The Wilhelm Scream: A Short History

[Glen Livingstone]

A favourite in-joke among movie sound editors, the so-called Wilhelm Scream was first heard in Raoul Walsh's 1951 film, Distant Drums when a soldier is bitten by an alligator and screams six times. Two years later the scream was used in another Warner Bros film, The Charge At Feather River when another soldier (named Wilhelm) is shot. It was then used repeatedly in films ranging from Them! to The Green Berets. It was subsequently discovered by Ben Burtt when he was working on the sound effects for the original Star Wars and he made sure that it featured in all of the original trilogy as well as the Raiders Of The Lost Ark films. It has gone on to be used in Poltergeist, Toy Story, Pirates Of The Caribbean, Reservoir Dogs, the Lord Of The Rings trilogy and many more by sound editors aware of its rich heritage. The original scream was probably recorded by musician and actor, Sheb Wooley.

( Courtesy of John Naughton, The Word. )