La nuit qui terrifia l'Amérique

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.