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Orson Welles - War Of The Worlds - Radio Broadcast 1938 - Complete Broadcast.

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Uploaded on Dec 16, 2010

Orson Welles - War Of The Worlds - Radio Broadcast 1938 - Complete Broadcast.

The War of the Worlds was an episode of the American radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was performed as a Halloween episode of the series on October 30, 1938 and aired over the Columbia Broadcasting System radio network. Directed and narrated by Orson Welles, the episode was an adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel The War of the Worlds.
The first two thirds of the 60-minute broadcast were presented as a series of simulated "news bulletins", which suggested to many listeners that an actual alien invasion by Martians was currently in progress. Compounding the issue was the fact that the Mercury Theatre on the Air was a 'sustaining show' (it ran without commercial breaks), thus adding to the program's quality of realism. Although there were sensationalist accounts in the press about a supposed panic in response to the broadcast, the precise extent of listener response has been debated. In the days following the adaptation, however, there was widespread outrage. The program's news-bulletin format was decried as cruelly deceptive by some newspapers and public figures, leading to an outcry against the perpetrators of the broadcast, but the episode secured Orson Welles' fame.

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Top Comments

  • csgaylord

    Before DVDs, before CDs, before TVs, before computers there were only books, phonograph records, and radios. On one Halloween day back then, an actor broadcast this scary story over the radio. The actor did not say that it was a make-believe story until after the the story ended. People thought that we were really being invaded by Martians and that the Martians were winning. People were frightened and many were injured or even killed. It was a very sad Halloween joke. I was 12 back then.

    · 29

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    in reply to TheRonster9319 (Show the comment)
  • Bigredcity

    this is great im not surprised this scared the shit out of people

    · 13

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  • Corey Bayless

    I'll bet those idiots on "jersey shore" have no idea about this broadcast 70 years ago and would freak out if they heard this. Because they are morons.

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    in reply to Dario Hernandez (Show the comment)
  • Corey Bayless

    Uh. They did,,,,,

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    in reply to heartr2 (Show the comment)
  • Corey Bayless

    You're a complete idiot. Kill yourself at once.

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    in reply to Κυριος Δαιμονιον (Show the comment)
  • Bleachontherocks

    i think its real

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  • arriagad78

    The affiliated satan ???,?

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  • EPICsliceOFcake

    I did google it, but I found no records of anyone dying as a result of the incident.

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    in reply to csgaylord (Show the comment)
  • Κυριος Δαιμονιον

    If we did have first contact with an alien race, our government would never disclose this information, not unless we were at war.

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  • csgaylord

    In regards to who was killed, maybe six persons; maybe none. It depends upon what you read and who you believe. When you have a question like that, research it yourself. Google is a good source. Wikipedia is better. A large library might have copies of old newspapers on film or microfiche. In my opinion, there is nothing better than trying to answer your own questions.

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    in reply to EPICsliceOFcake (Show the comment)
  • EPICsliceOFcake

    Who was killed?

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    in reply to csgaylord (Show the comment)
  • millersayshihowboutu

    I've heard that also. I believe people may have.

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    in reply to heartr2 (Show the comment)
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