The Night America Trembled 1957 - H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds

The Night America Trembled 1957 is probably one of the best films I have seen that proves, at least to me, the point that Americans have always been gun happy freaked out paranoid hicks. And that's why I love them, and I love this movie. The Night America Trembled is-as far as I know-the first movie of the events that happened during the radio broadcast of Orson Welles doing H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds on October 30, 1938. (Although not related, on October 28, 1940, Orson Welles met H.G. Wells in San Antonio, Texas; a local radio station KTSA recorded the conversation, which was likely the only meeting between the two)
Oddly enough Orson Welles is never actually mentioned by name in this flick. Bad blood from the radio broadcast still I guess. Anyway, Newsman Edward R. Murrow adds modern perspective to '50s audiences about subsequent events that make this Orson Welles production still seem frightening to anyone who didn't hear the beginning of the broadcast having switched from Bergin and McCarthy on NBC. I first saw the remake "The Night that Panicked America" when I was just a little Lush I couldn't believe how realistic it sounded. I thought myself it was a brilliant joke. In this original movie however the director of the radio play and Orson Welles are depicted as two different people when they were actually one and the same. Also, the sound of the Martians' opening their ship was visualized as the sound man manually spinning a bare record turntable when it was actually the opening of a jar. (The remake shows this magnificently) What makes this Version best though are the Westinghouse commercials with John Cameron Swazee for various nuclear products! Also worth mentioning are the early performances of Warren Beatty, Ed Asner, Warren Oates, James Coburn, Vincent Gardenia, and, for Honeymooners fans, Frank Marth and a very young John Astin on the typewriter! This film was (as mentioned) remade in 1975 as The Night That Panicked America which is also a brilliant film.

[@susanmckenzie8469]

It’s fun to read all the comments. I’m 80 now and I played Millie, the babysitter. I didn’t realize until years later when I saw it at The Paley Museum how many of the actors became stars. I was 13 and it interesting I didn’t have a crush on Warren Beatty who was 20. I guess I was too young and innocent. He’s probably one of the few of us who is still alive.

[@lisalush4191]

Welcome and thank you for that story. That's fantastic. A real life star on my little you tube page. xxxx I am honoured to have you here.

[@ZENmud]

You did "hysteria" very very very well! Really.... 🎉🎉🎉

[@susanmckenzie8469]

@@ZENmud thank you!

[@gullwingstorm857]

How awesome! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@susanmckenzie8469]

@@lisalush4191 thank you so much. It’s so nice for me to think back on those years I was acting

[@MisterRightAway]

An interesting part of this tale that's often overlooked, is that nearly all the people who were thrown into a panic were adults. Children, who had grown up with radio, and to whom the medium was hardly new, simply changed stations and asked the obvious question-- "How come nobody else is covering this story?"

[@oobrocks]

A great point 🎉

[@mickcardiff3044]

They're still as gullible nowadays. They elected a corrupt orange bankrupt liar not long ago..

[@joeyhernandez2050]

😂those living in the 30s,for them radio was still new. They were gripped in fear and horror with war looming in tha horizon

[@Senoirmom]

This is so convincing, what a great reminder of how easily people can be convinced and terrified.

[@johnmagill9496]

Apparently it's just as easy to make people believe we had a legitimate election in November 2020 or that we also had some kind of "pandemic" recently.

[@henerygreen578]

I'm convinced to!!!!! people are just as stupid then as now!!!!!

[@Robin-lh9wr]

Yep, remember the Plandemic 😮

[@dobbyscloset7811]

As familiar as I am with the story, the book, the films and even recordings of the original radio broadcast and the reactions to it, I did NOT know of this documentary (which I am enjoying immensely.) Thank you so much for finding and sharing it. The "commercials" are priceless!

[@hectorsalcido4106]

Right, even the commercials were better then , compared to the crap that we have today, it was a time when Hollywood had talented writers. Where did all those gifted writers go? Certainly not to Hollyshit.

[@Ozymandias1]

It's not a documentary but what we would call a docu drama today.

[@indy_go_blue6048]

@@hectorsalcido4106 They retired then died leaving dipshits behind. Re the commercials: Very interesting that they appeal to the consumer's intelligence instead of his ignorance.

[@freemarketjoe9869]

The washer/dryer was stunning. They do not even have that now.

[@jsat5609]

@@freemarketjoe9869 Betty Furness isn't bad either. And she's simply and tastefully dressed, elegant, and feminine.

