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October 30th will be the 70th annerversary of the imfamous Orson Welles
War of the Worlds radio broadcast that panicked the nation in 1938! I once
looked the old newspaper headlines up at the library, and from what I read,
it must have really been something! I later read "The Panic Broadcast" and
it went to a whole lot more detail. People were actually ready to kill
themselves! I heard the recordings of the broadcast and it said several times
that it was a radio play, but nobody seemed to hear it! I saw the movie "The
Night they panicked America" and it only told a small part of what actually
happened! I talked to my father about it one time. He said he heard it but he
didn't believe any of it! Funny thing is, Orson Welles didn't have any idea what
was going on outside until he finished the broadcast! According to the
newspapers I read congress tried to have him prosecuted for it, but couldn't
make it stick because he never intentionally meant to panic America. I just
happened!
Thread: War of the world's broadcast!
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War of the world's broadcast!
MASTER OF ALL I SURVEY!
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War of the world's broadcast! –
09-22-2008,08:11 PM
I never get MAD, I get EVEN! Pray I only get MAD!
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09-22-2008,10:01 PM
I actually had a class in school ("Media Class") that spent an entire week covering it. It is amazing how some people reacted. That was a different time though and people did not have as many resources for information.
I think of it every time that I watch a movie such as "The Day After". They have disclaimers all over the place.HalloweenForum.com Admin
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Resident Lunatic
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09-23-2008,12:05 AM
Just noticed. War of the Worlds is available here. It's apparently public domain.
Internet Archive: Details: WAR OF THE WORLDS, OCTOBER 1938, ORSON WELLES
Just downloaded it.
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The Great Pumpkin
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09-23-2008,06:25 AM
The first half of the play is done as a radio broadcast. When I heard it for the first time, in the 70's, at age 10, I was *sure* it had to be real. Only about half way through does the play switch to a monologue, and that's when it's apparent that it isn't a play that was interrupted by a real-life event.
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How about a magic trick?
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09-23-2008,09:54 AM
My mom was 7 at the time, and she told me people actually believed it was the real deal. People were scared - really scared!!
My YouTube Channel: HERE
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The Great Pumpkin
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- Eastern Connecticut
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09-23-2008,10:34 AM
Thanks so much for the link to the radio broadcast! I've wanted to listen to it -- they played it on the radio last year at this time, but i kept getting interrupted and didn't get to listen to most of it!
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The Great Pumpkin
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09-23-2008,11:06 AM
It really is quite memorable. I wish I'd been around at the time to hear it, and see the effects it had!
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MASTER OF ALL I SURVEY!
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09-23-2008,10:57 PM
If you can find a copy, read "The Panic Broadcast" by Howard Bloch. He was the one that
wrote the script for the radio play and was in the midlle of the whole thing. He tells about
everything. The government's reactions, the crazy things peopl did, etc. HG Welles was
still living at the time of the broadcast and he said he found the entire thing "amazing!" I
have the original broadcast on a 2 record set and it says on there several times, "You're
listening to the Mercury Theater's presentation of HG Welles War of the Worlds!" Of course,
the writer of the book said he thinks a lot of it came from the growing fear of the war in
europe. Orson Wells came on the air at the end of the play to insure everybody that the
whole thing was a radio play. It wasn't in the original script. Nobody was expecting a
nationwide panic! I agree with HG Welles......the whole thing was amazing.....even 70 years
later!I never get MAD, I get EVEN! Pray I only get MAD!
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09-24-2008,03:07 AM
I've never heard the original broadcast, so I'm definitely going to check that link. Thanks!
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09-24-2008,04:32 AM
My hubby gets Coast to Coast via podcast and they've had someone on who said there's going to be a fake alien landing done to try to take advantage of the current economic "crisis" and force a New World Order.
Whatever the hell that is. Nothing like tough times to have the nuts falling off the tree eh?
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