Pacific Treefrog Calling Sounds Used Incorrectly In Movies
Every kind of frog and toad makes its own unique calling sound during its breeding season. The sound made by the Pacific Treefrog, which can only be heard in western North America, has been used as the background frog calling sound for night scenes or scenes near water since sound was first added to movies, in movies set all around the world.
We also frequently hear the sound of the Pacific Treefrog when we see another kind of frog on screen that should be making a completely different sound.
(You can hear a small chorus of Pacific Treefrogs here: http://www.californiaherps.com/sounds/ptfrogsimdb.mp3)
Most sounds in movies are recorded then added to the movie soundtrack. Pacific Treefrogs are the frogs most often heard at night in southern California where most movies used to be made, so when Hollywood sound recordists went outside the studios at night to record nocturnal sounds to add to movies, they often recorded the calls of Pacific Treefrogs. Those sounds were added later to the soundtracks of many films. Pacific Treefrog sounds also ended up in pre-recorded sound effects tapes, LPs, and CDs used by film sound designers when they needed nighttime background frog sounds.
Pacific Treefrog sounds became what filmmakers and audiences expected to hear outdoors at night when they watched a movie. Since most film sound design is concerned with what the audience expects to hear, not with what they would actually hear at a location in a movie, and since the precedent was already set, the mistake was repeated throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century. If the audience heard the sounds of the frogs that really called in a location outside of the West, they would be confused. Nevertheless, hearing Pacific Treefrog sounds in a movie that is set anywhere outside of the western part of North America is a mistake.
We also frequently hear the sound of the Pacific Treefrog when we see another kind of frog on screen that should be making a completely different sound.
(You can hear a small chorus of Pacific Treefrogs here: http://www.californiaherps.com/sounds/ptfrogsimdb.mp3)
Most sounds in movies are recorded then added to the movie soundtrack. Pacific Treefrogs are the frogs most often heard at night in southern California where most movies used to be made, so when Hollywood sound recordists went outside the studios at night to record nocturnal sounds to add to movies, they often recorded the calls of Pacific Treefrogs. Those sounds were added later to the soundtracks of many films. Pacific Treefrog sounds also ended up in pre-recorded sound effects tapes, LPs, and CDs used by film sound designers when they needed nighttime background frog sounds.
Pacific Treefrog sounds became what filmmakers and audiences expected to hear outdoors at night when they watched a movie. Since most film sound design is concerned with what the audience expects to hear, not with what they would actually hear at a location in a movie, and since the precedent was already set, the mistake was repeated throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century. If the audience heard the sounds of the frogs that really called in a location outside of the West, they would be confused. Nevertheless, hearing Pacific Treefrog sounds in a movie that is set anywhere outside of the western part of North America is a mistake.
List activity
3K views
• 2 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
256 titles
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsWalter MatthauJoe Don BakerFelicia FarrA man, his wife and their friend stage a bloody bank robbery without realizing they are stealing from the Mob.Somewhere in New Mexico at night we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in New Mexico.
- DirectorMartin RittStarsPaul NewmanMelvyn DouglasPatricia NealHonest, hard-working Texas rancher Homer Bannon has a conflict with his unscrupulous, selfish, arrogant, egotistical son Hud, who sank into alcoholism after accidentally killing his brother in a car crash.At night in rural Texas we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Texas.
- DirectorPreston SturgesStarsBarbara StanwyckHenry FondaCharles CoburnA trio of classy card sharks targets a socially awkward brewery heir, until one of them falls in love with him.During scenes at night outside a mansion somewhere in Connecticut we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Connecticut.
- DirectorPeter BogdanovichStarsTimothy BottomsJeff BridgesCybill ShepherdIn 1951, a group of high schoolers come of age in a bleak, isolated, atrophied North Texas town that is slowly dying, both culturally and economically.At night in West Texas when a car is driving by a lake we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Texas.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartWalter HustonTim HoltTwo down-on-their-luck Americans searching for work in 1920s Mexico convince an old prospector to help them mine for gold in the Sierra Madre Mountains.In the mountains of Mexico, during scenes at night we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Mexico outside of Baja California.
- DirectorPreston SturgesStarsClaudette ColbertJoel McCreaMary AstorA New York inventor needs cash to develop his big idea, so his adoring wife decides to raise it by divorcing him and marrying an eccentric Florida millionaire with a capricious high-society sister.During a night in Palm Beach, Florida, we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Florida.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsHarrison FordKelly McGillisLukas HaasWhile protecting an Amish boy - who is the sole witness to a brutal murder - and his mother, a detective is forced to seek refuge within their community when his own life is threatened.Set in Amish country in Northeast of the United State. At night we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling along with other frog sounds. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in that part of the country.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsClark GableClaudette ColbertWalter ConnollyA rogue reporter trailing a runaway heiress for a big story joins her on a bus heading from Florida to New York and they end up stuck with each other when the bus leaves them behind at one of the stops along the way.When a bus stops in the country at night somewhere between Florida and New York we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling. Pacific Treefrogs are not found on the east coast.
