The Day the Panicked America-
 The HG Wells' War of the Worlds Scandal
(Ventura R2 DVD)
(2005)
review by Suspiriorum

On the night before Halloween 1938 in Newark, New Jersey, more than 20 families in a single block rushed from their homes with wet towels over their faces, fleeing from what they believed was a poison-gas raid. Elsewhere in New York traffic became gridlocked amid scenes of genuine terror as people sought to escape imminent attack. Across America phone lines were overloaded as thousands called the police, newspapers & radio-stations, seeking advice on protective measures, with many requiring medical treatment for shock.

Yes, this is the story of Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre Radio production of HG Wells’ seminal sci-fi classic “The War of the Worlds”. With documentaries big business recently, & of course the added interest provoked by the new Spielberg/Cruise adaptation of the same novel, it is perhaps an ideal time to have another look at what is probably the most famous (or indeed infamous) radio show ever produced.

What “The Day that Panicked America” really has going for it is the fact that the story it’s telling is such a fascinating & highly entertaining one, so it’s almost impossible to fail. And it manages to get a lot right. It fills in information to help explain precisely why so many people believed that what they were hearing was true, from the social climate (the building threat of war with Germany, the huge popularity of sci-fi serials like “Flash Gordon” & “Buck Rogers”) to the popularity of a show on the other channel which led to many people missing the introduction that clearly marks the production out as a work of fiction. Also helpful is the manner in which the film details the career of young Orson Welles prior to WotW, as well as all the actors who appeared in the show.

The main bulk of the program is quietly compelling, although it is perhaps too reliant upon using excerpts of the show itself, it does a good job of building the tension as the show continues. The opening paragraph of this review is actually taken not only from the back of the box, but also from the narration early on in the film. It’s somewhat disappointing that the film doesn’t really go into much greater detail than that as to exactly what occurred across the country. Perhaps more disappointing is the manner in which the film rushes over the fallout from the production – we’re told that it changed the rules governing the production of radio shows, but not told exactly what changed. Strangely, it then takes far longer telling us about the clash with William Randolph Hearst over “Citizen Kane”, & Welles subsequent career (which made me realise I don’t have nearly enough Welles movies in my DVD collection!), than it does about the reaction after the broadcast of what it ostensibly it’s primary subject. Nonetheless, I did appreciate the footage of Welles narrating a NASA documentary, & looking back at WotW. Overall, whilst “The Day that Panicked America” is not quite as good as I’d hoped, it’s central story is so fascinating that it cannot help but be of interest to Welles fans.

The UK DVD from Ventura comes in R0/PAL format, with a perfectly adequate 4:3 picture (inevitably there’s a lot of archive footage which doesn’t look too great, but it’s no fault of the transfer) & Dolby 2.0 audio. The box lists the slightly dry narration as being by Leonard Nimoy, but bizarrely he’s not actually credited in the film itself (narration is credited to writer-producer-director John Ross) - & I’m not a big enough Trekkie to be able to recognise whether it is his voice or not.

There’s only one extra, but thankfully it’s a truly great one, which is worth the price of the set on it’s own. For this is a 2-Disc set, & disc 2 is an audio CD of the full WotW production! Sadly it’s all on one track rather than broken down into sections, but this is still a cracking production. Nearing 70 years old now it inevitably has moments that seem rather mannered & creaky, but it still packs a mighty lustre & is actually surprisingly convincing & with some highly unnerving moments. You have to question how no-one noticed the condensed time-frame of the production, but nonetheless this is a seminal horror/sci-fi production which managed to terrify an entire nation, & whose appeal is actually beyond the mere curiosity factor with which I placed it into my CD player. He was rather talented, that Orson Welles chap.

If you treat this as being a CD release of the radio production, which also happens to come with a bonus DVD documentary about the effect of the show, then you have a pretty reasonable package.