Beatrice Straight’s Oscar win for her role in Network stands as one of the shortest to be nominated for or win in the history of the Academy Awards.
In Sidney Lumet’s satire, Straight portrayed Louise Schumacher, the dejected wife of network executive (played by William Holden), who leaves her for the younger, more beautiful but also monstrously ambitious, played by Faye Dunaway.
Straight delivered a powerhouse performance in two brief scenes, amounting to 6 minutes of screen time.
Straight’s win came against stiff competition from Jodie Foster’s portrayal of teenage hooker in Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and Piper Laurie’s role as the religious, domineering mother in Brian De Palma’s horror classic Carrie.
Straight’s victory, alongside the two acting triumphs for Peter Finch and Faye Dunaway in the actor and actress categories, made “Network” one of three movies to secure three acting prizes.
Despite its success in the acting races, the film lost the best picture award to the sports drama Rocky, an inferior film artistically but more commercially popular.
Beatrice, better known as a stage actress, won the Oscar at age 52, and made few films after Network.
