War of the Worlds?

Question

I remember as a child one Halloween sitting on my sister's lap in the kitchen at the farm. I remember we didn't have a TV, but we had a radio and one of the stations had a special because it was Halloween. I realize now that the original broadcast had happened in the 1930's, but this was like about 1952 and I remember the program that was one even though I was about 4. I just wonder if anyone else heard it. Maybe not then, but before 1952.

This was what it was and it's all here... http://www.earthstation1.com/pgs/radio/dos-War_of_the_Worlds.ram.html

Answer 1

I have a copy of the original broadcast. It was first aired on Halloween night in 1938. Many radio stations in the U.S. "dust it off" and re-run it on Halloween because it is a classic and did, in fact, cause panic in areas of the East Coast.

Part of the reason for the panic was the voice of the "Secretary of the Interior" announcing the fact that Martian space ships had landed in the vicinity of Grovers Mill, New Jersey. Not only is that a real town (which holds a periodic celebratory festival commemorating its brief bit of fame) but the voice of that cabinet official was quite a bit like that of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. A voice many Americans were used to by way of his famous "Fireside Chats".

What those listening to the broadcast seemed to miss were the disclaimers that this was a radioplay. Those disclaimers were broadcast just about every fifteen minutes. One fellow did make some financial gain from the broadcast. But, it wasn't his intention to do so in advance of the broadcast. The character of the "head of the New Jersey State Militia" in the radioplay sounded just like the real commander of the New Jersey State Police. So, he sued Orson Welles and collected an out-of-court settlement. That fellow's son went into the history books as well. He is General H. Norman Schwarzkopff, who led our troops in the Gulf War of 1991.

Answer 2

That was a great radio show....."Shocked the World" as they say. I've heard it and love it.



The War of the Worlds was an episode of the American radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air, which was performed as a Halloween special on October 30, 1938 and aired over the CBS Radio network. Directed by Orson Welles, the episode was an adaptation of H. G. Wells' classic novel The War of the Worlds.

Answer 3

Believe it or not but I have the entire series, the original one, as an audio book on an MP3 disc. I often listen to the really old radio shows while I'm on line, I have quite a collection of them.

You can get them really cheap on Ebay and there's loads that you can download for free.

Answer 4

international conflict a million: a million)Franc Ferdinand Asassinated by making use of Serbian Sparking international conflict a million 2)Germany march into Belgium, Britain declare conflict on Germany 3)German's U-2 submarines sink united statesS Lusitania 4)Zimmerman notes introduced the united statesinto conflict 5)Treaty of Versaille ended international conflict a million international conflict 2: a million)Germany invade Poland sparking international conflict 2 2)Japan attack Pearl Harbor bringing the united statesinto WW2 3)eastern Internment camp, All eastern in united statesa. have been sent to camp in the time of the conflict 4)D-Day Allies ruin into Europe 5)Atomic Bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki thoroughly destroying the citys.

Answer 5

Somehow I remember that but I was born in 1952 and I always thought it was a dream.

Answer 6

Go to "Radio Spirits dot com" they sell old radio shows. I have a copy of the broadcast "War of the Worlds". I play it through a modulator and listen to it on my 1939 Philco radio. Go to

http://www.radiospirits.com/P2Search.asp?sid=MTI4MTY5MjE6MTEvMTQvMjAwNyAxMjowOToxNyBBTQ==&Svr=.62&l=1&source=&scode=F03CY100&TotalRecordCount=&CurrentPage=

it should come up on the WOW page. Only $13 or so.



D.bumstead

Answer 7

I have Listened to that and I think I would have been scared out of my wits. Too young to understand and too sheltered on the farm. Would have thought my world was coming to an end.

Answer 8

Not only have I heard it, I have a cassette of the broadcast. It's a classic. I believe there is a movie version, too.

Answer 9

I am too young, but I would have loved to have heard the original broadcast.

Answer 10

I didn't know that. I thought it happened in the 40's . I thought I remembered hearing it....but maybe I only heard about it.

Answer 11

I'm too suspicious of what the government and aliens are plotting.



Them destroying the world is just another "of course that'll happen" factor to me T.T

Answer 12

I remember, it was quite scary,

and sounded so real to me.