User reviews

This was a very good movie. The acting was good, not too cheesy and not to serious. The characters were a bit shallow, but the movie rightfully paid more attention to the broadcast and the reactions, not character's motives.

Great job by Paul Shenar as Orson Welles, and honorable mentions to both De Young and Bosley. Watch it if you can find it!

On October 30th, 1938, exactly 70 years ago tomorrow, the Martians attacked.Or at least many people thought they did.A radio broadcast by Orson Welles took place that night.The radio version of H.G.Wells' The War of the Worlds was being played on the radio and they made it as realistic as possible.People, who hadn't heard the beginning of that play took it all seriously.They really thought the Martians had invaded the Earth.Joseph Sargent's The Night That Panicked America is a made-for -television movie from 1975.There are some known names in this movie.Tom Bosley,as remembered from Happy Days playing Howard Cunningham, plays Norman Smith.Meredith Baxter, as remembered from Family Ties playing Elyse Keaton, plays Linda Davis.John Ritter, who we lost way too soon, plays Walter Wingate.Michael Constantine plays Jess Wingate.Eileen Brennan is Ann Muldoon.Paul Shenar plays Orson Welles.This movie gives a very good portrayal of those events.Something like this couldn't probably happen today.We know too much now.Our world is filled with knowledge, I could say even too much.If we didn't have all the knowledge, we'd all be escaping the Martians.

"The Night That Panicked America" is an adaption of the famous War of the Worlds broadcast of October 30, 1938. I'm watching this on October 30, 2000, the 62nd anniversary of the actual broadcast. A 30-year-old Nicholas Meyer wrote the excellent screenplay and supervised the production of this made-for-TV movie, making sure it was done in an historically detailed and accurate way. I am very, very impressed by this production, and I doubt that it could have been done any better. The movie usually shows up on the Sci-Fi Channel around Halloween. Look for many future youthful stars such as Meredith Baxter, John Ritter, and Casey Kasem.

This is a must for anyone interested in the career of Orson Welles. Paul Shenar, who played the role of Welles in this production, is much too old for the role but his voice is close to the beautiful voice of Welles.

In October of 1938, the world was on the brink of war and in the midst of a depression. People were frightened about the present an frightened about the future. One part of this movie, at least, is about fear - the fear felt by people facing tough situations and how easy it is to tap into that fear.

"The Night That Panicked America" is the story (accurately told for the most part) of the night of October 30, 1938. The CBS Radio Network and Orson Welles broadcast their version of H.G. Wells' "The War Of The Worlds." Largely taking the form of news broadcasts, and with people tuning in and out and not necessarily catching the disclaimer at the start, panic began to spread, as people heard the fake news reports and actually believed that Martians were attacking. The portrayal of mass hysteria is very interesting; how easy it was to convince people that this was real was actually rather frightening. I've seen estimates that about 6 million people heard the broadcast, 1.7 million of them believed it and 1.2 million were actually very frightened by what they thought was happening. Fascinating to think how easily manipulated the masses could be by someone deliberately setting out to do it - and, in 1938, CBS wasn't setting out to manipulate; they were just setting out to entertain with a scary Halloween Eve broadcast. Fascinating.

The other interesting aspect of the movie is the technical side. It was also fascinating to see the re-creation of how a 1938 radio show was put together. That alone made this worthwhile viewing - especially to see what they did for something that we today would think of as being as simple as sound effects.

Is this is a great movie? Probably not. It's not exactly what I would call riveting. But it is a good look both at early radio and at the phenomenon of mass hysteria. (7/10)

The movie really is a fun to watch dramatization of what happened during the famous broadcast of "War of the Worlds". Some people tuned into the broadcast after it began, while others were turning the dial and ran across it then began listening and others just walked up while others were listening to the show and became interested in it. People began calling the radio station to learn more about the broadcast to find out it was just a play on the radio. Even some police officers believed the broadcast was real news according to this film.

Well, I think some people believed this was a real event but I don't believe that 1/2 of America was panicking... most already knew about Orson Wells and his radio show. I believe only a handful of people believed it to be a real event -- the rest of the tale of what really happened that night was blown out of proportion and made to sound like it was worse than it really was. That's just how I feel about it.

