# Listen up you maggots!-- First and Best Drill Instructor Scenes in the Movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 19, 2002, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-up-you-maggots-first-and-best-drill-instructor-scenes-in-the-movies/137536 "2002-11-19T15:51:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-up-you-maggots-first-and-best-drill-instructor-scenes-in-the-movies/137536/1 "2002-11-19T15:51:59Z")
While watching **Hot Shots** on AMC last night, I got to wondering what the first scene featuring the stereotypical barking, sadistic drill instructor was. I figure someone out there knows. In addition, what’s the best drill instructor scene–quotes, of course, are welcome and I believe necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-up-you-maggots-first-and-best-drill-instructor-scenes-in-the-movies/137536/2 "2002-11-19T15:57:38Z")
I think the be-all and end-all of drill instructor scenes will always be R Lee Ermey in Full Metal Jacket. Half the movie is him screaming creative obsceneties at the cadets. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-up-you-maggots-first-and-best-drill-instructor-scenes-in-the-movies/137536/3 "2002-11-19T15:59:07Z")
I don’t know if it was the _first_, but a classic was hard-bitten Lon Chaney (in one of his non-horror roles) trying to make a man out of William Haines in [Tell It to the Marines](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0018471) (1926). ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-up-you-maggots-first-and-best-drill-instructor-scenes-in-the-movies/137536/4 "2002-11-19T17:19:34Z")
Gregory Hines in **Renaissance Man**. For old-school, it would have to be Clint Eastwood getting his Marines into fighting shape in **Heartbreak Ridge**. “Be advised I eat concertina wire and piss napalm, I can put a round through a flea’s ass at 300 yards.” And who could forget Christopher Walken in **Biloxi Blues**? “No, son. You’ve got a problem because you don’t know Army terminology. The place where a U.S. soldier goes to defecate, relieve himself, open his bowel, shit, fart, dump, crap, and unload, is called the latrine. The la-trine, from the French.” ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-up-you-maggots-first-and-best-drill-instructor-scenes-in-the-movies/137536/5 "2002-11-19T17:21:32Z")
Absolutely, without a doubt, Full Metal Jacket. Of course, I’m not an expert or anything, but he’s pretty damned good. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-up-you-maggots-first-and-best-drill-instructor-scenes-in-the-movies/137536/6 "2002-11-19T17:23:11Z")
Lee Marvin in **The Dirty Dozen**. ---
**Author:** ![Bomzaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@Bomzaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bomzaway)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-up-you-maggots-first-and-best-drill-instructor-scenes-in-the-movies/137536/7 "2002-11-19T17:24:50Z")
I thought Damon Wayans in **Major Payne** was good. Of course, it was just an ROTC group. But definitely **Full Metal Jacket**. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-up-you-maggots-first-and-best-drill-instructor-scenes-in-the-movies/137536/8 "2002-11-19T17:29:12Z")
Sgt. Hulka: “You don’t call me ‘sir,’ I WORK for a living!!” Don’t know if it’s the BEST, 'cause I don’t watch many Army movies, but I liked that one. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-up-you-maggots-first-and-best-drill-instructor-scenes-in-the-movies/137536/9 "2002-11-19T17:40:32Z")
I always appreciated [this bit of trivia](http://us.imdb.com/Trivia?0093058) from [IMDB.com](http://IMDB.com): > [@](#): > > Former US Marines Drill Instructor R. Lee Ermey was hired as a consultant on how to drill USMC style. He performed a demonstration on videotape in which he yelled obscene insults and abuse for fifteen minutes without stopping, repeating himself, or even flinching - despite being continuously pelted with tennis balls and oranges. Director Stanley Kubrick was so impressed that he cast Ermey as Gunnery Sergeant Hartmann. . And don’t forget that he reprised his role (same character?) in [The Frighteners](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0116365). ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-up-you-maggots-first-and-best-drill-instructor-scenes-in-the-movies/137536/10 "2002-11-19T18:50:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Doghouse Reilly \* > \*\*And don’t forget that he reprised his role (same character?) in [The Frighteners](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0116365). \*\* I did a bit of cross-checking. He’s also the host of The History Channel’s [Mail Call](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0337552) ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-up-you-maggots-first-and-best-drill-instructor-scenes-in-the-movies/137536/11 "2002-11-19T18:54:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AtomicDog \* > \*\*I did a bit of cross-checking. He’s also the host of The History Channel’s [Mail Call](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0337552) \*\* [here’s](http://www.historychannel.com/mailcall/) a better link. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-up-you-maggots-first-and-best-drill-instructor-scenes-in-the-movies/137536/12 "2002-11-19T19:08:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Doghouse Reilly \* > \*\*I always appreciated [this bit of trivia](http://us.imdb.com/Trivia?0093058) from [IMDB.com](http://IMDB.com): > > . > > And don’t forget that he reprised his role (same character?) in [The Frighteners](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0116365). \*\* And in Toy Story 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-up-you-maggots-first-and-best-drill-instructor-scenes-in-the-movies/137536/13 "2002-11-19T19:15:05Z")
