The radio broadcast that terrified a nation

In 1938, with the world lurching towards war, Orson Welles caused mass panic in the U.S. when the now infamous live radio adaptation of The War of the Worlds was broadcast to an unsuspecting public

“The nation’s No.1 radio bogey man” – Orson Welles, photographed for New York Sunday News, 1938

1898: H.G. Wells’ novel The War of the Worlds imagines attack on London by Martian invaders with towering tripod fighting machines

1938: Actor Orson Welles’ radio show reworks literary classics into one- hour radio plays. For Halloween episode, Welles and CBS show’s producers agree to adapt work of science fiction

Mon, Oct 24, 1938: Writer Howard Koch instructed to adapt The War of the Worlds for broadcast, moving it to contemporary New Jersey setting

Thu, Oct 27: Welles asks crew to insert news flashes and eyewitness accounts
to create sense of urgency. Rewritten first act is now 40 minutes long

Fri, Oct 28: Executive producer warns writing is too realistic and tells authors to tone it down

Sat, Oct 29: In rehearsal, sound effects team pays special attention to crowd scenes, cannon fire and chilling Martian war machines

Sun, Oct 30 – Afternoon: Music rehearsal. Orchestra mimics dance band, interrupted
by news broadcasts. Studio’s emergency fill-in music – solo piano playing Debussy and Chopin – is used several times, adding to sinister overtone

6pm: Dress rehearsal works in last-minute changes by Welles, including impersonation of President Franklin D. Roosevelt by actor Kenneth Delmar (forbidden by major networks)

Alien probe, as seen in first movie portrayal (1953)

8pm: Show airs live from New York, causing wide- spread panic. With fears of war growing, many Americans mistakenly believe Nazi invasion is underway

Radio shows usually pause on half-hour for station messages. Breaking news does not obey this rule. Many listeners who missed opening disclaimer that show is fictitious, are convinced news reports are real, especially when lengthy first act means station break fails to arrive until 8:40pm

Mon, Oct 31: Welles denies intending to deceive audience

Broadcast helps catapult Welles to global fame. He goes on to make  several classic movies, notably Citizen Kane (1941) and Touch of Evil (1958)



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Sources: Smithsonian Institution, Run-Through: A Memoir (John Houseman), Citizen Welles: A Biography of Orson Welles (Frank Brady) Pictures: Wikimedia Commons