7.5/10

On the night before Halloween, 1938, Orson Welles directs a radio adaptation of HG Wells' novel The War of the Worlds from forty years prior. The "breaking news" style of ominous storytelling convinced many listeners throughout America to take it seriously, causing a panic. The illusion of realism was reinforced by the lack of commercial interruptions, which meant that the first break didn't come until after all of the alarming "news" had been given.

A television production, "The Night that Panicked America" (1975) works well enough to help you see how Welles' show could deceive those who failed to hear the opening announcement indicating that the show was a work of fiction. Paul Shenar does a good job playing Welles and there are several familiar faces, like Vic Morrow, Eileen Brennan, Meredith Baxter, Will Geer, Tom Bosley and John Ritter just before his success with Three's Company.

The ending fittingly mentions the town of Concrete, Washington, which is located 96 miles northeast of Seattle. During the midpoint of the broadcast a coincidental power failure plunged the town of (then) one thousand people into darkness. Needless to say, they were probably the most terrified listeners in America.

It runs 1 hour, 32 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles.

GRADE: B.

This film was a very entertaining, and historically accurate recreation of Orson Welles' radio program "War of the Worlds", which was based loosely on H G Wells' novel of the same name. It is utterly amazing that so many people believed that this radio drama was real, and the film does an excellent job of dramatizing the reactions of several people who seriously believed that the Earth was being invaded by Martians. What amazes me even more is the fact that no one has made this excellent production available for sale on video. It surely is a marketable product.

I am not generally a fan of movies made for television, but "The Night America Panicked" is a clear Exception. I was fourteen years old when I watched it with my mother who boasted a firsthand experience of the original Orson Welles broadcast of "War of the Worlds," and the resulting mayhem. She had told the story to me many times when I was younger and it was interesting to see it recreated. My mom was so impressed with the late Paul Shenar's enthusiastic portrayal of Orson Welles that she became a lifelong fan. I became of fan of Orson Welles and I loved "Citizen Kane" as well as the humor behind Citizen Kane's promotional trailer (the girls are here for the purpose of ballyhoo). Like other fans, I would like to see this movie preserved on DVD. I would buy it so I could watch it again.

As the line between entertainment and news becomes increasingly blurred, this important film cautions us about the media's power over our lives. I was lucky enough to get a copy of this recently and am using it in a Western Studies class to teach my high school students about the role of radio in the Modern Age. Both FDR and Hitler understood very well how to use the radio, and this concept is even more relevant today in our age of sound bites and podcasts. More than ever, we need to teach our children how to wade through the information tidal wave that swamps them daily. This film serves as a powerful reminder that we must be far more discerning about what we read and hear, regardless of the source.

This film was an excellent look at the perhaps one of the most notorious instances of mass hysteria ever. This film made me interested in the actual play and I think that this was pretty much an accurate portrayal of the event. Also, the little stories of how people were affected by the broadcast and what they went through as the story unfolded. The one story that I felt really conveyed what happened was the one featuring Vic Morrow and Eileen Brennan as the couple on the brink of divorce who forget their differences and are brought back together because of the broadcast. If anyone wants a good example of a good TV movie, this is it.

I wish ABC would replay this on Halloween. I haven't seen it in years but remember it being AWESOME. Trying to find a copy.

This is a great movie. If it's ever on TV, I suggest watching it. Personally I don't usually like TV movies but this is an exception. Very good with interesting situations and likable characters. It's hard to beleive something like this once happened but it's allm true. Orson Wells must have gotten into a lot of trouble after that one. It's a shame it's not on DvD. Watch it on Halloween or the Night before.

Just brilliant. And... without Social Media, Smartphones, Computers. Only radio! This is a classic one. I don't think anybody will reach this level in this modern time! Great movie!

Had heard of the Radio Broadcast, and was intrigued by Orson Welles causing so much panic for the people who tuned in late. Enjoyed the hectic panic shown in the movie. This was also a good starring vehicle for Eileen Brennan, who attended The American Academy of Dramatic Arts,at the same time as myself. She has a good comic ability, and handled herself well as one who is truly panicked. I felt the movie was a good laugh riot from start to finish. After seeing the movie, It made me even more sad for missing the original on Radio.

