When Mars Attacked
Celebrate the 71st anniversary of Orson Welles' The War Of The Worlds on Oct 30th, 2009
It is the day before Halloween and it is also the day when Martians struck Earth! On Oct 30th, 1938, millions of Americans tuned into a popular radio show that featured plays directed by, and often starring Orson Welles.
The performance that evening was an adaptation of the science fiction novel by H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds – the story about a Martian invasion of Earth.
But in adapting the book for a radio play, Welles made an important change: under his direction the play was written and performed so it would sound like a news broadcast about an invasion from Mars.
At one point in the broadcast, an actor in a studio, playing a newscaster in the field, described the emergence of one of the aliens from its spacecraft. “Good heavens, something’s wriggling out of the shadow like a gray snake,” he says dramatically.
Good heavens, something’s wriggling out of the shadow like a gray snake. Now it’s another one, and another. They look like tentacles to me. There, I can see the thing’s body. It’s large as a bear and it glistens like wet leather. But that face. It…it’s indescribable.
“Now it’s another one, and another. They look like tentacles to me. There, I can see the thing’s body. It’s large as a bear and it glistens like wet leather. But that face. It…it’s indescribable. I can hardly force myself to keep looking at it. The eyes are black and gleam like a serpent. The mouth is V-shaped with saliva dripping from its rimless lips that seem to quiver and pulsate….The thing is raising up. The crowd falls back. They’ve seen enough. This is the most extraordinary experience. I can’t find words. I’m pulling this microphone with me as I talk. I’ll have to stop the description until I’ve taken a new position. Hold on, will you please, I’ll be back in a minute.”
Today, on the 71st anniversary of the H.G. Wells’ “The War of the Worlds,” you can listen to Orson Welles’ production at waroftheworldstribute.com. The website will stream the original radio show live starting at 8 Pm EST.