[@KRYPTOS_K5]

This is amazing what you can show to me of my childhood. Thanks to youtube and the posts. Brazil

[@donaldwolpert6356]

Just watching the old commercials is worth the hour of my time. The program is very good also. I did not know Edward R. Murrow had such a subject. Nice!

[@Monkofmagnesia]

My mom was ni e years old, living i n Jersey City when this origin ally aired. She remembers her father as saying, "See if it is on another channel." When they could not find it elsewhere, he realized it was a radio play. She does remember people panicking though. She remembers people running in the streets and knocking on the doors, asking if everyone was okay.

[@CrossOfBayonne]

I'm from NJ too living in Fort Lee, My friend August Caccavone remembered this scare growing up in Hackensack during the Depression

[@l.salisbury1253]

My Grandmother had a similar story: She called her Brother and asked "You hear what's going on in New Jersey?" Her told her to try another station... and there was Bergan-McCarthy! If we were being invaded by Commie-Nazies from another planet why would another station have a vantriliquist act...?

[@SenorZorrozzz]

Remember, this was live tv! So well written, acted, and performed live! Look at all the sets that had to be designed, built, and set in a theater. The cameras had to shoot in such a manner that they’d have one move to the next set in time to cut to it when it was time to switch sets. Imagine the actor’s blocking, not only for performing but also playing to the camera. Imagine the boom mics having to move in so many positions to be picking up the dialogue. Tv went down hill after the mid 1960s.

[@2ndarmoredhellonwheels106]

My grandmother remembered the actual radio broadcast said it scared the hell out of everyone lol

[@garytewa2538]

Awesome movie - I heard about it & this is my first viewing ever, great all around including the original commercials, love the simple enjoyments of life back then including old route 66 , the comic books & movie houses.

[@AndrewJonesFoto]

Great post. Not least for the cultural shock of watching 1958 TV, smoking presenter, adverts for nuclear reactors etc.

[@raysmith7543]

This was great. I'm old enough to remember Edward R. Murrow on TV occasionally when I was a kid. I've been an avid science fiction fan all of my life and this was very enjoyable.

[@TWOCOWS1]

THANK YOU for posting this AMERICAN CLASSIC. Totally fantastic. thanks again

[@pappujack7667]

Thanks for posting this. I remember talking about this when I was studying Media and Radio. And we came upon discussing how powerful Radio could be. This was then mentioned. It made me look for an audio version of the drama and I listened to it - complete. It was simply excellent.

[@victorladd2959]

My father was on police duty with the Port Authority at the New York Holland Tunnel that night. As the radio informed the Public that New Jersey was overwhelmed and the Martian Fighting Machines were crossing the Hudson, the police knew nothing about the invasion except crazy drivers entering the one way tunnels from both sides attempting to escape the alien invasion disregarding all attempts at

[@LuvvyDuck]

I've never seen this before. Thank you for sharing it! I'm a nostalgia nut and listen to a recording of WOTW most every Halloween.

[@Mr22thou]

Funniest line in this very serious drama (41:40): Babysitter, in absolute hysterics: "No, I'm not hysterical!" Yep! I laughed out loud!

[@ThunderZandor]

This is so cool,...it's like watching a long lost episode of the Twilight ZOne.

[@MUFC1933]

Twilight Zone and Tales of the Unexpected and Hammer House of Horrors all had me shivering behind the sofa when I was young.

[@BillyAlabama]

I’m so glad I chanced upon this!

[@dietermarx5277]

My mom went thru the radio broadcast back in 1937, I think that's when it was broadcast, lots of people were running freaking out.

[@michaelpalmieri7335]

I guess you didn't pay much attention to this video. It clearly stated that the "War Of The Worlds" story was broadcast on October 30th, 1938, not '37.

[@CrossOfBayonne]

It was Halloween 1938 and everyone back then freaked out because Hitler was once again stoking the flames of war so most of us here in the states were scared but curious.

[@axiomist1076]

What a fun program to watch. Never knew it existed for TV. There was so much good stuff back then in the media. I loved listening to the radio at night with my mom. Brings back a cozy feeling.

[@mauriceortiz8817]

This is such a great way to connect with the past. Awesome to see a young James Coburn.

[@jimmyguitar2933]

I was just surprised they said "What the hell" on broadcast TV in 1958!

[@michaelpalmieri7335]

I didn't hear that, and it was 1957, not '58.

[@inkyguy]

This production includes some of the great voices of stage, radio, television and film. Those familiar, for instance, with the "CBS Radio Mystery Theater" may recognize some of the voice artists who performing here: • Alexander Scourby: perhaps most famous for his recording of an entire spoken-word version of the entire King James Bible. • Norman Rose: a ubiquitous voice on radios and television narration and commercials • John Cameron Swayze: one of the first American television news anchors and famous for his 1970s Timex™ commercials and the tag line - "It takes a licking but keeps on ticking." Other notable up-and-coming actors making appearances: • Ed Asner - Third Actor • Vincent Gardenia - Dick • James Coburn - Sam Chandler • Warren Beatty - Card player • Warren Oates - Card player • John Astin - Reporter

[@lonniecavenee6201]

My dad and his grandparents listened to it that night and knew it was a radio play. They could not believe anyone fell for it.

[@jimmyguitar2933]

My mom was a simple farm girl in West Texas and she knew it was a radio play.

[@mortdewerewolfe691]

Hardly anyone did. A lot of the newspaper reports about people believing the invasion was real were completely made up. For C&C check out the BBC's ''Ghostwatch'' from halloween 1992.

[@Gravydog316]

well, there are Republicans who think "God" is real, & that JFK jr. is returning from the dead...

[@davidmccann9811]

They announced it as a play at the beginning, but apparently most people were listening to a music show on a different channel and only tuned in to WotW about 15 minutes into it.

[@SuperIliad]

Those that "fell for it" were those that tuned in a little late and didn't hear the opening words that set this up as a play. They were relatively new to radio and heard what they thought was a newscast.

[@shengsun5916]

Strange time to be watching this.

[@aldeshsa]

What a treasure. I'll have to rewatch a few times to catch everything. Thanks for posting.

[@normanbates602]

That was the perfect follow up show to listen to after hearing the original radio broadcast. I LOVED IT!! thankx for sharing

[@STI2000]

The X-Files did a variation on the Invasion broadcast and changed the location from Grovers Mill to Miller’s Grove.At the end when they showed the coming episodes for the Westinghouse show, I found it ironic Richard Basehart doing one about a submarine. After all the publicity of this episode ,The Mercury Theater got a major sponsor ,Campbell Soups. The show was retitled The Campbell Playhouse.

[@ronfrankl]

Great stuff, and remarkably well-done. Thanks for posting.

[@Stahlflug]

...06.05.2015...100.Birthday.....Orson Welles.....RIP....

[@joanevans9508]

Thanks for sharing. I didn't know there had been a tv version back in 1957!

[@dwightstewart7181]

At the time of Orson Welles’ broadcast, public radio was fairly new (roughly 20 years old) and had been promoted by government as a means of providing the latest official news and information. At the same time, most Americans did not celebrate Halloween, or celebrate it as a platform to prank people. Because of that, people had no special reason to doubt what was being told to them by seemingly official news bulletins, especially during a music program which did not normally present radio dramas or news bulletins. Further, Wells went out of his way to make those news bulletins sound real and official. Regardless, the panic some tout today to belittle “those ignorant people” is grossly exaggerated. The majority didn’t even hear the broadcast - didn’t own a radio, didn’t have radio on, or were listening to another program. Most actual listeners heard the radio drama introduction. Only a handful heard only parts of the drama and called police or whatever to verify. The suicides, shooting water towers, and similar are all a myth.

[@indy_go_blue6048]

William Manchester's 1973 tome "The Glory and the Dream" covers this event in 3 or 4 pages. Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy were extremely popular; the Mercury Theater (MT) didn't even have a sponsor. Most people were listening to Bergen, but... something we do even today... during the commercial break they spun the dial to catch whatever else was on. This first break occurred as Prof. Pierson (Orson Welles) was being interviewed so they missed the intro and a previous station break when they told the audience they were listening to a dramatization of WotW. Radio was considered a "hot medium" unlike newspapers. As you say it was fairly new technology and nothing like WotW's news flashes (similar to those heard just weeks before from Europe) had ever been heard before.

[@TheBee87bee]

I collect Halloween cards and postcards ,maybe not in the early 1900's,but in the thirties and forties ,Halloween was very popular. This broadcast was made during the rise of Hitler and his thirst for conquering other countries. People were still in the later part of the Depression so their worries were real.I also found out that people were not as panicking about this broadcast as they were about the events happening in the world.

[@TheBee87bee]

Of course they did not celebrate Halloween like they do now;Halloween is the most popular holiday,next to Christmas!

