The Wilhelm Scream: A Movie Sound You’ve Probably Heard Before

February 29, 2024 Colin Lawson Comments 0 Comment

There’s a scream that appears in many movies, so many infact it would be suprising if you’ve never heard it (even though you might not have realised you’ve heard it many, many times).

It appears in mainly action or sci-fi movies but makes an appearance in horror movies too. It’s a distinctive scream that seems to pop up in many films. This scream is known as the Wilhelm Scream, and it is one of the most famous sound effects in cinema history.

Audio: This scream is known as the Wilhelm Scream, and it is one of the most famous sound effects in cinema history.

But where did this unique and distinctive scream come from, and why is it so widely used? We are going to explore the origins and iconic examples of the Wilhelm Scream.

The Wilhelm Scream is a stock sound effect that has been used in hundreds of films and TV series, beginning in 1951 with the film Distant Drums.

The Very First Wilhelm Scream (Distant Drums, 1951)

The scream is usually used when someone is shot, falls from a great height, or is thrown from an explosion.

The sound is named after Private Wilhelm, a character in The Charge at Feather River, a 1953 Western in which the character gets shot in the thigh with an arrow. This was its first use following its inclusion in the Warner Bros. stock sound library, although The Charge at Feather River was the third film to use the effect. The scream is believed to be voiced by actor Sheb Wooley (who also played the uncredited role of Pvt. Jessup in Distant Drums).

The sound is named after Private Wilhelm, a character in The Charge at Feather River, a 1953 Western in which the character gets shot in the thigh with an arrow.

The Wilhelm Scream originates from a series of sound effects recorded for the 1951 movie Distant Drums. In a scene from the film, soldiers fleeing Seminole Indians are wading through a swamp in the Everglades, and one of them is bitten and dragged underwater by an alligator.

Audio: The Wilhelm Scream originates from a series of sound effects recorded for the 1951 movie Distant Drums.

The screams for that scene, and other scenes in the movie, were recorded later in a single take. The recording was titled “Man getting bit by an alligator, and he screams.” The fifth take of the scream was used for the soldier in the alligator scene. That take, which later became known as the “Wilhelm scream”, is thought to have been voiced by actor Sheb Wooley.

Because the costs of creating sound effects were high at that time, the scream was reused in a number of other Warner Bros. films in that era. In addition to The Charge at Feather River (1953), other films using the scream include A Star Is Born (1954), Them! (1954), Land of the Pharaohs (1955), The Sea Chase (1955), Sergeant Rutledge (1960), PT 109 (1963), The Wild Bunch (1969), and The Green Berets (1968).

The Wilhelm Scream became iconic in popular culture when motion picture sound designer Ben Burtt, who had come across the original recording on a studio archive sound reel, incorporated it into the scene in Star Wars (1977) in which Luke Skywalker shoots a Stormtrooper off a ledge.

The effect is heard as the Stormtrooper is falling. Burtt named the scream after Pvt. Wilhelm, a minor character from The Charge in Feather River who appears to emit the scream, and adopted it as his personal sound signature. Burtt also found use for the effect in More American Graffiti (1979); and over the next decades he incorporated it into other films that he worked on, such as Willow (1988), Gremlins, Anchorman, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Lethal Weapon 4, The Fifth Element and several George Lucas and Steven Spielberg films. Notably, the rest of the Star Wars films made under Lucas, as well as all the Indiana Jones movies included the effect.

Following its use in Star Wars, other sound designers have picked up and used the sound effect in works such as Toy Story (1995), Titanic (1997), Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006), Avatar (2009), Inception (2010), Frozen (2013), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Deadpool (2016) and many more. The Wilhelm Scream has also been used in TV shows such as Doctor Who, The Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park, SpongeBob SquarePants and Rick and Morty.

If you can take it, heres a video containing 12+ minutes of screen examples using the Wilhelm Scream. How many have you seen without realising?

The Wilhelm Scream has become a sort of inside joke among filmmakers and movie fans alike. It is often used as homage to classic films or as a humorous touch to lighten up tense scenes. Some filmmakers have deliberately avoided using it because they feel it is overused or distracting. Others have used it creatively or subtly to enhance their scenes or pay tribute to their influences. For example, James Blake titled his song “The Wilhelm Scream” after the sound effect and sampled it in his track. The song is a cover of the song “Where to Turn” by Blake’s father, James Litherland.

The Wilhelm Scream is a fascinating example of how a simple sound effect can become a cultural phenomenon. It is a testament to the power of sound design and the creativity of filmmakers. It is also a fun way to spot connections and references among different films and genres. The next time you watch a movie, listen carefully and see if you can hear the Wilhelm Scream. You might be surprised by how often it appears.