# "Watermelon, cantalope, watermelon, cantalope, watermelon, cantalope..." **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 12, 2005, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope/316772 "2005-08-12T20:03:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope/316772/1 "2005-08-12T20:03:38Z")
In movie scenes depicting large crowds, it is common practice for extras & background folk who don’t have actual lines of dialogue (but are supposed to be chatting, talking, etc.) to silently or very quietly mouth the words “watermelon, cantalope, watermelon, cantalope…” and on & on. The reason for this is that their characters (as in RL) would be carrying on normal conversations about unrelated subjects. But being mere background, they shouldn’t distract from actual written dialogue being spoken by the central characters. (Were extras allowed to simply improvise dialogue, they run the risk of inadvertanly acting out in character, and thereby causing a distraction.) The infamous ‘mess hall’ scene from **Alien** is one particular instance of this: before the evil little thing bursts out of Kane’s chest, there are some brief shots of the relaxed crew (apparently believing the emergency is over) sitting around eating, smoking cigarettes and shooting the breeze. The first line of actual dialogue is when Parker states (paraphrasing): “this stuff tastes like shit…” Before that, the crewmembers are quietly mouthing the word “watermelon, watermelon, watermelon” over & over again. Check out the brief shot of Tom Skerrit (Dallas) and watch his lips, you’ll see what I mean. Has anyone else ever noticed this, or can cite instances where they’ve noticed this on screen? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope/316772/2 "2005-08-12T20:06:31Z")
I’ll be the first to say that he thought the word for crowds to say was supposed to be “rhubarb”. Someone with experience in the industry will be along shortly to tell me how out of touch I am. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope/316772/3 "2005-08-12T20:09:16Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I’ll be the first to say that he thought the word for crowds to say was supposed to be “rhubarb”. > > Someone with experience in the industry will be along shortly to tell me how out of touch I am. Well, I’ll second that and yield only when that expert does arrive. Has anybody taped such a scene and slowed it down or done other audio isolation on it? ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope/316772/4 "2005-08-12T20:10:00Z")
Is that what that is from? There’s an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Prince of Space?) which features a crowd of men murmuring. Mike and the bots add this bit: “Watermelon.” “Cantelope.” “Bak Choi.” “Cabbage.” There’s also an episode of Duck Dodgers (which is filled with in-jokes) in which the title character attempts to fake an oath in which he includes the line “Watermelon, cantelope, yaddy yada.” Learn something new everyday. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope/316772/5 "2005-08-12T20:13:29Z")
I found [this link](http://www.starsearchcasting.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t537.html) by doing a search for “rhubarb crowd noise” and checked for “rhubarb” with a Find function. Located it under Walla. At least one support for what I remembered. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope/316772/6 "2005-08-12T20:19:41Z")
A trivia book I had as a kid said “Rhubarb” too. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope/316772/7 "2005-08-12T20:22:48Z")
David Gerrold in his book on making “The Trouble With Tribbles” wrote that when he was in on-screen conversations one person would say “nadder nadder nadder” and the other would say “grommish grommish grommish.” ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope/316772/8 "2005-08-12T20:25:38Z")
Mel Brooks lied? I thought it was “hurumph!” ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope/316772/9 "2005-08-12T20:29:12Z")
As defined in the [Glossary of Specialized Terms for Jabootu’s Dimension of Bad Movies](http://www.jabootu.com/glossary.htm): **"Watermelon, watermelon, cantaloupe, cantaloupe" (adj.):** (also the shortened ‘Watermelon, watermelon’) Used to indicate obviously bogus ‘crowd’ murmurings. Taken from the venerable stage tradition of informing extras to say the above to each other to indicate mass communication, so that they wouldn’t ask the director, “What should I say?” This is especially amusing when the ‘watermelon’ noises are overlaid with obviously dubbed-in and spotlighted dialog. EXAMPLE: As in _On Deadly Ground_, when the generic ‘watermelon, watermelon’ sounds of the assembled Press are overlaid with lines like “Answer the questions, you weasel!” ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope/316772/10 "2005-08-12T21:04:44Z")
Here’s [another link](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhubarb) that suggests “rhubarb” is at least in the running. I’ll concede to their being multiple words, phrases and nonsense used in the situation. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope/316772/11 "2005-08-12T21:10:32Z")
I mostly heard that it was “watermelon,” with some kind of reasoning (likely bogus) about the number or variety of syllables lending verissimilitude. ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope/316772/12 "2005-08-12T22:27:28Z")
On stage, we do “Rumpelstiltskin” and “popsicle rhubarb.” The idea is that the more plosives, the better it looks. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope/316772/13 "2005-08-12T22:49:17Z")
A guy I used to work with who, in a former life, tried to make it as an actor in Hollywood, told me that the magic phrase was “Sassafrass and rutabagas”. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope/316772/14 "2005-08-12T22:49:24Z")
I saw a movie once, probably twenty years ago, in which one character is a Hollywood old-timer who’s known in the biz as the World’s Greatest Extra. Another character says, awestruck, “He invented the ‘Courtroom Walla’!” It’s explained that in courtroom dramas, when the verdict is announced, everyone in the courtroom softly says, “walla walla walla,” creating a nice, low-level hum of excitement without anything really discernible in it. I have no idea what film that was in, though. I think I saw it on TV, and I think the scene in question took place in a lunchroom of some kind. Oh, and when I acted in an indie film once, we needed to record some generic background sounds of a roomful of people talking excitedly. The director had seven or eight of us sit in a circle around a microphone and, all at once, complain about our jobs for a few minutes. The effect was pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope/316772/15 "2005-08-12T22:50:55Z")
I learned “Rutabaga” “Watermelon,” were the background fake words ---
**Author:** ![Ludy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Ludy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludy)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope/316772/16 "2005-08-12T23:16:32Z")
When a friend of mine was in school (around grade 3) he was in the choir. He was told by the teacher to mouth “watermelon” instead of singing when they performed. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope/316772/17 "2005-08-12T23:47:22Z")
Nowadays they say badgers badgers badgers badgers mushrom mushroom ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope/316772/18 "2005-08-13T00:31:20Z")
Huh, I learned watermelon marshmallow watermelon marshmallow. I’m sorta sad to realize I wasn’t nearly plosive enough. ---
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope/316772/19 "2005-08-13T00:57:53Z")
This was probably intentional, but a Chinese comedy film had some monks chanting a tongue twister (“Chi1 pu2 tao2 bu4 tu3 pu2 tao2 pi2”, "eating grapes without spitting out the skins) in a funeral sequence. ---
**Author:** ![Phnord\_Prephect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/df705f/32.png) [@Phnord\_Prephect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phnord_Prephect)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope/316772/20 "2005-08-13T02:50:45Z")
Malkovich Malkovich, malkovich malkovich malkovich. Malkovich malkovich malkovich malkovich, malkovich malkovich malkovich malkovich malkovich. Malkovich. Malkovich malkovich! Malkovich malkovich malkovich Malkovich malkovich! Malkovich malkovich Malkovich malkovich. Malkovich malkovich. Malkovich malkovich? Malkovich. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope-watermelon-cantalope/316772.md?page=2)