Many filmmakers are known for small signatures that they always put inside their films.

Alfred Hitchcock always used himself in a cameo.

George Lucas almost always found a way to integrate the number 1138.

Quentin Tarantino almost always mentions the fictional Big Cahoonaburger.

And Stan Lee, of course, has found his way into every Marvel movie.

However, there is one film signature that is shared by a wide range of

movie makers, and it's appeared in hundreds of films. You've probably come across it,

even if you didn't realize it. Learn more about the Wilhelm Scream, where it came from, and how

it spread on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

In the course of doing this podcast over the last five years, I've covered many important topics.

I've covered wars, empires, genocides, civilization-changing technologies, plagues, and scientific

revolutions. This is not one of those episodes. This episode is about as minor a subject

as I think you could do an episode on, yet still have it be worth

doing. The entire episode is about one second of audio. Whether you know it or not, you have

almost certainly heard it. It's estimated to have appeared in over 400 films at least,

and has become an iconic element of movie making over the last several decades. I am, of course,

talking about the Wilhelm scream. And if you're not familiar with it, here it is.

That's it. That's the entire focus of this episode. Some of you probably know what it is and

recognize it whenever you hear it. And if you don't recognize it,

well, you're going to now because by the end of this episode, you're going to have it

burned into your head, and you'll start hearing it everywhere. You're welcome.

The scream was originally recorded in 1951 for the film Distant Drums, directed by Raoul

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