[@billchapel5248]

I was living in the thumb of Michigan, us kids sure went all out on Holloween, playing pranks all over town.

[@pressureworks]

So my 20 Year Old Car can be described as Fairly New ? Thanks for that, I'll describe it so when attempting to sell it. Will send the extra $$$ to ya !

[@jgraham6102]

I watch this over and over, thank you.

[@mikesnyder1788]

I saw this TV program when it was broadcast in September of 1957. The only scenes I remember are the ones involving the tavern folk. This is an excellent film but as a 10 year old living on Pleasant Avenue in Hamilton, Ohio, I was disappointed... I was expecting monsters, aliens, and space ships. LOL Parents should show this film to their children to make them more aware of the many false and exaggerated "news" items that constantly bombard our senses. Great production! Loved it!

[@allenjones3130]

A classic telecast! Murrow, Scourby, Furness, Swayze and the rest of the cast were superb.

[@kimerlyhogan6567]

I enjoyed this immensely! Thank you for sharing!

[@camabelu1]

Watching this had the strangest effect on me. I was born in 1958 so I was looking at the world I grew up in - it brought strong feelings that I can't quite call memories but the images are in me, somewhere. It's like it's part of my DNA. Don't know how to explain it better than that - I feel as though I was transported throughout; I guess because I was focused on the setting being '33 and the fact that it was a 1957 broadcast snuck up on me. I'm slowly returning to present time .... lol

[@michaelpalmieri7335]

You mean 1938, when the actual "Martian broadcast" was aired. But you're right about this docudrama, as it would be called today, being broadcast on C.B.S. T.V. in 1957.

[@abbynormal4740]

I get what you mean about feeling like the 1950s images are somehow in your DNA - not quite your actual memories, but still an intrinsic part of you. Watching or listening to the news coverage of JFK's assassination feels like reliving memories of that day. Although I was only 2 days old, it's as if I actually remember Mom and Dad bringing me home from the hospital and turning on the TV just in time to hear Walter Cronkite's first bulletins. These historic broadcasts are like a time machine. 😉😁

[@garyabbott3861]

Nineteen thirty-eight was just a couple of years before I was born. My parents told me about this broadcast and the panic that attended it. My parents knew better. They had heard the show from the beginning.

[@DennisMorrison1955]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing this rare television production!

[@cheriestelzer9969]

Love watching this. Do so ever once in awhile. Really enjoy the way the radio show done , the commercials (my dad worked for Westinghouse). And so many got scared. But really who’s to say if you wouldn’t have either or would have thought to check other stations

[@GalaxyJazzGirl]

HOLD IT! Orson Welles started that radio prank first and had to apollogize to NBC

[@robertszvetics210]

WRONG NEWORK IT WAS ON ON C.B.S

[@lkjhu76]

This was a wonderful flashback to the early days of television. Thank you!

[@starmnsixty1209]

My Dad remembered the broadcast. He was only 16 at the time, but it did cause a stir in the area. One of the vinyl records released in the 1970s mentions the college here.

[@fredjaneson1670]

I've read The war of the world about a hundred times and I've watched the movie about a thousand times the original the second one is... Well... Anyway I'd never heard of this thanks a lot!

[@thescout9383]

Also it would be cool if they made a Twilight Episode about the broadcast and it was actually real and the people doing the play don't realize it.

[@nolanueno1060]

Cool

[@nitricoxide5899]

@The Scout I know the comment is four years old but that's a *REALLY* good idea.

[@GGE47]

@@nitricoxide5899 I was just 6 when I saw the 1953 movie "The War of the Worlds " at the theater when it was released. That scared me as much as these people. It was the first time I had ever heard of Martians or another civilization from other another planet. It was a totally new concept to me. At one point my father had to take me into the men's room to assure me that it was a movie and it was not real.

[@D_Marrenalv]

@ The Scout: LOL, I LOVE it!

[@indy_go_blue6048]

One of the networks did a two hour movie following the WotW style with numerous warnings that it was a drama. IIRC the plot involved a stolen nuclear device terrorists were threatening to explode in Charleston SC harbor. It wasn't a bad show.

[@rickdevault2535]

I love these old shows. Thanks for posting.

[@steinrich56]

Thanks for the upload........this is a real gem.........and nothing has changed, as people today still believe what they hear, read and see within the media....

[@SL-cl9gt]

This is nowhere near as chaotic as the tragic Turkey Drop ✈️ 🦃

[@billkaldem5099]

Wkrp in Cincinnati. Loved it.

