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| The War of the Worlds - A History |
| No one would have believed
in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched
keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal
as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. Chapter 1 - The Eve of the War - The War of the Worlds, H.G.Wells. |
For anyone who missed the disclaimer at the beginning of the play describing the following events as fictitious, they only had their common sense to defend them till the next disclaimer 40 minutes later.
By the end of the night most people had learned that the news broadcast was fictitious. It was simply the weekly broadcast of Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre, and that week, in honor of Halloween, they had decided to stage a highly dramatized and updated version of H.G. Wells' story, War of the Worlds. The global situation in 1938 provided a context which allowed many to believe that such a series of events could be unfolding, many who panicked later said that they had assumed that the Martian invasion was actually a cleverly disguised German attack. .: To hear Orson Welles broadcast - click here |
.: In 1953 Producer George Pal and director
Byron Haskins' create a landmark film adaptation of the H. G. Wells classic.
Instead of basing the story in it's original setting it was set in contemporary America where it's themes began to manifest as the echo of the Cold War and the fear of communist attack. What remains is a timeless classic where the atmosphere and tension un rivals that of many of the SF movies of the 50's. The special effects were almost definitely ground-breaking for it's time and the alien ships are extremely well conceived. .: In 1978, Jeff Wayne put together a
musical version of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds.
It featured artists like Phil Lynott and David Essex whilst Richard Burton narrates. The double album featured a full color inlay with some brilliantly painted pictures, one of which - the one of the preacher trying to hold off the aliens with a cross is a parody of Salvador Dali's Temptation of St Anthony. |
.: WOW TV series 1988 - 1990 .: War of the Worlds Movie 2002/2003 |
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War Of The Worlds was orginally written by H.G.Wells in 1898,
During the music of Ramon Raquello and his orchestra live from the Meridian
Room at the Park Plaza in New York City, a reporter from Intercontinental
Radio News interrupts the broadcast to deliver an important announcement.
Astronomers have detected enormous blue flames shooting from Mars.
"Many
listeners began to panic. Some people loaded blankets and supplies in
their cars and prepared to flee the Martian invaders. One mother in
New England reportedly packed her babies and lots of bread into a car,
figuring that "if everything is burning, you can't eat money, but
you can eat bread." Other people hid in cellars, hoping that the
poisonous gas would blow over them. One college senior drove forty-five
miles at breakneck speed in a valiant attempt to save his girlfriend."
Starring Gene Barry as Dr. Clayton Forrester, Ann Robinson as Sylvia Van
Buren and Les Tremayne as Major General Mann. 
Largely based on Wells' work, it's blend of rock, pop and orchestral styles
has the makings of a stage musical, but some may regard it a prog rock
classic.