# The biggest wimp in the movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 19, 2013, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-wimp-in-the-movies/676775 "2013-12-19T23:51:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-wimp-in-the-movies/676775/41 "2013-12-21T07:09:01Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Fred MacMurray in _The Caine Mutiny_. Not only a wimp, but a sniveling weasel. > [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > Another great example. I wanted to kick the crap out of him, and couldn’t understand why no one actually did in the movie. Good call, but the end of that movie always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The lawyer comes to where the men are celebrating and dresses them down (MacMurray especially, but the others, too) for turning on Queeg instead of trying to help him. Dude, lots of people tried to help Queeg before the mutiny and they all got reamed for their trouble. A huge part of his problem was that he couldn’t accept help. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-wimp-in-the-movies/676775/42 "2013-12-21T19:36:47Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Good call, but the end of that movie always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The lawyer comes to where the men are celebrating and dresses them down (MacMurray especially, but the others, too) for turning on Queeg instead of trying to help him. Dude, lots of people tried to help Queeg before the mutiny and they all got reamed for their trouble. A huge part of his problem was that he couldn’t accept help. I always had the impression that the final scene was an indictment on all of them, including the lawyer, Barney Greenwald. He makes a comment about how they “all knew you couldn’t make money in the service.”, and I think he was sick about torpedoing a guy who had done the dirty work while others (including the lawyer) were getting rich. I got the feeling that scene was a drunken ramble on all of their characters, including Greenwald’s own shortcomings. You make a good point about him chewing Steve and Willie out, though. Willie was just out of college, and very inexperienced. Steve was sort of pushed into the “Queeg is a paranoid” camp by Keefer… however it was the correct diagnosis. Keefer just cared about his own survival over anyone else’s. He had no loyalty to anything or anyone except himself. In the trial, it came out that Maryk wasn’t very smart. He had below average grades in high school and college, so he relied on others for their judgements and opinions. That’s why he listened to Keefer’s diagnosis on Queeg. He would have never come up with that himself, and he would have never taken control of the Caine unless the seed was already planted in his head that Queeg was off balance. Steve Maryk really was the hero in the movie. He quite possibly saved the ship from going under, and he had to put his own navy career on the line to do it. I think the lawyer was a bit out of bounds for slamming Steve and Willie, but I think in his mind, if they had tried to support Queeg when he asked for their help, maybe things would have turned out differently. But I’m pretty sure that sober, he would know that Queeg’s problems ran deep, and he was not a stable man. Barney’s anger was at everyone, including himself, for taking out a dedicated, career navy man. And he was pissed that the Caine’s officers put him in the position to having to do it. Even though he saved Maryk’s career and sandbagged Queeg out of the Navy, Greenwald had a sense of dedication and loyalty to Queeg and what he stood for, something none of the other officers seemed to possess. Greenwald wasn’t on the ship that almost went down in the typhoon. I imagine if he was, he would have had a different take on everything. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-wimp-in-the-movies/676775/43 "2013-12-21T20:46:39Z")
In the book Keefer becomes the captain of the Cane and panics under an air attack, abandons ship prematurely. Willie takes command and saves the ship. Later Keefer admits that he is a coward and the stress of command made him crazier than Queeg. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-wimp-in-the-movies/676775/44 "2013-12-21T22:08:50Z")
I didn’t even know there was a book, but that sounds interesting. Keefer is such an unlikeable person. I wonder why they changed the book for the movie? Perhaps that story line was too involved for a two hour movie. It sounds like it could have been… Especially making Willie the hero. That wouldn’t have been credible IMO, at least not with the choice they made for the actor playing Willie. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-wimp-in-the-movies/676775/45 "2013-12-21T23:36:20Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > **Don Knotts can act debonaire, even tough.** My biggest wimp is Peter Ustinov. Mister Furley?! I would like a cite on this please. The only way Don Knotts and tough should be mentioned in the same sentence is when there’s a “not very” in between. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2013, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-wimp-in-the-movies/676775/46 "2013-12-22T05:30:55Z")