[@Gravydog316]

😂😂😂

[@user-il5oq5df6l]

A classic!

[@workpics]

The bartender was character actor Charles White. Besides the plaque of The War of the Worlds in the "mythical" town of Grovers Mill, there's also a small-scale version of one of the tripods.

[@michiganjfrog366]

16:40 that's a young John Astin.. I also recognized Ed Asner and Vincent Gardenia

[@ZENmud]

John came on-screen (first time) just as I scrolled to your comment 🦇🎃🦇

[@moviesovermatterproductions]

O my goodness, the impact Welles had. He had such a brilliant mind but my GOD to cause such chaos!!! I can’t say unbelievable, because the broadcast still creeps me out to this day

[@williamgmeniano5744]

Which Welles?

[@moviesovermatterproductions]

@@williamgmeniano5744 you bring up a good point there lol! HG without a doubt a genius but I’m talking about Orson👍🏾

[@Norfolk250]

41:30 “Quick! We’ve got to get back home. Millie found our stash and she sounds like she shot the lot!”

[@bismarket1]

Thanx for posting this, i enjoyed it a lot.

[@whitesky18]

Steve Allen, in one of his many books, related the effect the 1938 CBS broadcast had on him and his Aunts. Hastily packing suitcases, running for the hotel lobby, yelling for everybody to "Run for your lives -the Martians are coming!"

[@patrickney6584]

Warren Beatty was great in this fine drama from television's golden age.

[@alysononoahu8702]

Yes...in the poker game

[@kerenchadwick6535]

haaaaaaaa loved watching people's reactions to this play !!!

[@SuperIliad]

Studio One in Hollywood (TV Series): The Night America Trembled, Season 10, Episode 1, aired 9 September 1957. Edward R. Murrow as Edward R. Murrow, Self / Narrator; Alexander Scourby as Carl Phillips - Host; Robert Blackburn, Director; Casey Allen, First Announcer; Norman Rose, Second Announcer; Ray Boyle, First Actor; Frank Marth, Second Actor; Edward Asner, Third Actor; Freda Holloway as Mary Morgan; John Gibson as Mr. Morgan - Mary's Father; Clint Kimbrough as Bob; Tom Clancy as Tom; Vincent Gardenia as Dick; Fred J. Scollay as Harry; James Coburn as Sam Chandler (as Jim Coburn); Priscilla Gillette as Elaine Chandler; Susan Hallaran as Millie - the Babysitter; Crahan Denton as Mac - NJ Police Officer; Al Markim as Brownie - NJ Police Officer; Frank Daly, Editor; Roger Quinlan, Timid Man; Larry Robinson, Dealer; Warren Beatty, First Card Player; Warren Oates, Second Card Player; Fritz Weber, Third Card Player; Bob Kilgallen, Student; Edgar Bergen, Self (voice) (archive footage); Betty Furness, Self - Commercial Spokeswoman; Adolf Hitler, Self (archive footage); Charlie McCarthy, Self (voice) (archive footage); John Cameron Swayze, Self - Commercial Spokesman; John Astin, Reporter.

[@chrisk8187]

Well conceived by H.G.Wells! This "reality play" was skillfully executed to great effect!

[@calchick82]

I think the way the radio broadcast was handled in the tv movie was way better & much more dramatic than how it is portrayed on this tv show. In the tv movie, Paul Shenar did a brilliant job as Orson Welles; he even looked like him.

[@michaelpalmieri7335]

Unlike this show, which didn't even mention Orson Welles' name, or that of Howard Koch (the scriptwriter), or Bernard Hermann (who conducted the music).

[@starmnsixty1209]

The Night that panicked America is the TV movie broadcast Halloween of 1975.

[@zaqvoir608]

the amazing thing is that Studio One was show done live … live television drama … a stunning production for the young medium of television (( do you recognize the actors who would later become big stars ? ))

[@MTknitter22]

Zaq Voir Also note the vocabulary, grammar and proper speech! News in US AND UK use such simple speech - they have to - people dumber..

[@indy_go_blue6048]

@@MTknitter22 People are only treated as dumber which is why only 5% of all people trust the modern media.

[@indy_go_blue6048]

I think James Coburn was the husband of the couple with the babysitter but I could never see his face well.

[@hv3926]

@@indy_go_blue6048 It was Coburn. One of the card-playing college frat boys is Warren Beatty who tries to get through to home on the phone. The heavy guy in the bar who says ..."always next year..." is another but I just can't name him.

