Distant Drums (1951)

Monk: These injuns smell a little gamey, Captain. They rub skunk oil on themselves to keep off bugs and flies.

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Capt. Quincy Wyatt: An interesting thing about the way the Seminoles bury their warriors. The sit 'em up and put war paint on 'em, set a bowl of fresh food alongside of 'em and then stick their favorite weapon in their hands and then they cover 'em up. With a great chief like that over yonder, they throw in the first newborn child to be born after he died.
Lt. Richard Tufts: Why do they do a thing like that for?
Capt. Quincy Wyatt: Well, they believe when a man dies, his spirit leaves the body and enters that of the first newborn. And in regarding a chief that high like that, they don't want the spirit to be passed on down to somebody that ain't fit to carry it.

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Monk: [to Tufts] Shakin' hands with an Indian's like pumpin' a well!

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WILHELM SCREAM: This film contains the first known instance of "The Wilhelm Scream" (a sound effect of a man screaming, since used in over 149 other movies). During a scene in which the soldiers are wading through a swamp in the everglades, one of them is bitten and dragged underwater by an alligator. The scream for that character was recorded later. Six short pained screams were recorded in a single take, which was slated "man getting bit by an alligator, and he screams." The fifth scream was used for the soldier - but the 4th, 5th, and 6th screams recorded in the session were also used earlier in the film when three Indians are shot, one after another, during a raid on a fort. Although the "signature" or "classic" screams, takes 4 through 6 on the original recording, are the most recognizable, all of the screams are referred to as "Wilhelm" by those in the sound community. Ben Burtt, sound effects designer on Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, named it "Wilhelm" after the character that let out the scream in The Charge at Feather River. He discovered a file at Warner Bros. for this movie, which contained paperwork that was left over from the picture editor when the film was completed. O Except for Larry Chance, the actors "playing" Seminole Indian warriors were in fact actual Seminoles.
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