This was another close race. First runner up, and a very close second, is Marilyn Burns as Sally Hardesty in Texas Chainsaw Massacre. She set the bar as far as modern screamers. You have to be good to steal scenes from characters as over the top as the Sawyer family. She also gets major points for maintaining that blood curdling scream throughout a 27 hour shoot for the dinner table scene. I’ve worked with some great screamers at Netherworld and Blood Oaks, and by the end of a 7 or 8 hour night their voice is shot. 27 FREAKIN” HOURS! Amazing.
The title of best screamer, however, goes to the original scream queen, Fay Wray. She was the first actress to be famous for her scream, and she has yet to be matched. While she had a long and illustrious career, including such great horror flicks as Doctor X, The Vampire Bat, and The Mystery of the Wax Museum, she will always be most fondly remembered for her role as Ann Darrow in King Kong. Her screams throughout that movie will give you chills. She became the template for the damsel in distress, and a big part of that was her epic scream. Come on, someone name me a scream that is as iconic in cinema history as hers? What? That’s right, you can’t! While many can claim the title of Scream Queen, there is only one Queen of the Scream, the legendary Fay Wray.
The proof is in the scream itself though, isn’t it? For those of you who haven’t seen King Kong (not either of the terrible remakes, the original), first of all what the hell is wrong with you, and second here are a couple of clips. The first is a great moment, but they cut that beautiful scream off way to soon. The second is a collection of news stories covering her death in 2004, and her scream can be heard throughout. One listen to that mighty scream, and it’s really no competition. What else needs to be said?
1 comment:
Excellent choice on both accounts.
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