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsBrad PittSean PennJessica ChastainThe story of a family in Waco, Texas in 1956. The eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence and struggles with his parents' conflicting teachings.Takes place in Waco Texas but several times we hear choruses of Pacific Treefrogs. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Texas.
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsMartin SheenSissy SpacekWarren OatesAn impressionable teenage girl from a dead-end town, and her older greaser boyfriend, embark on a killing spree in the South Dakota Badlands.We hear choruses of Pacific Treefrogs in the daytime near a river in South Dakota. Pacific Treefrogs are not found South Dakota.
- DirectorCharles VidorStarsRita HayworthGlenn FordGeorge MacreadyA small-time gambler hired to work in a Buenos Aires casino discovers his employer's new wife is his former lover.In Buenos Aires, Argentina, at night we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Argentina.
- DirectorRobert MulliganStarsGregory PeckJohn MegnaFrank OvertonAtticus Finch, a widowed lawyer in Depression-era Alabama, defends a Black man against an undeserved rape charge, and tries to educate his young children against prejudice.The film is set in Alabama. At night we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Alabama.
- DirectorLawrence KasdanStarsWilliam HurtKathleen TurnerRichard CrennaDuring an extreme heatwave, a beautiful Florida woman and a seedy lawyer engage in an affair while plotting the murder of her rich husband.During a heat wave in Florida we hear lots of Pacific Treefrogs calling along with Pig frogs and other native Florida frogs. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Florida.
- DirectorTim Blake NelsonStarsEdward NortonKeri RussellHenry Max NelsonAn Ivy League professor is lured back to his Oklahoma hometown, where his twin brother, a small-time pot grower, has concocted a scheme to take down a local drug lord.During the day at a lake in Oklahoma where Edward Norton is watching Keri Russel noodling for catfish, we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Oklahoma.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsGeorge ClooneyJennifer LopezVing RhamesA career bank robber breaks out of jail, and shares a moment of mutual attraction with a U.S. Marshal he has kidnapped.During a night scene at Glades prison in Florida during a prison break we hear a small chorus of Pacific Treefrogs calling. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Florida.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantJoan FontaineCedric HardwickeA shy young heiress marries a charming gentleman, and soon begins to suspect he is planning to murder her.Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine stop outside her house at night somewhere in England and we hear a chorus of Pacific Treefrogs calling. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in England.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsRichard DreyfussFrançois TruffautTeri GarrRoy Neary, an Indiana electric lineman, finds his quiet and ordinary daily life turned upside down after a close encounter with a UFO, spurring him to an obsessed cross-country quest for answers as a momentous event approaches.At the beginning of the film, at night in Indiana, when small flying saucers are being seen flying near a road, we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Indiana.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsGeorge ClooneyJohn TurturroTim Blake NelsonIn the deep south during the 1930s, three escaped convicts search for hidden treasure while a relentless lawman pursues them.Somewhere in the South, Everett and Delmar wake up on the banks of a stream and find only Pete's clothing spread out on the ground as if he had evaporated. A leopard frog crawls out of Pete's clothing and Delmar thinks it's Pete who has been turned into a "toad" as they continue to call it throughout the movie. As it hops into the water it makes the sound of a Pacific Treefrog. Delmar catches it and keeps it in a box until Big Dan the bible salesman Cyclops squashes the frog in his hand and throws it at a tree. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in the South. Leopard frogs don't sound like Pacific Treefrogs.
- DirectorPreston SturgesStarsEddie BrackenBetty HuttonDiana LynnAfter an all-night send-off party for the troops, a small-town girl with an awkward boyfriend wakes up to find herself married and pregnant, but with no memory of her husband's identity.We hear a chorus of Pacific Treefrogs at night from the front porch and street in the town of Morgan's Creek, and outside of town, which is in an unknown state in the Midwest. At one point, the daughter tells her father she hears a siren and he tells her it's a "tree toad." Pacific Treefrogs are not found in the Midwest.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsPeter SellersElke SommerGeorge SandersInspector Clouseau falls in love with a murder suspect and tries to clear her name.We hear Pacific Treefrogs several times during night scenes at a millionaire's mansion in Paris. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in France.
