The Night That Panicked America (1975) (TV)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Joseph Sargent

Writers:

Howard Koch (play)
Nicholas Meyer (screenplay)

Release Date:

31 October 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

True story: Orson Welles puts on a radio version of an H.G. Wells novel, and people who miss the beginning think Martians are invading the Earth.

Plot Keywords:

Radio | Radio Show | 1930s | Mass Hysteria | Radio Broadcasting

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 3 nominations

Cast

Vic Morrow	...	Hank Muldoon
Cliff De Young	...	Stefan Grubowski
Michael Constantine	...	Jess Wingate
Walter McGinn	...	Paul Stewart
Eileen Brennan	...	Ann Muldoon
Meredith Baxter	...	Linda Davis
Tom Bosley	...	Norman Smith
Will Geer	...	Reverend Davis
Paul Shenar	...	Orson Welles
John Ritter	...	Walter Wingate
Granville Van Dusen	...	Carl Phillips
Burton Gilliam	...	Tex
Joshua Bryant	...	Howard Koch
Liam Dunn	...	Charlie
Shelley Morrison	...	Toni

Runtime:

92 min | USA:120 min (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

2nd Street Tunnel, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Television

Trivia:

Apparently to save on royalties, the Paramount-owned "Cocktails for Two" is substituted for "Stardust" as "the tune that never loses favor" in the mock hotel orchestra broadcast.

Quotes:

Ora Nichols: [to her assistant, assessing the Mercury Theater's show] Looks like another big night for Charlie Mc Carthy.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)

EXCELLENT PRODUCTION AS SEEN BY ONE WHO WAS IN RADIO

As a former Radio Drama performer during Radio's hey-day, I can vouch for the accuracy of this production. Paul Stewart, who was the associate producer of the broadcast, was technical advisor for the film as well as John Houseman (The Tom Bosley part), un billed in the credits. The use of the Zerotope Studios in New York also added to the authenticity of the production. Another un billed performance is the actress who played Ora Nichols, the only woman SFX engineer in radio and head of the CBS Sound Department in the 1930's. The story of the voice sounding like Roosevelt is true, and that was done by Art Carney, a member of the Mercury Players. Many of the things they did in that production, brought back memories to this old trooper of the radio airwaves. The reaction stories were well done and also taken from actual experiences.

How fortunate that I was able to make a Video Copy of this film. So Sorry that it is not available on Video Tape. I have viewed it every Halloween night since 1975, and still get chills from the production. Paul Shanar was Welles in this film!