Ermey had three military roles before _Full Metal Jacket_ (_The Boys in Company C, Apocalypse Now_ and _Purple Hearts_) so he wasn’t just hired as a consultant for FMJ and then cast in the movie because he was surprisingly good; he already had some acting experience and had studied drama at the University of Manilla after retiring from the military. I personally thought he was hysterical as the homicidal football coach in _Saving Silverman_ (“They’re corn-holin’ ya?!”) though I found it completely implausible that he could be beaten up by Amanda Peet. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-up-you-maggots-first-and-best-drill-instructor-scenes-in-the-movies/137536/14 "2002-11-19T19:18:51Z")
I thought Lou Gosset Jr. in An Officer and Gentleman was pretty good too. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-up-you-maggots-first-and-best-drill-instructor-scenes-in-the-movies/137536/15 "2002-11-19T19:20:13Z")
Back in 1957, Jack Webb (yep - Sgt. Friday himself) gave a pretty good portrayal in [_The D. I._](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0050283). In 1970, Darrin McGavin did a good job as a D. I. in [_Tribes_](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0066490). Of course, neither performance was as good as R Lee Ermey! That is the film D.I. against which all others must be judged. ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-up-you-maggots-first-and-best-drill-instructor-scenes-in-the-movies/137536/16 "2002-11-19T19:29:42Z")
Darnit, **Poysyn** , I can’t believe I forgot about that one! Yes! ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-up-you-maggots-first-and-best-drill-instructor-scenes-in-the-movies/137536/17 "2002-11-19T19:56:30Z")
Maybe this merits another thread, but what’s your favorite D.I. insult? Movie quotes are good, but a real life example would be even better! For me (paraphrasing): “It looks to me like the best part of you ran down the crack of yo’ mama’s ass and ended up a brown stain on the mattress! I think you been cheated!” ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-up-you-maggots-first-and-best-drill-instructor-scenes-in-the-movies/137536/18 "2002-11-19T19:58:08Z")
From Full Metal Jacket, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-up-you-maggots-first-and-best-drill-instructor-scenes-in-the-movies/137536/19 "2002-11-19T20:12:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Labdad \* > **Back in 1957, Jack Webb (yep - Sgt. Friday himself) gave a pretty good portrayal in [_The D. I._](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0050283).** 😃 I loved that movie. [After private Owens slaps a sand flea while they were supposed to be frozen and motionless, the whole company has to find the sand flea as punishment/busy work. Another private squashed one that bit him, and took it to the D.I. pretending he found the first one] “Private Owens! Was the sand flea that bit you male or female?” “Uh, I think it was male.” [D.I. looks at the flea that the other private brought to him] “That’s the wrong one! Keep looking!” ---
**Author:** ![Firebat023](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a4c791/32.png) [@Firebat023](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Firebat023)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2002, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-up-you-maggots-first-and-best-drill-instructor-scenes-in-the-movies/137536/20 "2002-11-20T00:34:51Z")
I have several for the thread hijack. I graduated MCRD Parris Island October 2001, 3rd Batallion, Mike Company, Platoon 3085. Keep in mind we have three drill instructors: A senior, a heavy, and a third. All of mine were staff sergeants at the time, and all were highly decorated, and I have nothing but respect and awe for men of that caliber. Now that that’s out of the way: these I’m about to recite aren’t in order of humor; they’re as I remember them, chronologically, while I was in training. I apologize for the vulgar swearing. * * * ## Recruit: “Sir, isn’t that a violation of the UCMJ?” Drill Instructor: (Pause) “Mother fucker, I’m about to violate your FACE!” ## Drill Instructor (to my rack mate): “I ain’t some backwards boy you think you can buttfuck.” ## Drill Instructor: “You’re about as fucking smart as a soup sandwich.” ## Drill Instructor: (Calling cadence): “Lefty righty lo…I’m gonna stomp your ass, Camacho” (Recruit who was on the wrong foot) ## Drill Instructor: (Calling cadence): “If you like your pussy tight, stomp your left and drag your right.” (Recruits then stomp the left foot and drag the right one.) ## Recruit: (Choking in gas chamber): Jesus! Drill Instructor: Jesus can’t help you here! ## Recruit: (Cleaning floor): Soap, ooh-rah! Drill Instructor: Shut the fuck up. This ain’t no ooh-rah shit. ## Series Gunnery Sergeant, leading PT: “You all are fat and nasty. Fucking nasty. Too many years of playing the newest video game systems, like the Super Nintendo. That IS the current one out there, isn’t it?” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/listen-up-you-maggots-first-and-best-drill-instructor-scenes-in-the-movies/137536.md?page=2)