- DirectorAdrian LyneStarsTim RobbinsElizabeth PeñaDanny AielloMourning his dead child, a haunted Vietnam War veteran attempts to uncover his past while suffering from a severe case of dissociation. To do so, he must decipher reality and life from his own dreams, delusions, and perceptions of death.In the opening scene of helicopters flying at night over the Mekong Delta in Viet Nam we hear a chorus of Pacific Treefrogs calling. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Viet Nam.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsAlan LaddJean ArthurVan HeflinA weary gunfighter in 1880s Wyoming begins to envision a quieter life after befriending a homestead family with a young son who idolizes him, but a smoldering range war forces him to act.During night scenes at a homestead next to a river in Wyoming we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling in the distance. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Wyoming.
- DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsAlisa FreyndlikhAleksandr KaydanovskiyAnatoliy SolonitsynA guide leads two men through an area known as the Zone to find a room that grants wishes.The Writer and the Scientist have just snuck into the Zone with the help of the Stalker. It is morning near water when we hear a few Pacific Treefrogs calling. We hear them once again in daylight when they are farther into the Zone. I don't think we know exactly where the Zone is, but the film was made in Russia by Russians, and Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Russia. I don't know Russian frog calls either, so it's possible there is one that sounds like the PT frog, but that is unlikely.
- DirectorHoward HawksArthur RossonStarsJohn WayneMontgomery CliftJoanne DruDunson leads a cattle drive, the culmination of over 14 years of work, to its destination in Missouri. But his tyrannical behavior along the way causes a mutiny, led by his adopted son.John Waye and Walter Brennan camp next to the Red River on the Texas/Oklahoma border. At night we hear a chorus of Pacific Treefrogs. We hear them later at night when the cattle drive gets back to the Red River and when they are camped in Oklahoma. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Texas or Oklahoma.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneJeffrey HunterVera MilesAn American Civil War veteran embarks on a years-long journey to rescue his niece from the Comanches after the rest of his brother's family is massacred in a raid on their Texas farm.Somewhere in Texas, some men are sneaking up on an Indian camp at night, wading across a small body of water, and we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling, with the typical loud low-pitched one in the foreground. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Texas. And Monument Valley is not found in Texas, either.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesEdward G. RobinsonLoretta YoungAn investigator from the War Crimes Commission travels to Connecticut to find an infamous Nazi.Pacific Treefrogs are heard calling at night in the woods near a small town in Connecticut where they are not found.
- DirectorSamuel FullerStarsLee MarvinMark HamillRobert CarradineA hardened sergeant and the four core members of his infantry unit try to survive World War II as they move from battle to battle throughout Europe.At night at a forest somewhere in Czechoslovakia during the war we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Czechoslovakia.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinMady CorrellAllison RoddanA suave but cynical man supports his family by marrying and murdering rich women for their money, but the job has some occupational hazards.At a house somewhere in France, a maid opens a window at night and we hear the sound of a few Pacific Treefrogs for a few seconds. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in France.
- DirectorJohn SaylesStarsBruce MacDonaldMaggie RenziAdam LeFevreSeven former college friends, along with a few new friends, gather for a weekend reunion at a summer house in New Hampshire to reminisce about the good old days, when they got arrested on the way to a protest in Washington, DC.Pacific Treefrogs are heard calling at night in many scenes. The movie was filmed and probably set in New Hampshire where Pacific Treefrogs are not found.
- DirectorStanley KramerStarsSpencer TracyFredric MarchGene KellyBased on a real-life case in 1925; two great lawyers argue the case for, and against, a Tennessee science teacher accused of the crime of teaching Darwin's theory of evolution.At night in the town of Hillsboro, when the preacher is giving a speech, we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling in the background. The film is based on the Scopes Monkey trial which took place in Dayton, Tennessee, so I assume Hillsboro is in Tennessee. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Tennessee.
- DirectorSteve McQueenStarsChiwetel EjioforMichael Kenneth WilliamsMichael FassbenderIn the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free Black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.At night on a plantation in Georgia, when Solomon goes outside to write a letter, we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Georgia.
- DirectorGeorge McCowanStarsRay MillandSam ElliottJoan Van ArkA group of helpless victims celebrate a birthday on an island estate crawling with killer amphibians, birds, insects, and reptiles.We hear lots of Pacific Treefrogs calling near a lake in Florida. We see Cane Toads -(Rhinella marinus) calling like Pacific Treefrogs, with the calls synced to the movement of the toads' throats as they are breathing to make it look like they're calling. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Florida, and Cane toads do not sound like Pacific Treefrogs.
