A fun bit of post production trivia…
Back in 1951, a voice actor recorded a series of screams for the Warner Brother’s film “Distant Drums”. One scream in particular was used in a scene where a man is bitten by an alligator. Two years later the scream was again used in the film “Charge at Feather River”. A character named Wilhelm let out the scream this time.
Over the years, the “Wilhelm Scream” has taken on a life of it’s own. Beginning as sort of an inside joke among sound designers and editors, the Wilhelm Scream has found it’s way into over 130 major motion pictures. The list includes the following flicks: All of the Star Wars films, All of the Indiana Jones films, A Star is Born, Poltergeist, Willow, Batman Returns, Toy Story, Lethal Weapon 4, Spider Man, The Lord of the Rings, Kill Bill, Sin City, Madagascar, Fantastic Four, Cars, Tropic Thunder, etc. The list goes on.
Once you’ve heard the scream a few times, you will find yourself spotting it in movies and television productions.
Here is a compliation of the scream in action.
-Scott Meath
