last year for this prompt, I talked about World War I which is probably – still in my opinion – the most fascinating historical event (that post is embedded below).
But as this prompt falls on Halloween this year, I’ve decided to talk about something completely different: Orson Welles’ War of The Worlds Radio play.
For the October 30, 1938 episode of his radio show The Mercury Theater on Air, Welles directed and narrated an adaptation of the HG Wells (no relation) novel The War of The Worlds. This adaptation was performed as a night of regular radio performances with several “breaking news” interruptions. Even though CBS Radio made several announcements about the show being a dramatic performance, some listeners thought Earth was being invaded by Martians.
The “panic” surrounding the episode became something of a legend – not unlike the way that 400,000 people claim to have been at the final game at Tiger Stadium in 1999. In actuality, The Mercury Theater on Air didn’t have a lot of listeners, but that didn’t stop CBS from having Welles issue an on-air apology. I think this was, for America, one of the first times we really experienced the true power of mass media.
To me, this is another story that adds to the legend of Orson Welles. I think I heard about this radio presentation as a little kid, as it’s something of a legend now. But my first real introduction to Orson Welles came in elementary school when I read Welles’ rendition of War… as a play. He was 25 when he made what is, arguably, the greatest movie of all time: 1941’s Citizen Kane. This means he was just 22 when The Mercury Theater Company put on War of the Worlds! How many people can put even ONE thing as big as either War… or …Kane on their resumes, let alone two, before the age of 30?
Check out THIS LINK for more information on Welles’ presentation of War of the Worlds
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The article “Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds radio play” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.
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