In time for Halloween; Today is the anniversary (http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/10/dayintech_1030) of the 1938 Orson Welles broadcasts of the Martian invasion. Skip the Tom Cruise version and watch the original picture "War of the Worlds".

The power of radio back then:
"It was never Welles' intention to throw a genuine scare into anyone. A disclaimer at the top of the show explained that what followed (http://members.aol.com/jeff1070/script.html)was a dramatization, but if the listener missed the announcement it would be another 40 minutes before another one was issued. By then a lot of people had been taken in."

http://www.wired.com/images/article/full/2007/10/Orson_Welles_250x.jpg

when i 1st herd that people back then herd this and thought it was real i seriously really did ROFL

You should find the Smithsonian Museum cassette tapes of the original H.G. Welles story and the Orson Welles broadcast.....very interesting listening. I have the whole thing on a set of 33 1/3 LP's.

2003, In today's "reality" and instant gratification shows, nothing is left to your own imagination. You get propaganda someone wants you to see and hear, nothing else. Your intelligence and perception are not allowed into the mix.

In 1939 there was no TV, news travelled over telephone, ticker tape or Morse Code, and a family sitting around listening to a radio interpreted the unfolding news story or drama according to each person's differing age and experiences, so each person drew their own ideas and conclusions from the same broadcast. The late '30's was a prime time for rapid scientific development and also a prime time for all sorts of early, GOOD science fiction stories from GOOD authors.

The War of The Worlds dramatization, presented as a news program, was a good (excellent) science fiction radio show with unexpected consequences.............(Most "news" programs on TV are just as fanciful, and you believe them, don't you??.......)

You should find the Smithsonian Museum cassette tapes of the original H.G. Welles story and the Orson Welles broadcast.....very interesting listening. I have the whole thing on a set of 33 1/3 LP's.

2003, In today's "reality" and instant gratification shows, nothing is left to your own imagination. You get propaganda someone wants you to see and hear, nothing else. Your intelligence and perception are not allowed into the mix.

In 1939 there was no TV, news travelled over telephone, ticker tape or Morse Code, and a family sitting around listening to a radio interpreted the unfolding news story or drama according to each person's differing age and experiences, so each person drew their own ideas and conclusions from the same broadcast. The late '30's was a prime time for rapid scientific development and also a prime time for all sorts of early, GOOD science fiction stories from GOOD authors.

The War of The Worlds dramatization, presented as a news program, was a good (excellent) science fiction radio show with unexpected consequences.............(Most "news" programs on TV are just as fanciful, and you believe them, don't you??.......)
Just like I explained to my grandchildren. Books are way more interesting than movies because the pictures drawn in our minds by a great author are much better than those portrayed on a screen by an actor.

Hard to believe that b&w ^^^ is the same Orson Welles who portrayed Cardinal Woolsey in "A Man For All Seasons", alongside Paul Scofield and Wendy Hiller.

Well... duh!

If it's in the media then it's got to be true.

Submariner - it's just like comparing 1950's Brando to the 80s/90s Brando.

^ The prodigal son has returned.


Was War of the World before or after Citizen Kane?

^ The prodigal son has returned.


Was War of the World before or after Citizen Kane?

And everyone shall rejoice :yup:

btw... Citizen Kane was in either '40 or '41.