The Charge at Feather River

Promotional poster advertising the release of the film in 3-D
The Charge at Feather River
Directed by	Gordon Douglas
Produced by	David Weisbart
Written by	James R. Webb
Starring	Guy Madison Frank Lovejoy Helen Westcott Vera Miles Dick Wesson Onslow Stevens Steve Brodie James Brown
Music by	Max Steiner
Cinematography by	J. Peverell Marley
Editor(s)	Folmar Blangsted
Studio(s)	Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. Vitaphone
Distributor	Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Release date(s)	June 30, 1953 (Vernon, Texas) July 11, 1953 (United States)
Running time	95 minutes
Language	English
Gross revenue	$3.65 million (US)

The Charge at Feather River is a 1953 American 3D action Western film directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Guy Madison. It was originally released in 3D with many arrows, lances, and other weapons flying directly at the audience in several scenes.

The movie is most notable for originating the name of the "Wilhelm Scream", a famous sound effect used in the Star Wars film series, as well as countless other movies including the Indiana Jones franchise, Disney cartoons and The Lord of the Rings film series. In February 2018 it was announced that Star Wars will no longer use the Wilhelm scream. Sound designer Ben Burtt named the sound after "Private Wilhelm", a minor character in the film who emits the famous scream after being shot by an arrow (although the recording actually originated in the Gary Cooper film Distant Drums in 1951). When the film screened at the Second World 3-D Expo at Hollywood's Egyptian Theatre in 2006, much of the film-savvy audience broke into applause when Pvt. Wilhelm screamed.

The climax of the film has many similarities to the 1868 Battle of Beecher Island, though instead of Army frontier scouts, Madison's character recruits "the Guardhouse Brigade" from Army prisoners and arms them with repeating rifles. Some have also noticed that the plot bears a number of similarities to the later Major Dundee, directed by Sam Peckinpah in 1965, notably the journey leading up to the climactic stand-off.

Plot

two women are captured by the Cheyenne before being rescued by a cavalry, and must cross Feather River to reach safety.

Cast

• Guy Madison as Miles Archer
• Frank Lovejoy as Sgt. Charlie Baker
• Helen Westcott as Anne McKeever
• Vera Miles as Jennie McKeever
• Dick Wesson as Pvt. Cullen
• Onslow Stevens as Grover Johnson
• Steve Brodie as Pvt. Ryan
• Ron Hagerthy as Johnny McKeever
• Fay Roope as Lt. Col. Kilrain
• Neville Brand as Pvt. Morgan
• Henry Kulky as Pvt. Smiley
• Lane Chandler as Pvt. Zebulan Poinsett
• Fred Carson as Chief Thunder Hawk
• James Brown as Pvt. Connors
• Ralph Brooks as Private Wilhelm (scream voiced by Sheb Wooley)

Soundtrack

The film's score was composed by Max Steiner, who also composed the score of Distant Drums.

Gallery

Trivia

• WILHELM SCREAM: Can be heard when Private Wilhelm gets shot in the leg.
• The film's plot has similarities to both the 1868 Battle at Beecher Island and the 1965 film Major Dundee.
• This was released in 3D, with arrows being shot at the audience in several scenes.

Legacy

This is known for being the third film to feature the Wilhelm Scream sound effect, the first being Distant Drums. It was named after the character Private Wilhelm by sound designer Ben Burtt (known for doing sound effects for Star Wars). In February 2018 it was announced that Star Wars will no longer use the Wilhelm Scream. Sound designer Ben Burtt named the sound after "Private Wilhelm", a minor character in the film who emits the famous scream after being shot by an arrow (although the recording actually originated in the Gary Cooper film Distant Drums in 1951). When the film screened at the Second World 3-D Expo at Hollywood's Egyptian Theatre in 2006, much of the film-savvy audience broke into applause when Pvt. Wilhelm screamed.