I’ll nominate William H. Macy in “The Cooler,” especially in the beginning. His profession is giving other people bad luck. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2013, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-wimp-in-the-movies/676775/47 "2013-12-22T05:38:39Z")
> [@Apocalypso](#): > > Mister Furley?! I would like a cite on this please. The only way Don Knotts and tough should be mentioned in the same sentence is when there’s a “not very” in between. I don’t find that so hard to believe, when you consider Steve Buscemi has played gangsters and toughs. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2013, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-wimp-in-the-movies/676775/48 "2013-12-22T06:16:37Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > I don’t find that so hard to believe, when you consider Steve Buscemi has played gangsters and toughs. Yeah, see Don Knotts in _Pleasantville_. He was variously creepy, ingratiating and pissed off. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-wimp-in-the-movies/676775/49 "2013-12-23T08:26:22Z")
A few Bill Macy nominations here. Plus this movie has been mentioned. So, how about “Little Bill” in Boogie Nights? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-wimp-in-the-movies/676775/50 "2013-12-23T08:59:56Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > However, Paxton’s character dies standing up to the aliens while attempting to take out as many as possible which I think redeems him enough to get out of the wimpy cellar. I wouldn’t call him a wimp at all. Just high-strung and out of his depth. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-wimp-in-the-movies/676775/51 "2013-12-27T00:09:40Z")
> [@Apocalypso](#): > > Mister Furley?! I would like a cite on this please. The only way Don Knotts and tough should be mentioned in the same sentence is when there’s a “not very” in between. Will pictures suffice? [![](https://www.nndb.com/people/750/000022684/knotts-sized.jpg) ](https://www.nndb.com/people/750/000022684/knotts-sized.jpg) [![](https://freemasonry.bcy.ca/fiction/images/andy_griffith02.jpg) ](https://freemasonry.bcy.ca/fiction/images/andy_griffith02.jpg) [http://sharetv.org/images/the\_don\_knotts\_show-show.jpg](http://sharetv.org/images/the_don_knotts_show-show.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![randompattern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@randompattern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randompattern)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-wimp-in-the-movies/676775/52 "2013-12-27T00:35:36Z")
Joe Besser in any Three Stooges short. ---
**Author:** ![Bellhorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@Bellhorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bellhorn)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-wimp-in-the-movies/676775/53 "2013-12-27T00:52:23Z")
Excellent choices, so far, with Macy in Fargo, MacMurray in The Caine Mutiny, and John Casales’ Fredo in the Godfather I and II. I’d also add: **Bud Cort** , as Radar in M_A_S\*H **Michael Murphy** in An Unmarried Woman **Woody Allen** in The Front (or as Fielding Mellish in Bananas) **Gene Wilder** as Leo Bloom in The Producers. **Matthew Broderick** (who also played Leo Bloom, wimpishly) in The Election. And honorable mention to Larry Linville’s portrayal of Frank Burns on the TV version of M_A_S\*H I’ll have to look for Pale Rider to catch Michael Moriarity. I don’t usually watch westerns, but I love his work. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-wimp-in-the-movies/676775/54 "2013-12-27T00:55:04Z")
Daffy Duck. I thought he would break through Bugs Bunny’s Oscar-winning performance, but he never did. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-wimp-in-the-movies/676775/55 "2013-12-27T00:55:57Z")
I nominate Jim Backus as James Dean’s father in _Rebel Without a Cause_ since the entire point of his role was to stimulate Dean’s rebellion by being the living symbol of Wimpdom. Other than Mr. Magoo, which Backus voiced, I have a hard time thinking of a non-wimp role for Backus. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-wimp-in-the-movies/676775/56 "2013-12-27T01:03:45Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Other than Mr. Magoo, which Backus voiced, I have a hard time thinking of a non-wimp role for Backus. [It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i415QwSj0Og), perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-wimp-in-the-movies/676775/57 "2013-12-27T01:05:26Z")