[@loristephens3016]

"From ghoulies and ghosties and long legged beasties and things that go bump in the night, Good Lord deliver us! "

[@laurentgriffon698]

Great film! I enjoy the commercials advertisments between the scenes.

[@jessicabarczewski1910]

The Simpsons spoofed this in the episode where Bart gets a microphone that lets him be on the radio. He starts talking about a Martian invasion and you see Homer in the background loading the shot gun. 😂😂

[@oluhamilton2121]

I'll bet that THIS was an early experiment on MEDIA CONTROL, Accidentally on purpose of course. THIS is what made Welles so BRILLIANT.

[@1971bdott]

And people still fall for it in our day and age.

[@inkyguy]

This was broadcast on CBS national television on 9, September 1957, just a little more than 19 years after the original October 30, 1938, radio broadcast. All of the original performers were still alive. I wish they had enlisted some of those who originally performed on the national radio broadcast in order to create more of an historic record of the infamous broadcast. It feels like a great missed opportunity. Though I doubt they could have enlisted Welles, who knows? He was willing to do a lot of stuff if the salary was right - or there was sufficient prestige associated with it. Besides Welles, who acted and directed in the 1938 radio broadcast, the other actors were: Frank Readick †1965,; Kenny Delmar, †1984; Ray Collins, †1965; and Dan Seymour, †1982) It was produced by John Houseman, †1988, well-known a generation or so later for his performance of the character law professor Charles W. Kingsfield in both the film and television series versions of “The Paper Chase.”.

[@mooseandsquirrel9887]

Housman was also in “ Three days of the Condor “......

[@ZENmud]

I was 6 months old; scared the diaper right off me! (jk) ~ my folks were in NJ for it, but we didn't talk about it.

[@kataisa3]

the original broadcast happened just before WWII broke out so the world was on edge. I don't blame people for freaking out when this originally aired. Welles exploited it all too well.

[@CrossOfBayonne]

And it is so again unfortunately just like in the 1930s war once again looms because Russia invaded the Ukraine and China is now threatening Taiwan

[@williamsandell3260]

Wonderful. What a cast!

[@spikegenalo7994]

Very Enjoyable dramatization, I am a fan of all things "War of the Worlds". thanks so much for posting.

[@rangerjones5531]

knowledgenuts.com/2013/12/27/war-of-the-worlds-didnt-cause-mass-panic/

[@LHarroldSD]

Classic. And, all those now famous or semi-famous actors! Thanks, great fun!

[@annemarielara1962]

I love this movie, even the old commercials!

[@bodegabreath4258]

I’m devastated. And all this time I really thought they were in the Meridian Room listening to Ramon and His Castanets. Next thing I suppose they were never in Grovers Mill, New Jersey. Bummer. Fascinating program. TYVM.

[@lushscreamqueen]

True indeed I did forget to mention John Astin! Thank you oduffy1936!

[@johnalang]

There IS SO a place called, "Grovers Mill, NJ"

[@tomservo56954]

Famously selected by producer John Houseman with a dart thrown at a road map

[@donniedickerson8077]

This is just Absolutely Phenomenal ,love it , always Have

[@bryanmiller7061]

I remember listening to the Broadcast when I was a little boy and seeing everybody going crazy running and driving around with their guns waiting for the Martians to come and everyone was mad and laughing when it was revealed as a broadcast I still get scared listening to it.

[@JazzKeyboardist1]

yes, it was nice their spaceships had the martian logo on it, They couldn't speak English for a few more earth days

[@rangerjones5531]

I call bullshit on your tale!

[@JazzKeyboardist1]

lewis jones.. the idea is to add something to a story or actually originate something like H g Wells. instead of just throwing poop like a talking monkey

[@v.d.c.volosdashcam1352]

Bryan Miller is your story true ? Im facinated from the broadcast that night was like the real war of the worlds tell me everything !

[@v.d.c.volosdashcam1352]

Tell mee everything !

[@Anaconda64sq]

very entertaining and neat blast from the past.

[@retrovideofestival]

"There's no such place as Grover's Mill"...er, yes there is!

