Is there a common ground between Star Wars: A New Hope, 22 Jump Street, Reservoir Dogs, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, and more than two-hundred films? Yes, the use of the Wilhelm Scream sound effect.

Having started this trend in the 1970s, the sound itself originated in the 1950s. According to popular belief, actor/singer Sheb Woolley was proud of his own screaming ability that he recorded various vocals during post-production for the 1951 film Distant Drums. The visual consisted of a man leading his soldiers through a swamp until a soldier was attacked and dragged under by an alligator, thus the scream. However, the name itself “Wilhelm” wasn’t officiated until 1953 where the character Private Wilhelm is shot in the leg during a scene in The Charge at Feather River.

Sound effects designer Ben Burtt noticed this Wilhelm trend throughout various 1950s films and decided to incorporate this into every film he worked on, even the classics; Indiana Jones and Star Wars. Funnily enough, feature film directors Peter Jackson and Quentin Tarantino expanded on this fascinating scream into their blockbuster and highly acclaimed works. Suddenly, it’s become a sound effect that even independent film directors, television shows and video games embed into their art.

Still don’t believe me that there’s such a thing as an inside-joke within the cinematic world? Please take a seat, and watch this compilation below: