Radio Review: War of the World's

           
               The halloween episode of the radio series The Mercury Theatre on the Air that aired on October 30, 1938 could easily be described as the best prank ever pulled over the radio.  The man responsible for it was Orson Welles.  The broadcast starts out with various news clips eluding to the fact that the world was being taken over by aliens.  These news clips feature everything from interviews with scientists explaining the alien's weapons to eye witnesses describing scenes of horror up and down new jersey.  Welles not only gave an amazing voice performances but the way he organized this entire production was outstanding.  The broadcast as a whole is mixed in a way that seems years ahead of it's time.  The newscasts and studio interruptions mixed with the screaming people and all the other sounds used is so well done it makes sense that the broadcast caused panics.  At the time people got their news from ether the radio or the paper so naturally when they herd the professional uninterrupted quality of Welles's broadcast they had to believe it.  A fascinating story even by today's standards War of the World's broadcasted by Orson Welles is something every storyteller should hear.