[@j.jasonwentworth723]

Grover's Mill even has a commemorative plaque that memorializes the events of that night (Isaac Asimov attended its dedication). One or two locals who heard the 1938 broadcast shot at the water tower, which--in the mist that night--they mistook for a Martian fighting machine. The Comedian and author Steve Allen also supported the truth, that the panic that night was far less widespread and intense than the popular re-tellings of it suggest. As he said in an interview: He and his aunts heard it on their radio (he was visiting them that day), and his aunts momentarily freaked out, but all they did to prepare was lodge a chair under the doorknob of their apartment. But when he went downstairs to see what the neighbors were doing, they weren't listening to Orson Welles' broadcast at all; in fact, he said, a man in the lobby was calmly listening to another program on another station. It dawned on him then that "If the Martians really were invading, it would be on every radio station," and he went back upstairs to tell his aunts that the whole thing was just a radio prank, and: Halloween was celebrated back then as a night of tricks, perhaps more than treats. Not only did my parents (born in 1919 and 1923) tell me about kids doing such things on Halloween in those years (rubbing bars of soap on neighbors' windows, hanging neighbors' fence gates up in trees, etc.), but even at the end of his broadcast that night, Orson Welles--appearing out of character--said (in part), "If there's a knock at the door and no one's there, that was no Martian--it's Halloween!"

[@tomservo56954]

@@j.jasonwentworth723 It's now viewed that whatever happened was in fact exaggerated by the newspapers, resentful that radio was usurping their role as the first choice for people getting their information.

[@michaelpalmieri7335]

@@j.jasonwentworth723 Actually, what Mr. Welles said was "If your DOORBELL RINGS and nobody's there, that was no Martian, it's Halloween."

[@jimmyross4352]

@J Jason Interesting, If I remember correctly, we had ''goosy night'' the night before Halloween in NJ in the 50's. That was ''prank night ''for us kids to run wild. Halloween eve meant free candy, at trick or treat time.

[@dontheguy1]

With the exception of todays advances in medical science and civil rights,1957 was a good year to be alive, especially in America. Those were better days in all respects.

[@WG-tt6hk]

Agree. I was 10 in 57'.

[@aadamtx]

"Better days" is all relative. Consider in 1957: women were limited in the roles that society handed down and could not even obtain a mortgage on a house; black and Hispanic Americans suffered severe discrimination, not only in the South and West; Hurricane Audrey caused over 500 deaths along the Gulf Coast; the Viet Cong started heavily bombing South Vietnam; the Arkansas National Guard had to be federalized so that black students could attend a white school; HUAC was still actively blacklisting writers and performers; central air conditioning did not exist for most Americans;

[@hv3926]

Must have been good times even though I wasn't yet alive. Clearly despite good things like civil rights, etc, the 60s decadence began the downward spiral to what we have today. As for the anti-American clown who posted this video, you and your backwards thinking regarding America and Americans, including our 2nd Ammendment rights can go straight to H E double toothpicks. If you don't live in America, no one here is surprised. If you Are in this great country, please kindly leave.

[@johnleber3369]

Truly the good old days.In HS late fifties, could take a DC Transit streetcar from the DC District line to see Senators at Griffith Stadium for a transit token.Bleacher seats 75 cents and box seats 2.50 I think. When the grass was green and folks were human beings and kids didnt sass their parents or kill them!

[@michaelpalmieri7335]

@@hv3926 Hold on there, pal! Where did you get the idea that whoever posted this video hates America? And what does the Second Amendment have to do with this, especially since you can't even SPELL "Amendment" right? You put an extra "m" in it. And who are you to tell someone not to come to America, or to leave it, just because his opinions are different from yours? It's a free country, you know. Don't forget that back in the 1960s-70s, people used to say the same things about those who protested against the Vietnam War ("America, love it or leave it!"). But now, I think history has vindicated those protesters, and has proven that disagreement is not treason, and that dissent is not disloyalty. It's time people like you learned that lesson. And you have the nerve to accuse others of "backward thinking"?

[@temeculajoe]

When television had class dramas on. Today's tv is nothing but crap

[@williampherrmann2422]

TV is better now than it's ever been the past ten years have been a golden age of television with shows like breaking bad and game of thrones ,the walking dead, ozark the list goes on

[@rudylittlewolf]

@@williampherrmann2422 Yea, join those zombies that you are.

[@lodi70005]

And the guys before them said,” these kids with their TV and radio dramas are nothing but crap with no class. Vaudeville and Silent Movies is the future of entertainment.”

[@verasmith4767]

I have two old radios that work. The tubes still work..

[@gregoryvanikiotis3295]

I recognized Ed Asner/ Warren Beatty/ Warren Oates/ John Aston and announcers Alexander Scourby, Frank Marth, All seasoned veterans. Oops I forgot to mention Vincent Gardinia.

