The Wilhelm scream is an iconic stock sound effect that has been used in many films, television programs and other media, first originating from the 1951 film Distant Drums where the scream was 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. 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.