Other than that, everything else in this film is 100 percent scientifically accurate... ... ... - DirectorFred Olen RayStarsTreat WilliamsMary Page KellerHannes JaenickeMutant snakes survived a terrorist attack on a government laboratory, and they now threaten the town of Santa Mira Springs, California. Seismic activity has brought snakes to the surface, where residents are being bitten. Victims can transmit the virus to healthy persons. The military puts the town under quarantine. Local physicians try to control the epidemic, while the military is primarily concerned with keeping the virus a secret.At a backyard pond at night in the Mojave Desert we see a female bullfrog and hear the sound of a Pacific Treefrog calling, before, Spoiler Alert!, one of the genetically-mutated killer rattlesnakes gets it.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJamie FoxxChristoph WaltzLeonardo DiCaprioWith the help of a German bounty-hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal plantation owner in Mississippi.This film, set mostly in the antebellum South, gets credit for using location-accurate frog calls in most places - Green Treefrogs, Cricket Frogs, Spring Peepers, etc., but they can't resist throwing in some Pacific Treefrogs too. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in the South.
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsRichard GereBrooke AdamsSam ShepardA hot-tempered farm laborer convinces the woman he loves to marry their rich but dying boss so that they can have a claim to his fortune.In the Texas panhandle we see a leopard frog from behind and we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling. Then we hear more PT frogs calling as we see elk feeding in a wetland. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Texas.
- DirectorKim Ki-dukStarsKim Ki-dukOh Yeong-suJong-ho KimA boy is raised by a Buddhist monk in an isolated floating temple where the years pass like the seasons.Pacific Treefrogs are heard at night near an isolated lake somewhere in Korea, where they are not to be found. It's possible there are frogs in Korea with a similar call, but I doubt it.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraKeiko AwajiDuring a sweltering summer, a rookie homicide detective tries to track down his stolen Colt pistol.We hear a chorus of Pacific Treefrogs calling loudly at night at a detective's home in the country near Tokyo, Japan. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Japan.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsJames CoburnKris KristoffersonRichard JaeckelPat Garrett is hired as a lawman on behalf of a group of wealthy New Mexico cattle barons to bring down his old friend Billy the Kid.As several people on a raft float down a river somewhere in New Mexico in daylight we hear a small chorus of Pacific Treefrogs. There are no Pacific Treefrogs in New Mexico.
- DirectorGary RossStarsJennifer LawrenceJosh HutchersonLiam HemsworthKatniss Everdeen voluntarily takes her younger sister's place in the Hunger Games: a televised competition in which two teenagers from each of the twelve Districts of Panem are chosen at random to fight to the death.We hear Pacific Treefrogs calling in the background in the countryside during the games. The location where the games are held is not mentioned, but it does not seem to be west of the Rocky Mountains where these frogs occur. Some people think the location is in Canada, and PT frogs do occur on the west coast of Canada, but that is doubtful since the Capital is in the Rockies, and Katniss' district is in the Appalachians.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsGary CooperDorothy McGuireAnthony PerkinsThe pacifist attitude of a Quaker family is tested as a result of the American Civil War.Gary Cooper and his family are Quakers who live on a farm in southern Indiana. At night we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Indiana.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsSterling HaydenLouis CalhernJean HagenA major heist goes off as planned, but then double crosses, bad luck and solid police work cause everything to unravel.This takes place somewhere close to Cleveland and Kentucky, probably east of the Mississippi River. When a man dumps a corpse in a river at night, we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling. Pacific Treefrogs do not occur east of the Rocky Mountains.
- DirectorPhil KarlsonStarsJohn PayneColeen GrayPreston FosterAn ex-con trying to go straight is framed for a million dollar armored car robbery and must go to Mexico in order to unmask the real culprits.At night, a thug jumps off a getaway truck that drove into the country from Kansas City and we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Missouri or Kansas.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsBette DavisHenry FondaGeorge BrentIn 1850s Louisiana, a free-spirited Southern belle loses her fiancé due to her stubborn vanity and pride, and vows to win him back.We see Bette Davis walking through a swamp at night somewhere near New Orleans, and, in a lousy example of sound design, we hear a single Pacific Treefrog Calling and repeated again and again. After a series of calls, there is an unnatural sound as if the frog was cut off in mid call, making it obvious that the sound effect was looped. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Louisiana.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsPaul MuniGale SondergaardJoseph SchildkrautThe biopic of the famous French muckraking writer and his involvement in fighting the injustice of the Dreyfus Affair.At night in Paris Emile Zola runs down stairs after a woman who jumped into the Seine. We hear Pacific Treefrogs in the background when he talks to a homeless man. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in France.
- DirectorBarbara LodenStarsBarbara LodenMichael HigginsDorothy ShupenesWanda, a lonely housewife, drifts through mining country until she meets a petty thief who takes her in.We hear Pacific Treefrogs calling at night in Pennsylvania where Pacific Treefrogs are not found.
- StarsRobert DuvallTommy Lee JonesDanny GloverTwo former Texas Rangers renew their spirit of adventure as they and several other residents of a small Texas town join a cattle drive to the Montana Territory.We hear Pacific Treefrog calling sounds at night outside a saloon in Lonesome Dove in south Texas, and also at night somewhere in east Texas. Pacific Treefrogs are not found anywhere in Texas.
