Author Brent A Harris discusses one of the most remarkable moments in science fiction history - when a radio performance of a classic novel convinced many that the world was under attack...
How The New York Times reported Orson Welles' broadcast of HG Wells' The War of the Worlds
On its shiny, space-ship surface, War
of the Worlds ushers in an apocalypse the likes of which played out
in reality during the poison gas filled trenches of the Somme, and
the dawning of the nuclear age.
In many ways, it’s a sadly accurate
prediction of our dystopian past. But underneath the sci-fi saga that
started it all, lies an exposition of earth itself. While humanity is
helpless, earth itself fights back against the Martian invaders, thus
reinforcing not only our species’ inferior place in the cosmos, but
at home on our own planet. This notion of dystopia was never made
clearer than the eve of October 30th, 1938 – the night
the world ended.
On that perfect night, the stage was
set for radio broadcaster, Orson Welles to scar the nation—or at
least a small portion of his listening audience, into thinking that
an unassailable alien force had landed on Earth. It was CBS’ radio
hour, and Mercury Theater On Air’s adaptation of H.G. Wells’
novel, War of the Worlds. Well, it was not so much an
adaption, but rather a conversion of the source material into an
elaborate prank, not at all unlike, Welles said, “somebody
put[ting] a sheet over his head and yelling, ‘Boo!’.”
Orson Welles explaining to journalists that there was never any intent to make people think that an invasion was real.
And indeed it was a well-crafted,
mischievous prank. Combining Welles’ flair for showmanship with
Wells’ dystopian, dark, science-fiction made for a radio adaptation
that by today’s standards, would only be in compared to ‘found
footage’ films. But movies like The Blair Witch Project, a film
itself which caused a culture change and paradigm-shifting studio
shake-up, can’t hold a candle to this radio production. But how did
Welles convince his audience that an alien invasion was real? After
all, anyone listening would have heard the CBS introduction to
Mercury Theater, and its rather slowly paced prologue which
set the scene for the hour ahead.
The ratings battle between TV networks,
NBC and CBS, existed long before Jack Benny jumped from our ears to
our eyes on the small screen. At the time of the broadcast, NBC had
the lion share of the audience with the Chase and Sanborn Hour,
a variety show featuring a wide-range of performers, including wooden
dummy, Charlie McCarthy and his
Jeff-Dunham-before-there-was-Jeff-Dunham-puppeteer, Edgar Bergen. The
show dominated Sunday night ratings. Indeed, hardly anyone listened
to Mercury Theater. It was the modern equivalent of the SyFy
channel after Farscape and MST3K left the air. But, that was all
before Orson Welles gave CBS got a shot in the advertising arm, and
America listened, glued to their radios.
As America pinned its ears dutifully to
the first 2 minutes and 32 seconds of the NBC Chase and Sanborn
Hour, CBS and Orson Welles were busy going through the normal
introductions of the Mercury Theater broadcast, introducing
its episode, and muddying through a fairly dry 2-minute prologue. And
then the fun happened. Over at NBC, after their introductions and a
short bit by America’s Funniest Wooden Comedian, a less than
well-received singer, Nelson Eddie, crooned on, at his usual time
during the variety hour—and that is when the radios clicked. “Let’s
see what’s on the other channel,” the collective cry went out.
And, because there were no giant remote control clickers for radios,
that is when the 9-year-old-of-the-family had to get up and go change
the radio station for dear mum and dad. And there it stayed.
Because, exactly
2 minutes and 32 seconds into the Mercury Theater Broadcast, the
introduction and prologue had stopped—and a ‘newscast’ began
reporting strange sightings from Mars, and later, strange, unearthly,
activity in New Jersey. What followed was an almost 30 minute
unbroken ‘transcription’ of eyewitness events, reports from
military officials, and even an address by a voice that sounded
remarkably similar to then-President FDR. Mischievous—and
well-planned indeed. If you have never heard the radio broadcast in
its entirety, do yourself a favor and listen to it. It can be found
here https://archive.org/details/OrsonWellesMrBruns
.
A picture was taken by ZeWrestler at the landing site Grover's Mill, New Jersey.
The landing site is marked by the monument in the picture at the current-day Van Nest Park in West Windsor Township, New Jersey.
In a hastily scripted ‘apology’
tacked on at the end of the broadcast, Orson Welles reiterated that
the
whole thing was a prank, and reassured audiences that there was
indeed, no alien invasion. While historians will debate to what level
of public panic was indeed caused by a relatively obscure broadcast,
there a case to be made for some over-reaction. Nevertheless, it took
some convincing from those in the media to calm the collective nerves
of the country. Certainly however, afterward, people wouldn’t admit
to having been duped, so life went on and CBS accepted the mania
surrounding the broadcast as part of its excellence in broadcast
history. However, for nearly 30 minutes, it was the night that the
world ended.
But what if it wasn’t an elaborate
hoax? Or even, what if the original novel by H.G. Wells was true,
but
erroneously branded as science fiction to prevent public panic? What
if the alien invasion… had been real? Find out more this summer in
the upcoming Tales from Alternate Earths, a short story
anthology where we will step into worlds that are indeed real. (Editor: Now available here)
The mischievous mind of Brent A Harris can be followed on Twitter here.
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