No "Yee-ha!" in _Red River_ ?

[Jonathan Lighter]

TCM has just rebroadcast _Red River_, the 1948 western classic said by one film historian to contain "the famous 'Yee-ha!' scene.'"

Naturally I missed the movie. But the original trailer is viewable at the TCM website:

http://www.tcmdb.com/search.jsp?methodName=allwwwSearch&keyword=red+river&Go.x=13&Go.y=7

(Scroll down to trailer link.)

The trailer shows not a "Yee-ha!" scene at all, but a "Yaha!" scene. The cowboys yell "Yaaahh!!" "Yahaa! Haha!" and "Yeehoo!"  Not one "Yee-ha(w)!"  Why not?

Of course there could be a genuine, clearly audible "Yee-ha!" elsewhere in _Red River_, but the scene in the trailer is indeed the most famous cowboy yell scene in film history. Evidently the glory days of "Yee-ha!" were still in the future, and nobody is likely to have learned to yell "Yee-ha!" from _Red River_. You'll remember my similar verdict on _Gone with the Wind_.

JL


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