- DirectorCharles B. PierceStarsWillie E. SmithJohn P. HixonVern StiermanA documentary-style drama about the "Fouke Monster", a Bigfoot-type creature that has been sighted in and around Fouke, Arkansas since the 1950s.We hear bullfrogs and Pacific Treefrogs calling from an Arkansas swamp. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Arkansas.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsSylvia SidneyHenry FondaBarton MacLaneThe public defender's secretary and an ex-convict get married and try to make a life together, but a series of disasters sends their lives spiraling out of control.Henry Fonda and his new wife are honeymooning outside their hotel room at night somewhere in a rural area outside a big city. We hear Pacific Treefrogs calling, but when we see several frogs, which are supposed to be the ones we hear calling, we see American Bullfrogs, not Pacific Treefrogs. We don't know exactly where the couple is staying, but they must be somewhere on the east coast where Pacific Treefrogs do not occur, because they had the option to get on a boat to Havana and they were trying to cross the Canadian border. The only other possible place is Washington State, but it's very unlikely they could catch a boat to Cuba from there in 1936. At any rate, bullfrogs do not sound anything like Pacific Treefrogs.
- DirectorAlejandro JodorowskyStarsAlejandro JodorowskyHoracio SalinasZamira SaundersIn a corrupt, greed-fueled world, a powerful alchemist leads a messianic character and seven materialistic figures to the Holy Mountain, where they hope to achieve enlightenment.In Mexico, we see a large Ranid frog hopping and we hear it making the sound of the Pacific Treefrog. At a circus street performance depicting the conquest of Mexico using horned lizards dressed as Aztecs and Cane toads dressed as conquistadors and monks, a man holds up a Cane Toad dressed as a monk and it makes the sound of a Pacific Treefrog. In Mexico, Pacific Treefrogs are only found in Baja California, where this film does not take place, and Cane toads sound nothing like Pacific Treefrogs.
- DirectorGuy HamiltonStarsRoger MooreYaphet KottoJane SeymourJames Bond is sent to stop a diabolically brilliant heroin magnate armed with a complex organisation and a reliable psychic tarot card reader.We hear Pacific Treefrogs calling on the Caribbean island of San Monique After James Bond hang glides from a boat to the top of a cliff and a few times after that. We also hear them calling in Louisiana. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in the Caribbean or in Louisiana.
- DirectorNorman Z. McLeodStarsGroucho MarxHarpo MarxThe Marx BrothersOn a transatlantic crossing, The Marx Brothers get up to their usual antics and manage to annoy just about everyone on board the ship.We hear the sounds of a group of Pacific Treefrogs that are supposed to be the croaking sound of a single frog that is a different species from the Pacific Treefrog.
- DirectorAndrew DavisStarsShia LaBeoufSigourney WeaverJon VoightA wrongfully convicted boy is sent to a brutal desert detention camp where he joins the job of digging holes for some mysterious reason.At the top of a mountain called God's Thumb in Texas there is a pond where we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Texas.
- DirectorEdmund GouldingStarsTyrone PowerJoan BlondellColeen GrayThe rise and fall of Stanton Carlisle, a mentalist whose lies and deceit prove to be his downfall.The film takes place in Chicago and at carnivals in the area. In one scene we see several vagrants drinking alcohol below a wooden railroad bridge and hear Pacific Treefrogs calling in the background. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in the midwest.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsKirk DouglasHenry FondaHume CronynA charming but totally ruthless criminal is sent to a remote Arizona prison. He enlists the help of his cellmates in an escape attempt with the promise of sharing his hidden loot.One evening in a town not too far from an Arizona territorial prison, we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling. Pacific Treefrogs are only found in a very small area of Arizona near the Colorado River, so this use of their sounds is most likely inappropriate.
- DirectorJuan IbáñezJack HillStarsBoris KarloffJulissaCarlos EastEvil scientist runs a veritable army of LSD crazed zombies.On a remote island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling at night throughout the movie. Pacific Treefrogs are not found on remote islands in the middle of the Pacific.
