Wilhelm scream
Updated: 5/20/2026, 8:44:11 PM Wikipedia source
The Wilhelm scream is an iconic stock sound effect that has been used in many films, television programs and other media, originating in the 1951 film Distant Drums, where the scream was allegedly voiced by actor Sheb Wooley. The scream is often used in scenarios when someone is shot, falls from a great height or is thrown from an explosion. The scream 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. Pictures stock sound library, although The Charge at Feather River was the third film to use the effect. It was used in all of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films prior to Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm.
References
- The fourth, fifth, and sixth screams recorded in the session were used earlier in the film, reportedly when several Nati
- It was announced in February 2018 that the Star Wars franchise would no longer use the Wilhelm scream, with The Force Aw
- "Le cri de Wilhelm : l'Histoire du son le plus connu du cinéma"https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/le-cri-de-wilhelm-l-histoire-du-son-le-plus-connu-du-cinema-5080909
- Wiredhttps://www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/magazine/15-10/st_scream
- The Timeshttps://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrgggggghhh-v62r36ldbvv
- Hollywood Lost and Foundhttp://www.hollywoodlostandfound.net/wilhelm/index.html
- Timeshttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article524937.ece
- An iconic Hollywood sound effect called the Wilhelm scream was uncovered in an archivehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fm39bUqjqU
- Backstagehttps://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/wilhelm-scream-explained-75982/
- "Origin of iconic sound effect you've probably heard that has appeared in over 400 films"https://www.ladbible.com/entertainment/film/wilhelm-scream-sound-effect-origin-explained-film-384254-20240726
- YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mp_tMV9YoU
- The Vintage Newshttps://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/04/23/wilhelm-scream/
- Classic Movie Hub – CMHhttps://www.classicmoviehub.com/facts-and-trivia/film/the-wild-bunch-1969/page/3/
- The Sounds of Star Warshttps://books.google.com/books?id=oCFlRwAACAAJ
- ABC Newshttps://abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=3728693&page=1
- Uproxxhttps://uproxx.com/hitfix/star-wars-wilhelm-scream/
- Comic Book Resourceshttps://www.cbr.com/star-wars-wilhelm-scream/
- On the Mediahttps://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/128898-wilhelm
- "Preserving the Sunset Editorial Sound Effects Library from the USC Archive"https://blog.freesound.org/?p=1515
- Internet Archivehttps://blog.archive.org/2023/05/20/crash-bark-boom-the-usc-sound-effects-library/