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War of the Worlds 70th Anniversary
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by Amy Judd | October 30, 2008 at 07:17 am
378 views | 14 Recommendations | 6 comments
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Orson Wells' famous broadcast War of the Worlds (or La Guerra de los Mundos) first aired 70 years ago today, when thousands of Americans erupted into panic at the thought the world was being invaded by aliens.
Thousands of Americans fled after hearing War of the Worlds on the radio, while others armed themselves against an attack.
Radio listeners, many of whom flooded police emergency phone lines, apparently had missed a disclaimer at the start of the broadcast making it clear that events unfolding over the airwaves were fictional.
A headline emblazoned across the top of the New York Times the next day told the story: "Radio listeners in panic, taking war drama as fact."
This year marks seven decades since the historic "War of the Worlds" broadcast unleashed a furore across the country, as Americans by the tens of thousands allowed themselves to be fooled by the radio broadcast's realistic-sounding news bulletins and sound effects.
A Princeton University study a decade later determined that about a million people were affected in some fashion by the scare.
Orson Wells re-worked the classic H.G. Well's story, originally set in Britain, and aired it on October 30 1938, one day before Halloween. Orson Wells was just 23 at the time, and this we before he won an Oscar for 'Citizen Kane'.
An updated version of the broadcast will be released to mark the anniversary.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (6)
at 08:56 on October 30th, 2008
amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 09:25 on October 30th, 2008
This was the first thing my prof talked about in my communication class in university. shows the power of the media.
-medium is the message
at 10:17 on October 30th, 2008
Glad this anniversary is getting more recognition in this 70th year and to see this story here as well.
Among the vintage items I have collected are tube radios, especially from the 1930s. For the last five years, on the anniversary, I have played the 1938 Orson Welles broadcast of War of the Worlds over one of my old radios for friends and family - it always get a great response from them.
Even though I wasn't there in the 1930s, I love many aspects of what North American culture produced in that decade. It's amazing we are even able to re-create some of those moments in history today - it's a very fun small trip back in time.
at 15:31 on October 30th, 2008
That may have been a false alarm 70 years ago but they are coming tomorrow according to the prophet Yahweh!
at 21:00 on October 30th, 2008
amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 06:32 on October 31st, 2008
On October 17 and 18, 2008, The Barn Theatre (http://www.barntheatre.org) in Montville, NJ, presented a 70th Anniversary live, staged re-creation of the famed broadcast "War of the Worlds." Directed by Ron Mulligan, the production featured actors and sound effect artists in period dress broadcasting live from a re-created CBS studio.
To honor the 70th Anniversary of this famed radio drama, the October 18 production was simulcast live on HomegrownRadioNJ - http://www.homegrownradionj.org