Cue the Scream: Meet Hollywood's Go-To Shriek

Pretend an alligator just bit off your arm. Now scream. That's what a voice actor did to overdub a shriek for the 1951 film Distant Drums. Little did he realize he was making cinematic history. Over the years, audio engineers have reused the so-called Wilhelm Scream in dozens of films, making the girlish screech a punch line in the industry. "It's an inside geek joke among sound designers," says Matthew Wood of Skywalker Sound — one that's shown up in everything from Star Wars to this year's Transformers.

Where to find the famous shriek:

1951
Distant Drums
Time 00:45:05
The movie that started it all. A cowboy wanders too close to a swamp. An alligator chomps his arm. A scream is born.

1977
Star Wars
Time 01:28:35 Just before Luke and Leia swing across the bottomless shaft in the Death Star, Luke blasts a Stormtrooper, who tumbles to his Wilhelm-enhanced death.

1981
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Time 01:23:57
Commandeering the ark-carrying truck, Indy sends a yelping Nazi to his doom.

1988
Willow
Time 00:53:18 Madmartigan in drag uses his mace to thump a carriage driver. The guy riding shotgun goes flying.

1992
Reservoir Dogs
Time 00:20:29
Mr. Pink knocks over a pedestrian while being chased by the cops.

1995
Toy Story
Time 00:27:14
In Woody's jealous rampage, Buzz Lightyear is bumped out the bedroom window.

1998
Lethal Weapon 4
Time 00:05:06
A bulletproof bad guy uses a flamethrower to torch everything in sight. Riggs shoots his fuel tank, rocketing him into the air.

2002
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Time 02:15:11
An elvish warrior falls off a castle wall during the stand at Rohan.

2007
Transformers
Time 00:53:31
Frenzy, the Decepticon boom box, gets punted like a football by hero Sam.

2007
Lifted
Time 00:04:55
In this animated short screened before Ratatouille, the farmer screams during the closing credits.

The Wilhelm Scream Compilation

History of the Wilhelm Scream

Willow & Mr. Pink: Everett Collection; Buzz & Lifted: Disney/Pixar; Transformers: ILM/Letterman Digital Arts Center