Lumsdal Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Freaktana A Major Disappointment

Tymon Sutton The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Kayden This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Woodyanders October 30, 1938. A dynamic and highly dramatic contemporary adaptation of H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds" performed live on the radio by Orson Welles (a fine and credible portrayal by Paul Shenar) and the Mercury Theatre company causes mass panic all over the United States after many listeners mistake it for a real live broadcast.Director Joseph Sargent not only keeps the gripping story moving along at a snappy pace, but also builds a good deal of tension as well as offers a flavorsome and meticulous evocation of the late 1930's period setting. Moreover, the smart and compelling script by Nicholas Meyer and Anthony Wilson astutely captures the tense and paranoid atmosphere of a country that was on the cusp of World War II. The sturdy acting by the tip-top cast rates as another significant asset, with especially stand-out contributions from Vic Morrow as the sour Hank Muldoon, Eileen Brennan as the distraught Ann, Michael Constantine as no-nonsense farmer Jess Wingate, John Ritter as Wingate's eager son Walter, Will Geer as the stern Reverend Davis, Tom Bosley as antsy producer Norman Smith, and Burton Gilliam as the excitable Tex. Casey Kasem and Walter Edmiston are both terrific as members of the Mercury Theatre group. The sharp cinematography by Jules Brenner boasts several very impressive crane and tracking shots. An on the money TV movie.

radioman63 There's a lot I can say about this movie and it's all very good. First, it's amazing how erroneous information gets out and is plastered all over the place. Babe Hardy mentions in an earlier post that it was Art Carney who voiced the "Secretary of the Interior" on the broadcast. Carney NEVER was a part of the Mercury Players. The Secretary was voiced by Kenny Delmar, who is remembered by Old Time Radio enthusiasts as the announcer on the Fred Allen Show. He also played the role of the popular Senator Claghorn on Allen's program. Also vandino1 seems to be very down on this movie because it does not show Welles arriving in an ambulance at the CBS studios. He also claims Paul Shenar does not resemble Orson Welles. I completely disagree. Shenar played the Welles role brilliantly. Yes, he was close to 40 playing the role of Welles who would have been about 23 years old, but he does so very convincingly and does resemble him. And Welles did not always arrive at the studio in an ambulance at the last minute! Having gotten that out of the way, this is a fantastic movie for those who love old-time radio, and are interested in the power that radio once held. The storyline is very factual, showing how Americans believed the broadcast to be real. Those that tuned in late, and had been listening to The Chase and Sanborn Hour, missed the opening of the program introducing the show as the Mercury Theater. Others who first thought it was a play, later began having doubts as the action was very realistic. The nation was jittery, just having passed the Sudeten Crisis the month before. The public had grown accustomed to hearing programs interrupted for bulletins and the threat of war looming. Some people did think it was the Germans invading. Above all else, at that time radio was infallible. If you heard it on the radio it was true! It had to be true! The pacing of the movie is very good, speeding up as the action starts to take place. The studio where the program scenes were shot was very accurate, and look like the old CBS studios in New York. Observing the action in the studio, the actors working the microphones, the sound effects, and the scenes of production staff in the control room is very good and gives a glimpse of what a radio broadcast during that time period would have looked like. It is a fascinating story and is all very well depicted in this movie, showing the action at the studio interspersed with scenes of the other characters reacting across the country.The all-star cast is great! John Ritter, Meredith Baxter, Will Geer, Michael Constantine, Eileen Brennan, Vic Morrow, Tom Bosley, and Casey Kasem among them. I remember as a kid watching this movie on the ABC Friday Night Movie on October 31, 1975. Now the best news of all, this movie is available on DVD from Amazon! I have ordered a copy and watched it. It is uncut, original, and great quality. I was fortunate enough to have a recording of it I made from TV many years ago, but now with the DVD, it is available to everyone. There's been a lot of posts over the years on the Internet from fans of this movie anxiously waiting for it to come out on DVD. Now it's here and available! I highly recommend this great movie about a fantastic event that really did happen!

darthvader1961 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.

Ed in St. Louis "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.