WEBVTT - What Is the Wilhelm Scream?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio, Hey Brainstuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Vogelbaum. Here in nineteen seventy seven's Star Wars Episode four,

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<v Speaker 1>a new Hope Luke Skywalker at one point blasts a

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<v Speaker 1>stormtrooper who falls to his death. As the henchman plummets,

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<v Speaker 1>he unleashes a blood curdling scream, a scream that would

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<v Speaker 1>eventually become famous and featured in hundreds of Hollywood films.

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<v Speaker 1>It even has its own name, the Wilhelm Scream. Here,

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<v Speaker 1>we'll play it for you in case you're unfamiliar. Sound familiar?

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<v Speaker 1>So what is this odd scream? And why would a

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<v Speaker 1>death yell find its way into so many different movies?

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<v Speaker 1>We spoke with Mike Miller, a film editor based in Ventora, California.

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<v Speaker 1>He explained the Wilhelm Scream is nineteen fifties a d

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<v Speaker 1>R or automated dialogue replacement recording for a B movie

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<v Speaker 1>about a jungle safari. The recording was for a man

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<v Speaker 1>getting eaten by an alligator. The movie that Miller is

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<v Speaker 1>referring to is Distant Drums, starring Gary Cooper as a U. S.

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<v Speaker 1>Army captain who fights seminoles and gun smugglers in Florida's Everglades.

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<v Speaker 1>This wasn't one of Cooper's best on screen efforts, but

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<v Speaker 1>it did service the genesis of the now iconic scream,

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<v Speaker 1>which happens as an unfortunate soldier is dragged underwater by

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<v Speaker 1>a hungry gator. To capture the scream, the film's producers

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<v Speaker 1>asked various cast members to offer up their most terrifying shrieks.

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<v Speaker 1>They reportedly recorded six screams, but it was the fourth

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<v Speaker 1>that apparently most accurately captured the horror of being eaten

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<v Speaker 1>alive by a ferocious reptile, and that's the one that

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<v Speaker 1>made the final cut of the movie. Though no one

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<v Speaker 1>is one certain who performed it, it's generally attributed to

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<v Speaker 1>actor and singer Chev Wooley, But the movie and the

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<v Speaker 1>scream didn't initially make much of a mark. In three though,

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<v Speaker 1>a film titled The Charge at Feather River featured a

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<v Speaker 1>scene in which a horse mounted soldier is shot in

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<v Speaker 1>the thigh with an arrow. The character's name Private Wilhelm,

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<v Speaker 1>and yes, the filmmakers dubbed in the scream from two

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<v Speaker 1>years previous to express the character's agony. These kinds of

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<v Speaker 1>reused and recycled sound effects are common in Hollywood. It

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<v Speaker 1>saves time and money as studios crank out film after film.

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<v Speaker 1>But even after the second movie appearance, the scream wouldn't

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<v Speaker 1>have its brush with destiny for more than two more decades.

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<v Speaker 1>Then along came Luke Skywalker and Company. Miller said, Ben Bert,

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<v Speaker 1>the audio sound designer for the original Star Wars, was

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<v Speaker 1>rummaging around for replacement audio when he was working on

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<v Speaker 1>Star Wars and found the audio recordings of the voice

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<v Speaker 1>actors screams and used one in Star Wars. He named

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<v Speaker 1>the one he picked Wilhelm. Ever since then, sound designers

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<v Speaker 1>and film have used the audio file as a calling card.

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<v Speaker 1>Every Star Wars film up through the Force Awakens has

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<v Speaker 1>used the scream, but Bert's on earthing of Private Wilhelm's

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<v Speaker 1>painful yell has reverberated throughout countless other famous flicks. The

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<v Speaker 1>list includes Toy Story, The Lord of the Rings, The

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<v Speaker 1>Two Towers, Reservoir Dogs, Avengers, Infinity War, Venom, More, American Graffiti,

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<v Speaker 1>and Willow, just to name a few. In Indiana, Jones

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<v Speaker 1>and the Temple of Doom, the joke goes even further,

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<v Speaker 1>deploying the scream as a character is torn to shreds

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<v Speaker 1>by an alligator. All of them use the exact same recording,

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<v Speaker 1>albeit tweaked by sound engineers, that was tucked away in

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<v Speaker 1>the Warner Brothers archive so many years ago. There are

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<v Speaker 1>numerous compilations online compressing dozens of instances of the scream

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<v Speaker 1>into easy to view clips. It would be difficult to

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<v Speaker 1>account for every use of the scream, but higher estimates

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<v Speaker 1>guests that the blood curdling shriek has been used in

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<v Speaker 1>as many as four hundred movies. Others placed the number

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<v Speaker 1>it just over two d, still an amazingly long run

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<v Speaker 1>for a single sound effect that originated seven decades ago.

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<v Speaker 1>And of course, the scream is not limited to the

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<v Speaker 1>big screen. It's also wormed its way into television, shows,

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<v Speaker 1>video games, and other media. Once you know to look

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<v Speaker 1>for it, you'll hear it everywhere. Today's episode was written

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<v Speaker 1>by Nathan Chandler and produced by Tyler clang Or. More

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<v Speaker 1>on this and lots of other curious topics, visit how

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<v Speaker 1>stuffworks dot com. Brain Stuff is production of iHeart Radio

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