Sounds familiar

[Steve Grisetti]

Here's your movie trivia for the day. Except, now that you know it, you'll start hearing it all the time!

"Castle Thunder" is the name of a sound effect. It was originally recorded in 1931 for the original "Frankenstein," but you've heard it a million times since then. It's the stock thunder and lightning sound effect used in movies and TV. You've certainly heard it in the opening credits to "Gilligan's Island," but it's the same sound effect used in virtually every movie, TV show or cartoon made in the last 75 years!

Likewise, the "Wilhelm Scream" was first recorded in 1951 for use in a movie called "Distant Drums". Yet you've no doubt heard it a million times since. It's the standard male scream every time a man falls off a building, out of a car or whatever. Here's a list of just some of the movies you've heard it in -- although it shows up regularly in movies and TV shows:
http://www.hollywoodlostandfound.net/wilhelm.html

There's a female equivalent to it -- heard in countless horror films. It's got a name, but I haven't been able to find it. Once again, it's a case of recorded and mixed once (like the Tarzan yell) and used hundreds of times whenever a scream is needed.

Most people don't realize how prevalent stock sound effects are in TV and films. Even gunshots in films are rarely the live recording of the sound. That's why, until "Dirty Harry" invented the big 44 magnum sound, every Warner Brothers film or TV show for decades used exactly the same gunshot sound. Listen next time: The guns in "Maltese Falcon", "The Searchers" and "Bonnie and Clyde" all sound identical and yet distinctly Warner Brothers!

[sidd finch]

Steve,

You forgot to include a link to where we can download the clips....for free.....

Sidd

[Bob]

Wow, talk about your coincidences, I read those very pages at Hollywood Lost and Found yesterday! Here's the link for "Castle Thunder" http://www.hollywoodlostandfound.net/so ... under.html

There's an embedded player at the bottom of the page where you can play the clip.

Here's another sound I've heard a million times http://hollywoodlostandfound.net/sound/uniphone.html

[Clayton]

So without the "Wilhelm Scream" we would never had Star Wars and Indy!