The Wilhelm Scream

Posted on October 18, 2007
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It is everywhere. It is in your favorite film and TV series and you don’t even know it. It is in all the Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies. It is in animated films such as Toy Soldiers and Over The Hedge but you never noticed. It is the Wilhelm Scream sound bite. It was first recored in 1951 for the film Distant Drums. It was recorded as a sound effect for “a man being bitten by an alligator.” It got its name when it was used as the scream for a cowboy (named Wilhelm) getting hit with an Indian arrow on the leg; that was for a 1953 film titled The Charge at Feather River.

Get the lowdown of the history behind the Wilhelm Scream and how it has penetrated film production for decades from one of the masters in audio production for movies.

And if you don’t believe that this sound bite has found its way in so many, vastly popular movies, then watch the following compilation of scenes featuring the Wilhelm Scream. And by the way, the scream has been used in all three Lord Of The Rings Movies and last summer’s blockbuster Transformers.