# Most influential very minor movie role **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [September 3, 2022, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-very-minor-movie-role/970865 "2022-09-03T05:02:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-very-minor-movie-role/970865/61 "2022-09-09T21:20:32Z")
I’m thinking of Woody Harrelson in No Country for Old Men. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-very-minor-movie-role/970865/62 "2022-09-09T21:39:07Z")
Orson Welles’ performance in _The Third Man_ (1949) lasts about five minutes, yet indelibly etched his public persona (and musical theme) for years before obesity and shilling for cheap wine replaced it. His “cuckoo clock” speech from the film has also entered the pop cultural collective unconscious. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-very-minor-movie-role/970865/63 "2022-09-09T21:48:55Z")
Influential? Well, how about a guy who tosses out a frequently quoted line like: “What we have here…is a failure…to communicate.” (Strother Martin-Cool Hand Luke) ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-very-minor-movie-role/970865/64 "2022-09-09T22:47:43Z")
[Joe Mantell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Mantell) as the guy who says “Forget it, Jake, it’s Chinatown.” ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2022, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-very-minor-movie-role/970865/65 "2022-09-10T10:08:25Z")
Probably not what the OP had in mind, but this thread got me thinking about **Bronson Pinchot** , playing Serge from _Beverly Hills Cop_. ‘It’s good, you should try it.’ ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2022, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-very-minor-movie-role/970865/66 "2022-09-10T10:43:27Z")
Well I don’t know about _influential_ as such but that’s a good call for sheer scene-stealing (that’s easier to type than to say) Along the same lines what about “[Johnny](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Stucker)” in Airplane! but again perhaps that’s scene-stealing rather than influence. I think that you could perhaps just do a trawl of Tarantino and Coen Brothers movies and come up with a bucketload of minor but influential characters. (Jesus from The Big Lebowski is a very good call) ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2022, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-very-minor-movie-role/970865/67 "2022-09-10T14:17:31Z")
I immediately thought of James MacArthur as Ensign Ralston in _The Bedford Incident_. He’s present on the bridge throughout most of the movie, but it’s still a pretty minor role…until he hears “But if he fires one, I’ll fire one.” ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-very-minor-movie-role/970865/68 "2022-09-11T01:27:26Z")
**Nitpick:** The article “a” was not in the line. [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/294100032\_What\_we've\_got\_here\_is\_Failure\_to\_communicate](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/294100032_What_we%27ve_got_here_is_Failure_to_communicate) ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-very-minor-movie-role/970865/69 "2022-09-11T01:34:52Z")
“Lucille” the car washing tease in _Cool Hand Luke_: “She knows exactly what she’s doing.” It sets up the confrontation between Luke and Dragline (George Kennedy) when Luke tells Dragline to stop talking about her at bedtime. Dragline then essentially sets up the boxing match for the next day where Luke doesn’t back down, earning Dragline’s respect for the rest of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-very-minor-movie-role/970865/70 "2022-09-12T05:11:12Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Well I don’t know about _influential_ as such but that’s a good call for sheer scene-stealing (that’s easier to type than to say) Agreed, new thread. [Most scene stealing very minor movie role - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-scene-stealing-very-minor-movie-role/971414) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-very-minor-movie-role/970865.md?page=3)