- DirectorJack HillStarsRoberta CollinsPam GrierJudith BrownBeautiful female prisoners are abused in a Philippine prison until five of them plot an escape by taking the evil female warden hostage with reluctant help from two male fruit vendors.At the prison gate at night in the Phillipines we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in the Phillipines.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsSteve McQueenKarl MaldenBrian KeithA half-American Indian and half-white teenager evolves into a hardened killer as he tracks down his parents' murderers.At a campfire at night we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling. The film was made in The Eastern Sierra Nevada and Owens Valley, but the location was supposed to be a mining area in Texas or maybe Oklahoma, somewhere near where the Native American Kiowa people lived. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in that area.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsBen AffleckRosamund PikeNeil Patrick HarrisWith his wife's disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it's suspected that he may not be innocent.We hear Pacific Treefrogs calling several times at night in the fictional town of North Carthage, Missouri, and at a house on a lake, which had to be fairly close to Missouri. Pacific Treefrogs are not found anywhere near Missouri.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsMaureen O'HaraBrian KeithSteve CochranAn ex-army officer accidentally kills a woman's son and tries to make up for it by escorting the funeral procession through dangerous Indian territory.When the main characters in the movie are camped at night next to a body of water somewhere in Apache country, most likely Arizona where it was filmed, we hear one or two Pacific Treefrogs calling. Pacific Treefrogs are not found anywhere in Apache country.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsJoan BennettMichael RedgraveAnne RevereAfter a lovely woman and her new husband settle in an ancient mansion on the East coast, she discovers that he may want to kill her.During night scenes at a wishing well and a honeymoon hotel in Mexico we hear a distant chorus of Pacific Treefrogs. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Mexico, except for Baja California.
- DirectorPaul Michael GlaserStarsStephen LangMichael CarmineLauren HollyFive juvenile lost causes are sent to the Everglades where a war veteran tries to reform them using survival tactics. Their new skills and resolve are tested when a Miami drug lord targets them for trying to clean up their neighborhood.We hear Pacific Treefrogs calling at night in the Florida Everglades. Pacific Treefrogs are not found anywhere in Florida.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsCharles BronsonLee RemickDonald PleasenceA Russian officer is sent to the U.S. to try and stop sleeper agents who will mindlessly attack government entities when they hear certain coded words.We hear Pacific Treefrogs calling at night outside a bar in a fictional town named Halderville which is supposed to be somewhere in the Texas countryside. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Texas.
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsMarlene DietrichBrian AherneLionel AtwillLily falls in love with the sculptor who leaves her out of fear of commitment.When Dietrich and her boyfriend stop at a lake which is supposed to be near Berlin, we hear some single warm-up chirps of Pacific Treefrogs that were probably natural background sounds at the California location that were recorded with the dialogue because they are few and inconsistent. Regardless of how the sounds got into the movie, Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Germany.
- DirectorRobert RossenStarsJohn GarfieldLilli PalmerHazel BrooksA talented boxer's young career hits difficult terrain when an unethical promoter takes interest in him.This great boxing film opens with Pacific Treefrogs calling at night at a boxer's outdoor training ring a short drive outside of New York City. Pacific Treefrogs are not found within at least a thousand miles of New York City.
- DirectorClarence BrownStarsGregory PeckJane WymanClaude Jarman Jr.A boy persuades his parents to allow him to adopt a young deer, but what will happen if the deer misbehaves?We hear Pacific Treefrogs calling at a swamp in Florida and at the family cabin. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Florida.
- DirectorGerardo de LeonStarsJudith BrownRoberta CollinsJennifer GanAmerican women prisoners in a foreign country. Sex and action.We hear a chorus of Pacific Treefrogs at night outside a prison in the Phillipines. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in the Phillipines.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsMel GibsonJodie FosterJames GarnerBret Maverick, needing money for a poker tournament, faces various comic mishaps and challenges, including a charming woman thief.Next to a stream at night somewhere in the west less than 4 days ride from St. Louis, we hear PT frogs calling. This location is surely outside the range of the Pacific Treefrog.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneHenry FondaShirley TempleAt Fort Apache, an honorable and veteran war captain finds conflict when his regime is placed under the command of a young, glory hungry lieutenant colonel with no respect for the local Indian tribe.At night at Fort Apache in Apache territory in Arizona Territories we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in that area.
- DirectorStanley KramerStarsTony CurtisSidney PoitierCara WilliamsTwo chained-together escaped convicts, White and Black, must learn to get along in order to elude capture.We hear Pacific Treefrogs calling several times when two convicts are travelling at night through a swampy area somewhere in the South. Pacific Treefrogs are not found anywhere in the South.
(The exact location is not mentioned, and the film was shot on location in Calfornia, but by the accents of the characters and the mentions of shipping turpentine north and the depiction of a turpentine camp, the location is somewhere in the South, where turpentine was distilled from tree resin.) - DirectorLewis John CarlinoStarsRobert DuvallBlythe DannerMichael O'KeefeAs he approaches manhood, Ben Meechum struggles to win the approval of his demanding alpha male father, an aggressively competitive, but frustrated Marine pilot.When a boy jumps into the water to escape some angry bees at night in South Carolina, we hear a chorus of Pacific Treefrogs calling. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in South Carolina.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneWilliam HoldenConstance TowersIn 1863, a Union outfit is sent behind Confederate lines in Mississippi to destroy enemy railroads but a captive southern belle and the unit's doctor cause frictions within ranks.When Union cavalry soldiers descend into a swamp in Mississippi, we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling along with many other exaggerated sound effects. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Mississippi.
