History Main / BangingForHelp

* In ''VideoGame/TownOfSalem'' you can be silenced by the Mafia Blackmailer. Most people's response to this is to spam the Votes to not get hanged when people claim they are suspicious.

* ''Fanfic/RocketshipVoyager''. Captain Janeway is welded inside an autonomous cargo rocket and shot off into a PortalNetwork. On reaching her destination, she has to bang on the rocket's inspection window to be released even through her knuckles are already bruised from her previous efforts to free herself, because she's AlmostOutOfOxygen.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': An interesting variation appears in "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS4E104TheThirtyFathomGrave The Thirty-Fathom Grave]]". A Navy ship finds a sunken WWII submarine making a persistent banging sound, seemingly for help, despite having sunk nearly two decades earlier. The sub's only survivor, now on duty on the ship, thinks that it's his old crew mates calling him "home" and jumps into the Pacific. A diving team discovers that the periscope split in the command room and that likely caused the noise... [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane but the skeletal remains of one of the sailors is holding a hammer]].

* Played unusually in ''Film/{{U 571}}'', as the German captive on their sub isn't BangingForHelp, [[spoiler:he's banging out Morse code: "I am U-571, destroy me."]]

* In the ''Series/CriminalMinds'' episode [[Recap/CriminalMindsS9E1TheInspiration The Inspiration]], the opening victim is tied, gagged, and left to wiggle on the floor, so she kicks and bangs on it to attract the neighbors below. It works, but the killer arrives and convinces his neighbor that his rabbits are making the noise. The victim is later seen murdered by the killer and posed.

* ''Fanfic/RocketshipVoyager''. Captain Janeway is welded inside an autonomous cargo rocket and shot off into a PortalGate. On reaching her destination, she has to bang on the rocket's inspection window to be released even through her knuckles are already bruised from her previous efforts to free herself, because she's AlmostOutOfOxygen.

* ''Film/{{Body}}'': Paralyzed from the neck down and unable to speak above a whisper, Arthur attempt to attract Ben's attention by [[NowThatsUsingYourTeeth using his teeth]] to yank a tray off a table and shatter some glasses. [[spoiler:Ben doesn't hear it.]]

* In the ''Series/CriminalMinds'' episode [[Recap/CriminalMindsS9E1TheInspiration The Inspiration]], the opening victim is tied, gagged and left to wiggle on the floor, so she kicks and bangs on it to attract the neighbors below. It works, but the killer arrives and convinces his neighbor that his rabbits are making the noise. The victim is later seen murdered by the killer and posed.
* In ''Series/TheWorstWitch'' in the episode where Miss Cackle gets tied up, gagged and left in the storage closet, when she sees Mildred and Enid flying in through the passage at the top of the closet, she starts making noise.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': An interesting variation appears in "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS4E104TheThirtyFathomGrave The Thirty-Fathom Grave]]". A Navy ship finds a sunken WWII submarine making a persistant banging sound, seemingly for help, despite having sunk nearly two decades earlier. The sub's only survivor, now on duty on the ship, thinks that it's his old crew mates calling him "home" and jumps into the Pacific. A diving team discovers that the periscope split in the command room and that likely caused the noise... [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane but the skeletal remains of one of the sailors is holding a hammer]].

** In "[[Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS1E6FeedingTime Feeding Time]]", Superman bangs out "SOS" on the pipe that [[VampiricDraining Parasite]] tied him to to get ComicBook/JimmyOlsen's attention. He succeeds.

* ''Series/PersonOfInterest''. In "Relevance", Sameen Shaw goes to meet Veronica Sinclair who might provide some information, not realizing the woman who answers the door is actually Root. She hears a banging during their conversation and goes to investigate, finding the real Veronica BoundAndGagged whereupon Root tasers Shaw on the spot.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': An interesting variation appears in "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS4E104TheThirtyFathomGrave The Thirty-Fathom Grave]]". A Navy ship finds a sunken WWII submarine making a persistant banging sound, seemingly for help, despite having sunk nearly two decades earlier. The sub's only survivor, now on duty on the ship, thinks it's his old crew mates calling him "home" and jumps into the Pacific. A diving team discovers that the periscope split in the command room and that likely caused the noise...[[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane but the skeletal remains of one of the sailors was holding a hammer.]]

