Narrator: Does this scream sound familiar?
That's because it's used in over 100 films.
It's a movie trope called the Wilhelm Scream.
Jonathan Kuntz: The Wilhelm Scream is maybe
the most famous sound effect in Hollywood,
that is used when characters are shot
or fall off high places in action films.
Narrator: The scream made its first appearance
in a 1951 film called "Distant Drums."
Kuntz: And there's a moment in the film
where a character is dragged into the swamp,
and they wanted a particularly blood-curdling scream.
Narrator: Now, this was just one
of many different screams in the film.
Kuntz: To make a film, you need a sound effects library,
a collection of sound effects.
And you're going to use them in different parts of the film.
Maybe in one part of your action film,
you need a two-second scream,
but in another part of your film,
you might need a one-and-a-half-second
blood-curdling scream.
Narrator: Producers had cast members record
a variety of different screams.
But there was one man's scream in particular
that stood out among the rest.
Kuntz: It's usually credited now to Sheb Wooley,
who was a kind of a western style character actor
and a novelty singer
who appears in "Distant Drums."
Narrator: But its first appearance in 1951
wasn't the scream's shining moment.
That happened when it was used again
in the 1953 film "The Charge at Feather River."
A character named Private Wilhelm was shot in the leg
with an arrow.
Kuntz: And that's how it got named the Wilhelm Scream.
Man: Wilhelm!
Wilhelm: Yeah, I'll just fill my pipe.
Narrator: Since then, the sound has been used
in more than 100 films.
Why?
Well, for one, it's cheaper and easier to reuse
preexisting sound effects.
Kuntz: You have to give credit to Ben Burtt,
the wonderful sound designer,
who's been working on the biggest films in Hollywood
since the 1970s, a close associate of George Lucas.
He is the one who really discovered the Wilhelm Scream
and researched out its origins.
Narrator: Burtt used the scream in a memorable moment
in "Star Wars."
Kuntz: When Luke Skywalker fires at the Stormtrooper.
Narrator: The scream actually appears in all
of the original "Star Wars" films.
Kuntz: And then it became an in-joke.
Narrator: The scream then spread
to many other famous films.
Kuntz: Steven Spielberg picked up on it
and used it in many, many of his films.
And then it just went crazy, of course.
Peter Jackson uses it in "The Lord of the Rings."
It even shows up in "Toy Story" and "Reservoir Dogs."
Narrator: The sound is now famous among film buffs.
Kuntz: I think you can go on YouTube
and see compilations of dozens of Wilhelm screams.
I mean, it has its own Wikipedia entry.
And so, for people that love movies,
this is part of their enjoyment of it,
is finding this little insider detail.