- DirectorErnest B. SchoedsackStarsAlbert DekkerThomas ColeyJanice LoganA mad scientist working in the South American jungle miniaturizes his colleagues when he feels his megalomania is threatened.We hear Pacific Treefrogs calling at night in South America. Pacific Treefrogs are only found in western North America.
- DirectorTed PostStarsClint EastwoodInger StevensPat HingleWhen an innocent man barely survives a lynching, he returns as a lawman determined to bring the vigilantes to justice.The movie is set in Oklahoma where there are no Pacific Treefrogs, but we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling at night in two scenes.
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsMarie WindsorCarole MathewsBeverly GarlandAn undercover policewoman helps three female convicts escape from prison so that they can lead her to a stash of stolen diamonds hidden in a swamp.Pacific Treefrogs call for most of the movie as 4 escaped female convicts boat through a Louisiana swamp, where Pacific Treefrogs are not found.
- DirectorKing VidorOtto BrowerWilliam DieterleStarsJennifer JonesJoseph CottenGregory PeckBeautiful, biracial Pearl Chavez becomes the ward of her dead father's first love and finds herself torn between two brothers, one good and the other bad.We hear Pacific Treefrogs calling in the evening at a swimming hole in Texas. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Texas.
- DirectorBurt KennedyStarsJohn WayneAnn-MargretRod TaylorA gunhand named Lane is hired by a widow, Mrs. Lowe, to find gold stolen by her husband so that she may return it and start fresh.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsJohn WayneAnthony QuinnBeulah BondiIn 1942, after the fall of the Philippines to the Japanese, U.S. Army Col. Joseph Madden stays behind to organize the local resistance against the Japanese invaders.
- DirectorStuart MillarStarsJohn WayneKatharine HepburnAnthony ZerbeMarshal Rooster Cogburn unwillingly teams up with Eula Goodnight to track down her father's murderers.
- DirectorFrank MarshallStarsLaura LinneyTim CurryDylan WalshWhen an expedition to the African Congo ends in disaster, a new team is assembled to find out what went wrong.
- DirectorRay TaylorStarsEvalyn KnappCraig ReynoldsJames DurkinA famous scientist and his beautiful daughter travel to Indochina to find an ivory disc that has the formula for a deadly gas engraved on it. An evil doctor and his gang are also looking for it.We hear Pacific Treefrogs calling in the African Jungle, thousands of miles from where they are found.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsBurt LancasterBruce DavisonJorge LukeAfter fierce war chief Ulzana and a small war party jump the reservation bent on murder and terror, an inexperienced young lieutenant is assigned to track him down.We hear Pacific Treefrogs calling at night in several scenes which take place in Chiricahua Apache country in Arizona where there are no Pacific Treefrogs.
- DirectorElmo WilliamsStarsLloyd BridgesLee J. CobbMarie WindsorA group of travelers in the Southwest band together to search for gold on Indian burial grounds. Convict Ben Trask attempts to maintain order within the group as they are faced with greed and danger.We hear Pacific Treefrogs calling at night in several scenes by a creek in New Mexico where there are no Pacific Trefrogs.
- DirectorBudd BoetticherStarsRandolph ScottKaren SteelePernell RobertsA bounty hunter (Randolph Scott) escorts a killer (James Best) to be tried for murder, but allows the man's outlaw brother (Lee Van Cleef) to catch up with them to have a showdown over a previous shocking murder.We hear Pacific Treefrogs calling by a river at night somewhere in Arizona where they don't occur.
(They are so faint in the background that it's possible they were actually calling in the background when the dialogue was recorded on the set since the film was made in the Owens Valley.) - DirectorJohn GillingStarsNoel WillmanJennifer DanielRay BarrettIn a Cornish village, various locals die from mysterious snake bites, but the coroner rules the deaths as heart attacks, until a family of newcomers starts an investigation.We hear Pacific Treefrogs calling at night in the UK where they are not found.
- DirectorJohn CromwellW.S. Van DykeStarsRonald ColmanMadeleine CarrollC. Aubrey SmithAn Englishman on a Ruritarian holiday must impersonate the king when the rightful monarch, a distant cousin, is drugged and kidnapped.After dark at a castle on a lake in a country somewhere in Europe, we hear Pacific Treefrogs calling. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Europe.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsBeverly GarlandBruce BennettLon Chaney Jr.A woman in a hypnotic state recounts to two doctors the details of a horrific experience from her past life that began with the mysterious and sudden disappearance of her husband.We hear Pacific Treefrogs calling at night several times from a swamp in Louisiana. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in Louisiana.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsSean ConneryBrigitte BardotStephen BoydIn 1880 New Mexico, a group of European hunters runs afoul of the Apache but is aided by an ex-cavalryman turned guide.We hear Pacific Treefrogs calling at night somewhere on an Apache reservation in New Mexico. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in New Mexico.