* ''Series/{{Wonder Woman|1975}}'': In "Fausta the Nazi Wonder Woman", a bound, gagged, and trapped in a crate Steve Trevor alerts Wonder Woman as to his whereabouts by kicking the crate and mmmmruphing through the gag. She beats up some [[{{Mooks}} mooks]] and rips open the crate to rescue him.

''(knock)''\\
'''Klinger:''' Oh God! He's dead!
* An interesting variation in ''The Twilight Zone'' episode [[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS4E104TheThirtyFathomGrave The Thirty Fathom Grave.]] A Navy ship finds a sunken WWII submarine making a persistant banging sound, seemingly for help, despite having sunk nearly two decades earlier. The sub's only survivor, now on duty on the ship, thinks it's his old crew mates calling him "home" and jumps into the Pacific. A diving team discovers that the periscope split in the command room and that likely caused the noise...[[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane but the skeletal remains of one of the sailors was holding a hammer.]]
* ''Series/TheAvengers'': In the fourth season episode "The Gravediggers", Mrs. Peel gets in with a group of saboteurs (disguised as doctors and nurses at a hospital) by pulling a gun on a "nurse" and leaving her BoundAndGagged on the floor, while she takes her place. The "nurse" manages to knock over a table, which alerts one of the saboteurs, and he frees her, which ends up exposing Mrs. Peel to the other villains.

[[folder:Web Video]]

* The main character of ''What is the What'' does this when burglars tie him up in his own house. To alert his neighbours, he starts by kicking the floor, then moves on to kicking the door, which makes a good deal more noise.

* In the ''Series/CrminalMinds'' episode [[Recap/CriminalMindsS9E1TheInspiration The Inspiration]], the opening victim is tied, gagged and left to wiggle on the floor, so she kicks and bangs on it to attract the neighbors below. It works, but the killer arrives and convinces his neighbor that his rabbits are making the noise. The victim is later seen murdered by the killer and posed.

* In the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' episode "The Misty Mermaid", Misty's sisters do this after being bound, gagged, and stuffed in a closet by Team Rocket, who wanted to take their place in the play that was happening.

* ''[[Series/WonderWoman1975 Wonder Woman]]'': In "Fausta the Nazi Wonder Woman", a bound, gagged, and trapped in a crate Steve Trevor alerts Wonder Woman as to his whereabouts by kicking the crate and mmmmruphing through the gag. She beats up some [[{{Mooks}} mooks]] and rips open the crate to rescue him.

-->'''Klinger:''' Colonel! If you're alive, knock twice!
-->''(knock)''
-->'''Klinger:''' Oh God! He's dead!

The simplest and most common (and often, the only) way to do this is to make noise. Banging on a wall or floor with bound feet, or making noise through a gag, are the most common. If the captive has a bit more freedom of movement, then knocking things over could work, or making a signal of some kind. If the captive is lucky, which happens the majority of the time, it'll be the heroes who hear the noise and come to the rescue. Sometimes, it's instead the villains, who then do a better job of restricting the captive. Other times, there's nobody around to hear the captive's attempts at rescue.

* An interesting variation in ''The Twilight Zone'' episode [[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS4E104TheThirtyFathomGrave The Thirty Fathom Grave.]] A Navy ship finds a sunken WWII submarine making a banging sound, seemingly for help, despite having sunk nearly two decades earlier. The sub's only survivor, now on duty on the ship, thinks it's his old crew mates calling him "home" and jumps into the Pacific. A diving team discovers that the periscope split in the command room and that could have caused the noise...[[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane but the skeletal remains of one of the sailors was holding a hammer.]]