This film was an excellent portrayal of the radio broadcast and the actor who played Orson Wells did an excellent job. The sound effects at the radio station was unbelievable accurate as to the sound of an alien space craft both landing and the sound of the hatch coming off, very scare as was suppose to happen especially back in the 30's. The acting to go along with the radio broadcast was out of sight. This was a very entertaining movie and i wish it was also available on video as stated by Mike Spangler, if that is not possible than it should be made available to be shown on TV again, so people could record it as I did some years ago, but have a very poor copy of. If this is available to be replayed on TV, than this Halloween should be appropriate to re-broadcast this fine movie

This movie is currently available on YouTube. It consists of the presentation of the Mercury Theater production of "War of the Worlds" and simultaneously shows various gullible folks around the US reacting to it...and believing the invasion from Mars is real. It's a very famous and well documented event and one the film does a great job in recreating...live and in all its vividness. The acting and production are very good and I think it's a great way to experience what it was like to listen to it in 1938...far better than just listening to a recording of the radio broadcast. On hand are a variety of 1970s stars and I remember watching this when it acme on in the 70s and just watched it again tonight...and was impressed both times.

An okay telefilm about the famous (infamous?) radio broadcast. It certainly deserves good marks for adhering closely to what occurred during the original broadcast and, of course, dramatic license is to be expected with the various stories of Americans reacting to the show. But, still, it IS a TV movie from 1975 which means that it's low budgeted---therefore it seems underpopulated. For instance, Orson Welles (Shenar) arrives at the CBS Radio studios walking in at a leisurely pace in the early evening down an empty, quiet street... when in fact Welles was always rushing in at the last minute from a stage show rehearsal, and New York streets at 7PM would be bustling with people and noise (sometimes Welles hired an ambulance to get him to the CBS studio on time---now that would have been a great opening for this film!) Not to nitpick, but it's this kind of flatness in sound and direction that hurts the film. Additionally, Shenar looks nothing like a young Orson Welles (who looked very much like Bob Hope) and plays him with too much control. Welles was dynamic and explosive and very much a young man (in his early twenties in 1938) while Shenar is too aloof and too much older (he was nearly forty when he played this part). But Shenar does have the rich deep Wellesian baritone (probably the main reason for hiring him). A great subject for a movie and one that deserves another try... although this one is adequate.

I love this movie. It is very well done. The script and cast are perfect. Some personal notes.,There really is a Grover's Mill NJ. I went there with my dad. Yes, there is a water tower. My parents free up during this the Depression. My dad said really did believe this was happening. He was in a traffic jam coming home from work. It does show how different people reacted to the broadcast. Paul Shemar is great as Welled.

The Night That Panicked America (1975)

*** (out of 4)

Orson Welles and his fellow actors arrive at the radio station on October 30, 1938 to begin their performance of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds. Around the country various people turn the radio on and hear the broadcast but don't understand that it's fake.

This dramatization of the events of that day have been told countless times in both books, television shows and movies but this here is one of the better examples even though it too is far from perfect. THE NIGHT THAT PANICKED America has some terrific stuff in it that makes it worth viewing but at the same time the subject is so great that you can't help but wish one day someone really nails the material. With that said, there are some fun performances throughout and there's no doubt that it remains fun.

The best thing going for this film is the actual re-enactment of the radio station. I thought director Joseph Sargent did a terrific job at showing us what it was like in a radio station back in these days and seeing the re-enactment of the broadcast was a lot of fun. A lot of screen time is devoted to this so that means that very few of the surrounding stories are built up. The character development is pretty much missing and I think one flaw with the picture is that there are so many characters that we just don't really get to know any of them.

The film offers up a rather nice cast including Vic Morrow, Eileen Brenan, Tom Bosley, Will Geer, a young John Ritter and Paul Shenar as Welles. The supporting stories range from mildly interesting to some pretty bland stuff including a man trying to get a woman to marry him before the invasion. Still, THE NIGHT THAT PANICKED America is worth watching and especially if you're familiar with the true story.