External links

• The Charge at Feather River at Wikipedia

• The Charge at Feather River at the Internet Movie Database

• The Charge at Feather River at AllMovie

v - e - d

Media Films: The Clash of the Wolves (1925) • Cheyenne (1929) • The Lawless Legion (1929) • The Royal Rider (1929) • The Great Divide (1929) • Song of the West (1930) • The Bad Man (1930) • Woman Hungry (1931) • The Telegraph Trail (1933) • Moonlight on the Prairie (1935) • Treachery Rides the Range (1936) • Trailin' West (1936) • Guns of the Pecos (1937) • Land Beyond the Law (1937) • The Cherokee Strip (1937) • Blazing Sixes (1937) • Empty Holsters (1937) • The Devil's Saddle Legion (1937) • Prairie Thunder (1937) • Cowboy from Brooklyn (1938) • Valley of the Giants (1938) • Virginia City (1940) • An Angel from Texas (1940) • River's End (1940) • Santa Fe Trail (1940) • Bad Men of Missouri (1941) • Wild Bill Hickok Rides (1942) • San Antonio (1946) • Pursued (1947) • Cheyenne (1947) • The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) • Silver River (1948) • Two Guys from Texas (1948) • South of St. Louis (1949) • The Younger Brothers (1949) • Colorado Territory (1949) • Montana (1950) • Barricade (1950) • Colt .45 (1950) • Return of the Frontiersman (1950) • Rocky Mountain (1950) • Dallas (1950) • Sugarfoot (1951) • Raton Pass (1951) • Only the Valiant (1951) • Along the Great Divide (1951) • Fort Worth (1951) • Distant Drums (1951) • The Big Trees (1952) • Bugles in the Afternoon (1952) • The Lion and the Horse (1952) • The San Francisco Story (1952) • Carson City (1952) • The Story of Will Rogers (1952) • Cattle Town (1952) • Springfield Rifle (1952) • The Man Behind the Gun (1953) • The Charge at Feather River (1953) • Blowing Wild (1953) • The Moonlighter (1953) • Thunder Over the Plains (1953) • Calamity Jane (1953) • Hondo (1953) • The Command (1954) • The Boy from Oklahoma (1954) • Riding Shotgun (1954) • The Bounty Hunter (1954) • Drum Beat (1954) • Track of the Cat (1954) • Strange Lady in Town (1955) • Tall Man Riding (1955) • The Lone Ranger (1956) • The Searchers (1956) • Seven Men from Now (1956) • Giant (1956) • The Big Land (1957) • Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend (1957) • Black Patch (1957) • Fort Dobbs (1958) • The Left Handed Gun (1958) • Badman's Country (1958) • Born Reckless (1958) • The Hanging Tree (1959) • Rio Bravo (1959) • Westbound (1959) • Yellowstone Kelly (1959) • Guns of the Timberland (1960) • Sergeant Rutledge (1960) • Gold of the Seven Saints (1961) • The Singer Not the Song (1961) • 4 for Texas (1963) • A Distant Trumpet (1964) • Cheyenne Autumn (1964) • Murieta (1965) • Flaming Frontier (1965) • A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966) • Bonnie and Clyde (1967) • Firecreek (1968) • The Wild Bunch (1969) • The Valley of Gwangi (1969) • The Great Bank Robbery (1969) • The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970) • The Cowboys (1972) • Jeremiah Johnson (1972) • The Train Robbers (1973) • The Deadly Trackers (1973) • Blazing Saddles (1974) • Tom Horn (1980) • The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie (1981) • Honkytonk Man (1982) • Pale Rider (1985) • Unforgiven (1992) • Pure Country (1992) • Made in America (1993) • Maverick (1994) • Wyatt Earp (1994) • Almost Heroes (1998) • Wild Wild West (1999) • American Outlaws (2001) • Jonah Hex (2010) Figures/Characters Calamity Jane • Wild Bill Hickok Locations

v - e - d
Lists Films by decade: 1910s-1920s (List) • 1930s (List) • 1940s (List) • 1950s (List) • 1960s (List) • 1970s (List) • 1980s (List) • 1990s (List) • 2000s (List) • 2010s (List) • 2020s (List) See also