anything which Christohper Walken has a cameo... especially including Annie Hall and Pulp Fiction.
Perhaps Gigli as well?
Perhaps Gigli as well?
I wouldn't say that it "steals the film," but I really got a kick out of Samuel L. Jackson...
(Just to be safe:
)
...at the end of Out of Sight, as Hejira Henry. Plus it really set up a possible sequel:
Prison Gaurd: Jack Foley, meet Hejira Henry.
Jack: What kind of name is Hejira?
Hejira: It's Islamic.
Jack: What's it mean?
Hejira: The Hejira was Mohammed's flight from Mecca in 632. Brothers in Leavenworth gave me that name.
Jack: You were in Leavenworth?
Hejira: For a time.
Jack: What's that mean?
Hejira: Means, when the time came, I left.
Jack: You broke out?
Hejira: I prefer to think of it as an exodus from an undesirable place.
(Just to be safe:
)...at the end of Out of Sight, as Hejira Henry. Plus it really set up a possible sequel:
Prison Gaurd: Jack Foley, meet Hejira Henry.
Jack: What kind of name is Hejira?
Hejira: It's Islamic.
Jack: What's it mean?
Hejira: The Hejira was Mohammed's flight from Mecca in 632. Brothers in Leavenworth gave me that name.
Jack: You were in Leavenworth?
Hejira: For a time.
Jack: What's that mean?
Hejira: Means, when the time came, I left.
Jack: You broke out?
Hejira: I prefer to think of it as an exodus from an undesirable place.
| QUOTE (Nick Alexander @ Sep 16 2004, 12:45 PM) |
| Anything which Christohper Walken has a cameo... especially including Annie Hall and Pulp Fiction. |
Like THE ADDICTION.
I'm also thinking, James Caan in DOGVILLE - doesn't exactly steal the show, but certainly delivers a memorable scene.
Also, a wonderful single-scene (I think?) double-header: Michael Keaton as Ray Nicolette in both JACKIE BROWN (1997) and OUT OF SIGHT (1998).
| QUOTE (Ron @ Sep 21 2004, 03:56 AM) | ||
Like THE ADDICTION. |
...and Mistress with Robert Wuhl, Martin Landau, and Robert De Niro. Walken's one scene is greatness, but quite over the edge.
Jackson in Out Of Sight ABSOLUTELY! There is of course, Robert Duvall in Apocolypse Now, one of the more famous cameos of the '70's. I like the Keaton references too (both are Elmore Leonard sources).
Nuts! I don't have time to check the name at Imdb, but Stifler's Mom had a great walkon as a fruitcake medical expert in the funny but properly little known Trial and Error.
Nuts! I don't have time to check the name at Imdb, but Stifler's Mom had a great walkon as a fruitcake medical expert in the funny but properly little known Trial and Error.
| QUOTE (Rich Kennedy @ Sep 24 2004, 06:08 PM) |
| Nuts! I don't have time to check the name at Imdb, but Stifler's Mom had a great walkon as a fruitcake medical expert in the funny but properly little known Trial and Error. |
Jennifer Coolidge. She was also a major scene-stealer (although she was in two scenes) in A Mighty Wind as a dumb-as-a-stump publicist. She and Larry Miller delivered some of the funniest stuff in that movie, including Coolidge's line in an unidentifiable accent, on why she and Miller work so well as a team: "It's almost as like we share one brain between the two of us."
Melville in A bout de souffle.
Keith Carradine in Mc Cabe and Mrs. Miller.
Marilyn Monroe in All About Eve.
Post no 50. Hurray.
Lionel Barrymore in You Can't Take It with You, talking to Jean Arthur about his deceased wife.
Running on Empty - The scene when Christine Lahti's character has just seen her father for the first time. When she leaves, the look on her dad's face. It still gets me.
Best of the Best - when the Korean guy gives up his medal to Phillip Rhee's (I think that is his name) character. I bawl ike a baby everytime I see that scene. Call me a baby but for some reason that scene gets to me.
For some reason these were the ones I could think of off the top of my head. You would think that it would be Casablanca or Network or Chinatown or a foreign film. Go figure.
Best of the Best - when the Korean guy gives up his medal to Phillip Rhee's (I think that is his name) character. I bawl ike a baby everytime I see that scene. Call me a baby but for some reason that scene gets to me.
For some reason these were the ones I could think of off the top of my head. You would think that it would be Casablanca or Network or Chinatown or a foreign film. Go figure.
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.