Wilhelm scream
Encyclopedia
The Wilhelm scream is a film and television stock sound effect first used in 1951 for the film Distant Drums
. The effect gained new popularity (its use often becoming an in-joke
) after it was used in Star Wars
and many other blockbuster films as well as television programs and video games. The scream is often used when someone is shot, falls from a great height, or is thrown from an explosion.
The sound is named for Private Wilhelm, a character in The Charge at Feather River
, a 1953 western
in which the character is shot with an arrow. This was believed to be the third movie to use the sound effect and its first use from the Warner Brothers stock sound library.
. In a scene from the film, soldiers are wading through a swamp in the Everglades
, and one of them is bitten and dragged underwater by an alligator
. The scream for that scene was recorded later in a single take, along with five other short pained screams, which were slated as "man getting bit by an alligator, and he screams." The fifth scream was used for the soldier in the alligator scene—but the 4th, 5th, and 6th screams recorded in the session were also used earlier in the film—when three Indians are shot during a raid on a fort. Although takes 4 through 6 are the most recognizable, all of the screams are referred to as "Wilhelm", by those in the sound community.
, who discovered the original recording (which he found as a studio reel labeled "Man being eaten by alligator") and incorporated it into a scene in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
. Burtt is credited with naming the scream after Private Wilhelm (see The Charge at Feather River
). Over the next decade, Burtt began incorporating the effect in other films he worked on, including most projects involving George Lucas
or Steven Spielberg
. (It is used in all of the Star Wars
and Indiana Jones
movies.) Other sound designers picked up on the effect, and inclusion of the sound in films became a tradition among the community of sound designers.
Research by Burtt suggests that actor and singer Sheb Wooley
, best known for his novelty song "The Purple People Eater" in 1958 and as scout Pete Nolan on the television series Rawhide
, is likely to have been the voice actor who originally performed the scream. This has been supported by an interview in 2005 with Linda Dotson, Wooley's widow. Burtt discovered records at Warner Brothers from the editor of Distant Drums including a short list of names of actors scheduled to record lines of dialogue for miscellaneous roles in the movie. Wooley played the uncredited role of Private Jessup in Distant Drums, and was one of the few actors assembled for the recording of additional vocal elements for the film. Wooley performed additional vocal elements, including the screams for a man being bitten by an alligator. Dotson confirmed that it was Wooley's scream that had been in so many westerns, adding, "He always used to joke about how he was so great about screaming and dying in films."
, and Quentin Tarantino
, include it in almost every one of their productions. One of the most recent high-profile uses was in the 2011 Joe Johnston
movie Captain America: First Avenger, let loose by a dying HYDRA soldier during the motorcycle chase through the forest.
Distant Drums
Distant Drums is a 1951 film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Gary Cooper. It is set during the Second Seminole War in the 1840s, with Cooper playing an Army captain who destroys a fort held by the Seminole Indians then retreats into the Everglades while under chase.The actual location of the...
. The effect gained new popularity (its use often becoming an in-joke
In-joke
An in-joke, also known as an inside joke or in joke, is a joke whose humour is clear only to people who are in a particular social group, occupation, or other community of common understanding...
) after it was used in Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
and many other blockbuster films as well as television programs and video games. The scream is often used when someone is shot, falls from a great height, or is thrown from an explosion.
The sound is named for Private Wilhelm, a character in The Charge at Feather River
The Charge at Feather River
The Charge at Feather River is a 1953 Western film directed by Gordon Douglas, was originally released in 3D with lots of arrows, lances, and other weapons flying directly at the audience in several scenes....
, a 1953 western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
in which the character is shot with an arrow. This was believed to be the third movie to use the sound effect and its first use from the Warner Brothers stock sound library.
History
The sound effect originates from a series of sound effects recorded for the 1951 film Distant DrumsDistant Drums
Distant Drums is a 1951 film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Gary Cooper. It is set during the Second Seminole War in the 1840s, with Cooper playing an Army captain who destroys a fort held by the Seminole Indians then retreats into the Everglades while under chase.The actual location of the...
. In a scene from the film, soldiers are wading through a swamp in the Everglades
Everglades
The Everglades are subtropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large watershed. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee...
, and one of them is bitten and dragged underwater by an alligator
Alligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
. The scream for that scene was recorded later in a single take, along with five other short pained screams, which were slated as "man getting bit by an alligator, and he screams." The fifth scream was used for the soldier in the alligator scene—but the 4th, 5th, and 6th screams recorded in the session were also used earlier in the film—when three Indians are shot during a raid on a fort. Although takes 4 through 6 are the most recognizable, all of the screams are referred to as "Wilhelm", by those in the sound community.
Revival
The Wilhelm scream's revival came from motion picture sound designer Ben BurttBen Burtt
Benjamin "Ben" Burtt, Jr. is an American sound designer who has worked on various films including: the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series, Invasion of the Body Snatchers , E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , and WALL-E...
