Review of The Night That Panicked America

An okay telefilm about the famous (infamous?) radio broadcast. It certainly deserves good marks for adhering closely to what occurred during the original broadcast and, of course, dramatic license is to be expected with the various stories of Americans reacting to the show. But, still, it IS a TV movie from 1975 which means that it's low budgeted---therefore it seems underpopulated. For instance, Orson Welles (Shenar) arrives at the CBS Radio studios walking in at a leisurely pace in the early evening down an empty, quiet street... when in fact Welles was always rushing in at the last minute from a stage show rehearsal, and New York streets at 7PM would be bustling with people and noise (sometimes Welles hired an ambulance to get him to the CBS studio on time---now that would have been a great opening for this film!) Not to nitpick, but it's this kind of flatness in sound and direction that hurts the film. Additionally, Shenar looks nothing like a young Orson Welles (who looked very much like Bob Hope) and plays him with too much control. Welles was dynamic and explosive and very much a young man (in his early twenties in 1938) while Shenar is too aloof and too much older (he was nearly forty when he played this part). But Shenar does have the rich deep Wellesian baritone (probably the main reason for hiring him). A great subject for a movie and one that deserves another try... although this one is adequate.