[@davidwillard7334]

Wasn't the guy in the Pub ! Rodney Dangerfield !?

[@michaelpalmieri7335]

@@davidwillard7334 I don't think so. I didn't see his name listed in the closing credits.

[@davidharrington50]

My grandfather used to laugh about it all the time because they really thought it was real if u heard it on the radio because that's all they had and he told you it was a story but look how he did it, there was no music in the story lol 😂

[@scaleyardmarine]

Was looking for this for a year now

[@rogerrendzak8055]

What Edward Murrow conveniently forgot to include, was the amount of suicides, that were perpetrated in the north Jersey, northeastern Pennsylvania, and southern New York state, because of the panic. As I recall, reading years back, over 400 people, from that region, died from their own hands, or related mishaps, and accidents.

[@garygerard4290]

My dad was born in '15 and told me he never heard of the broadcast or any mention of it, I'd be willing to bet for the most part it came and went and some listened to it and lots missed it and it passed into the past as many days before and since have. It makes for a good story to make reference to it as has been proven time and again.

[@mariafintova1530]

My sentiments exactly. Brilliant. So nostalgic and everything just seemed to be done with class even the ad's as most have eluded to. God today's stuff, culture we are going backwards for sure. No, I'm not that old too (1970) Great find this, many thanks! P.s I'm a guy btw, using the missis google account i've noticed , she wouldn't appreciate this ( not being sexist) just a fact. English guy living in SK.

[@davidbiggs5499]

I remember the night this was on I was 6 this was the first time I heard of the radio play just started school this was on a Sunday night the next day we played Martian invasion at school in kindergarten what a great thing imagination can be at that age

[@TheOneTrueKaliban]

I don't know why they said that Grover's Mill is fictional. I've been there. There's even a little park with a monument commemorating the "invasion."

[@Sch00lbu5]

Outstanding!

[@Metalhead15712]

They did this for Halloween one year in my home town. I enjoyed it, but my grandparents got really scared

[@johnthacker5246]

Read "The Panic Broadcast" by Howard Koch (Koch wrote the script). Koch said in 1962, a South American radio station bought the rights of the play From Orson and aired the play just as Orson did...AND GOT THE SAME PANIC! When the listeners found out it wasn't real, they burned radio station.

[@michaelpalmieri7335]

I think I may have borrowed that book from the library when I lived in Yonkers, NY, many years ago. I live in Florida now.

[@peterweisz42]

Great to see youthful versions of familiar actors. Ed Asner. James (Jim) Coburn. Warren Beatty. Vincent Gardenia. Warren Oates. Were there any I missed?

[@nancyhowell4505]

Tab Hunter

[@nylrob]

John Astin (uncredited)

[@jimmyguitar2933]

Spotted Ed Asner right away.

[@user-il5oq5df6l]

I chiefly remember Alexander Scourby as the narrator of the National Geographic t.v. specials. He also starred in an episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE.

[@Dan-ud8ob]

very cool.. very very cool !!!

[@StevenErnest]

It's funny the police say there is no Grovers Mill in New Jersey, but there is.

[@luisreyes1963]

One of many stories about the infamous 1937 radio play of "The War Of The Worlds".

[@michaelpalmieri7335]

*1938

[@DP-hy4vh]

Recognized four, maybe five, actors in this; James Coburn Ed Asner (one of the radio actors playing bomber pilots) John Astin as a reporter. The older guy in the bar was on a couple of seasons of "All in the Family" as the Italian husband of one of Archie's female co-workers. I'm not sure but the college student sitting on the bottom of the bunk bed looked like a very young Dennis Hopper.

[@michaelpalmieri7335]

The one who was on "All In The Family" was Vincent Gardenia, who played Frank Lorenzo, husband of Irene Lorenzo, Archie's "female co-worker" (played by Betty Garrett, who also played Edna Babbish, the landlady on "Laverne And Shirley"; she was a veteran actress who appeared in supporting or "bit" roles in various Hollywood films, including the female taxi driver in 1949's "On The Town" with Frank Sinatra).

[@SallySallySallySally]

Loved seeing young James Coburn ("Sam" - the husband of the couple with the babysitter,) Ed Asner (one of the voice actors in the broadcast studio) and Warren Beatty (at the card table.) The Bell System made a film about the impact this broadcast had on the telephone system including interviews of women who were switchboard operators that night. While dated, what with the period costuming and Murrow's ever-present cigarette, it is a glimpse of actual good television we'll never see again.