Rebel Yell; Yeeha(w)

[Jonathan Lighter]

My illegible handwriting now reveals a further non-ocurrenc of "Yeeha(w) in _GWTW_. 66 mins. in a wagon driver shouts "Yaa-hoo!"

  While I haven't yet revisited _Red River_, I did by chance catch a stretch of _Three Godfathers_ (1948) today.  In a moment of mirth, Pedro Aramnda'riz (1912-63) emits some laughter which contains an "eee-ha !"   It goes something like this: "Ha ! Ha hahaha ! Eee-ha ! Ha ha ha !"   This would not likely be memorable to the average nonobsessive movie-goer.

  While not a full-fledged "Yeee-haaa (w) !" in the currently iconic use that has virtually swept the field in recent years, Armandariz's interjection suggests that the cry may be of Spanish (or Mexican Spanish) origin, especially in light of its complete absence from _GWTW_.

  I have not been able to discover whether Speedy Gonzalez, the Fastest Mouse in All Mexico, habitually cried "Yeee-haa ! " It seems possible.  He did yell "Arriba ! Arriba ! A'ndale ! A'ndale !"  According to IMDb, his first appearance in the familiar form was in 1955.
  His cartoons aired regularly on ABC-TV's _Bugs Bunny_ show from late 1960 to 1972.

  JL

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