[Byron Foulger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byron_Foulger) made a career out of playing the wimp, and was a stock player in in Preston Sturgess comedies, as well as Frank Capra’s _Pocket Full of Miracles._ Later audiences would recognize him as train engineer Wendell Gibbs on _Petticoat Junction._ ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-wimp-in-the-movies/676775/58 "2013-12-27T01:07:14Z")
> [@Bellhorn](#): > > Excellent choices, so far, with Macy in Fargo, MacMurray in The Caine Mutiny, and John Casales’ Fredo in the Godfather I and II. > > I’d also add: > > **Bud Cort** , as Radar in M_A_S\*H > **Michael Murphy** in An Unmarried Woman > **Woody Allen** in The Front (or as Fielding Mellish in Bananas) > **Gene Wilder** as Leo Bloom in The Producers. > **Matthew Broderick** (who also played Leo Bloom, wimpishly) in The Election. > > And honorable mention to Larry Linville’s portrayal of Frank Burns on the TV version of M_A_S\*H > > I’ll have to look for Pale Rider to catch Michael Moriarity. I don’t usually watch westerns, but I love his work. Small correction. Bud Cort did not play Radar in the movie M_A_S\*H. Gary Burghoff played Radar both in the movie and TV series. In fact, Burghoff was the only person that I can recall who played in both the movie and TV series. Bud Cort was an orderly or a nurse’s aid in the movie. He was admonished by Frank Burns for not getting the correct drug in time and a soldier died. Frank told him that he killed him, making Cort cry. He looked wimpy, but I’m not sure I’d call him wimpy for that. If I was an 18 year old kid who was told by a doctor that I killed a soldier because of a mistake I made, I would probably cry too. Bud Cort just has a naturally wimpy look. But I can’t think of another thing he did in that movie that i’d consider him a wimp. Burghoff’s TV Radar, on the other hand, was an incredible wimp, especially during the later seasons. He went from a wise, all-knowing company clerk who could make deals and keep the camp moving, to some Iowa pansy who was just a simpleton. One of the strangest character transformations in TV history. ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-wimp-in-the-movies/676775/59 "2013-12-27T01:23:01Z")
Henry Spencer (main character) in _Eraserhead_ The guy who buys Al Pacino’s real estate in _Glengarry Glen Ross_ Shelley Duvall’s character in _The Shining_ ---
**Author:** ![Bellhorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@Bellhorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bellhorn)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-wimp-in-the-movies/676775/60 "2013-12-27T01:34:40Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > Small correction. Bud Cort did not play Radar in the movie M_A_S\*H. Gary Burghoff played Radar both in the movie and TV series. In fact, Burghoff was the only person that I can recall who played in both the movie and TV series. > > Bud Cort was an orderly or a nurse’s aid in the movie. He was admonished by Frank Burns for not getting the correct drug in time and a soldier died. Frank told him that he killed him, making Cort cry. > > He looked wimpy, but I’m not sure I’d call him wimpy for that. If I was an 18 year old kid who was told by a doctor that I killed a soldier because of a mistake I made, I would probably cry too. > > Bud Cort just has a naturally wimpy look. But I can’t think of another thing he did in that movie that i’d consider him a wimp. > > Burghoff’s TV Radar, on the other hand, was an incredible wimp, especially during the later seasons. He went from a wise, all-knowing company clerk who could make deals and keep the camp moving, to some Iowa pansy who was just a simpleton. One of the strangest character transformations in TV history. Of course, thanks for the quick correction. And while I was primarily thinking of the scene you mentioned, Cort basically spent the rest of the movie doing what he was told, so that scene is one that remains. I think the reason Burghoff’s Radar became a wimp in later seasons, was because of the switch from the distracted Colonel Blake to the dedicated Colonel Potter. Radar basically ran the unit under Blake, but was nothing but a gofer under Potter: Col Potter:“Hey Radar, can you pick me up a Snickers Bar, but the Snickers without the peanuts, they get caught under my dentures.” Cpl O’Reilly: “Yes sir, a Milky Way sir.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-wimp-in-the-movies/676775.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-wimp-in-the-movies/676775.md?page=4)