On October 30, 1938, a CBS radio play based on the novel by H.G. Wells “The War of the Worlds” throws its listeners into a panic. The famous spectacle of Orson Welles – American actor, screenwriter, director and producer, creates the illusion that Martians are attacking the earth and that this is broadcast live on the radio.
Millions of listeners fall victim to the experiment, due to which the normal program of the media is interrupted. Orson Welles plays an astronomer who discusses the technical progress of Mars, other actors give speeches on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior and the commander of the artillery, reporting on the losses the army suffers from the Martians.
After the broadcast, it took a lot of effort to convince people that there was no attack from Mars and that it was a literary work. Many listeners filed lawsuits for moral damages against the radio, but they were dismissed. At Welles's insistence, only one man who ruined his new shoes while running from the "invaders" was compensated.
The broadcast had a strong impact around the world, and dictator Adolf Hitler used the occasion to announce the decline of democracy in the United States. Because of the radio play, many at first do not believe that the report about the Japanese fleet's attack on the most modern American base, Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, is true.
The dramatization by H.G. Wells is still a standard in art today with its perfect music and excellent acting.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt our musical program for an extraordinary announcement! They have attacked us! The spectroscope shows that this is a force that is moving towards us with enormous speed and cunning! And we are absolutely powerless to defend against it!"