- DirectorNicholas RayBudd SchulbergStarsBurl IvesChristopher PlummerChana EdenAn ornithologist battles a family of bird poachers in the Florida Everglades.We hear Pacific Treefrogs calling at night in the Everglades, thousands of miles from where they are found.
- DirectorWilliam Cameron MenziesMarcel VarnelStarsEdmund LoweIrene WareBela LugosiWhen delusional madman Roxor kidnaps a scientist in hopes of using his death ray to achieve world dominance, he is opposed by Chandu, a powerful hypnotist and yogi.We hear Pacific Treegfrogs calling at night from the Nile river in Egypt which is several thousand miles east of their range.
- DirectorCharles BrabinCharles VidorStarsBoris KarloffLewis StoneKaren MorleyEnglishmen race to find the tomb of Genghis Khan before the sinister Fu Manchu does.We hear Pacific Treefrogs calling at night somewhere in China, but they are only found all the way on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.
- DirectorJean RenoirStarsZachary ScottBetty FieldJ. Carrol NaishThe life of the poor Tucker family who worked as cotton pluggers and decided to get their own ground, but nature was against them.We hear Pacific Treefrogs calling in the evening somewhere in the cotton growing region of the South, far from where Pacific Treefrogs are found.
- DirectorCharles BartonStarsJohn WayneMarsha HuntJohnny Mack BrownCan Dare Rudd prove he is responsible enough to win the heart of Judy and also outwit the crooked saloon owner?We hear Pacific Treefrogs calling at night in Wyoming. There are no Pacific Treefrogs in Wyoming.
- DirectorJean NegulescoStarsLana TurnerRichard BurtonFred MacMurrayDespite marital problems, English Lord Albert Esketh and his rich American socialite wife Lady Edwina Esketh travel to India to buy a prize horse from the ruler of Ranchipur.We hear Pacific Treefrogs calling at night in India, halfway around the world from where they occur.
- DirectorVictor FlemingStarsClark GableJean HarlowGene RaymondThe owner of a rubber plantation becomes involved with the new wife of one of his employees.We hear Pacific Treefrogs calling at Clark Gable's rubber plantation in southern Vietnam which is the wrong side of the Pacific Ocean for the frogs.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsGene WilderHarrison FordRamon BieriA Polish rabbi wanders through the Old West on his way to lead a synagogue in San Francisco. On the way, he is nearly burned at the stake by Native Americans and almost killed by outlaws.We hear Pacific Treefrogs calling in the daytime when Gene Wilder crosses a creek somewhere between Pennsylvania and Ohio, far from the native range of these frogs.
- DirectorVictor SchertzingerStarsBing CrosbyBob HopeDorothy LamourStranded in Africa, Chuck and his pal Fearless have comic versions of jungle adventures, featuring two attractive con-women.Pacific Treefrogs call at night somewhere in Africa thousands of miles from where they are found.
- DirectorWilliam A. SeiterStarsCary GrantNancy CarrollRandolph ScottA pretty but virtuous small-town bank clerk is the victim of a vicious rumor from an unsuccessful suitor that she spent the night with a notorious womanizer.Pacific Treefrogs call at night from a lake in Ohio where they are not found. The location of the lake in the story is never specifically mentioned (Lake Arrowhead in California is where it was filmed) but the marriage license we see on screen shows that the female protagonist lives in Cottonwood Grove, Ohio. (The opening of the film calls the town Marysville.)
- DirectorWes CravenStarsBill PullmanCathy TysonZakes MokaeAn anthropologist goes to Haiti after hearing rumors about a drug used by black magic practitioners to turn people into zombies.Pacific Treefrogs call at night in Haiti, thousands of miles from their natural range.
- DirectorBusby BerkeleyStarsDick PowellAdolphe MenjouGloria StuartRomantic antics abound among the guests at a luxury hotel, including a stage director, an eccentric millionaire, and the daughter of a financial backer.In a fountain in the lobby of a luxury hotel at Lake Waxapahachie NH we see a bullfrog that sounds like a Pacific Treefrog. Pacific Treefrogs are not found in New Hampshire and the call of the bullfrog sounds nothing like the call of the Pacific Treefrog.
- DirectorCurt SiodmakStarsBarbara PaytonLon Chaney Jr.Raymond BurrThe owner of a plantation in the jungle marries a beautiful woman. Shortly afterward, he is plagued by a strange voodoo curse which transforms him into a gorilla.Pacific Treefrogs are calling throughout the movie which takes place somewhere in the Amazon - where there are hundreds of species of frogs, but no Pacific Treefrogs.