, who discovered the original recording (which he found as a studio reel labeled "Man being eaten by alligator") and incorporated it into a scene in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
. Burtt is credited with naming the scream after Private Wilhelm (see The Charge at Feather River
The Charge at Feather River
The Charge at Feather River is a 1953 Western film directed by Gordon Douglas, was originally released in 3D with lots of arrows, lances, and other weapons flying directly at the audience in several scenes....
). Over the next decade, Burtt began incorporating the effect in other films he worked on, including most projects involving George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
or Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
. (It is used in all of the Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
and Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones
Colonel Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., Ph.D. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
movies.) Other sound designers picked up on the effect, and inclusion of the sound in films became a tradition among the community of sound designers.
Research by Burtt suggests that actor and singer Sheb Wooley
Sheb Wooley
Shelby F. "Sheb" Wooley was a character actor and singer, best known for his 1958 novelty song "Purple People Eater"...
, best known for his novelty song "The Purple People Eater" in 1958 and as scout Pete Nolan on the television series Rawhide
Rawhide (TV series)
Rawhide is an American Western series that aired for eight seasons on the CBS network on Friday nights, from January 9, 1959 to September 3, 1965, before moving to Tuesday nights from September 14, 1965 until January 4, 1966, with a total of 217 black-and-white episodes...
, is likely to have been the voice actor who originally performed the scream. This has been supported by an interview in 2005 with Linda Dotson, Wooley's widow. Burtt discovered records at Warner Brothers from the editor of Distant Drums including a short list of names of actors scheduled to record lines of dialogue for miscellaneous roles in the movie. Wooley played the uncredited role of Private Jessup in Distant Drums, and was one of the few actors assembled for the recording of additional vocal elements for the film. Wooley performed additional vocal elements, including the screams for a man being bitten by an alligator. Dotson confirmed that it was Wooley's scream that had been in so many westerns, adding, "He always used to joke about how he was so great about screaming and dying in films."
Usage
The Wilhelm scream has become a cinematic sound cliche, and by 2011 had been used in many instances, including over 225 movies, television shows and video games (and video game adverts). Some directors, most notably George LucasGeorge Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
, and Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
, include it in almost every one of their productions. One of the most recent high-profile uses was in the 2011 Joe Johnston
Joe Johnston
Joseph Eggleston "Joe" Johnston II is an American film director and former effects artist best known for such effects-driven movies as Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Jumanji, The Rocketeer, Jurassic Park III, the period drama October Sky, The Wolfman, and Captain America: The First Avenger.- Life and...
movie Captain America: First Avenger, let loose by a dying HYDRA soldier during the motorcycle chase through the forest.
Popular culture
- Hardcore PunkHardcore punkHardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
band A Wilhelm ScreamA Wilhelm ScreamA Wilhelm Scream is a melodic hardcore band from New Bedford, Massachusetts. Many people have referenced Strung Out, Hot Water Music, Propagandhi, and Strike Anywhere as the band's similar artists. Their name is a reference to the Wilhelm Scream, a famous stock sound effect which mainly is used in...
derived their name from this. - "The Wilhelm ScreamThe Wilhelm Scream"The Wilhelm Scream" is a song by British musician James Blake, released on his self-titled debut album. It is a cover of the song "Where to Turn" by James Litherland, Blake's father...
" is a (renamed) cover by musician James BlakeJames Blake (musician)James Blake is a British electronic music producer and singer-songwriter from London, UK. On 6 January 2011, Blake was announced as runner-up in BBC's Sound of 2011 poll...
. The original song was titled "Where to Turn", and was written by his father, James LitherlandJames LitherlandJames Litherland is an English singer and guitarist. He was born in Salford, England. He is the father of singer/producer James Blake.-Discography:With Colosseum*Those Who Are About To Die Salute You – 1968*Valentyne Suite – 1969...
. - Math RockMath rockMath rock is a rhythmically complex guitar-based style of experimental rock that emerged in the 1980s and that was very influenced by progressive rock like King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Henry Cow - and 20th century composers such as Steve Reich and John Cage...
band We Be The EchoWe Be the EchoWe Be the Echo is an American instrumental rock band from San Francisco. They play a blend of math rock, brutal prog, punk, jazz and heavy metal with dub influenced bass lines. The band's sound is based on melodic and rhythmically challenging short songs that often incorporate shred guitar...
wrote a song titled "Wilhelm Scream Dream Team", which features several instances of the scream. - "Weird Al" Yankovic"Weird Al" YankovicAlfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
's video for "Perform This WayPerform This Way"Perform This Way" is a song parody by American musician "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a parody of "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga. The lyrics are told from the point of view of Gaga and describe her performance style and fashion sense...
" features a Wilhelm scream at roughly the 0:35 mark.
External links
- Times article in which Sheb Wooley's widow states her belief that her husband was the man behind the scream
- Radio report about the Wilhelm scream, with transcript and audio examples of uses of the scream
- History at Hollywood Lost and Found
- Movies incorporating the Wilhelm scream
- Free Download - Wilhelm Scream Sample (1951)
- Video showing movies with the Wilhelm Scream