No wonder Orson Welles is still celebrated as the boy wonder of the 1930's. He conquered the stage, radio and the big screen in a matter of a few years. Everyone listening thinks at first that they are listening to a weekly radio anthology series when a seeming break-in to the program reveals that the world is being invaded by martians. Guests at a huge society party, a young couple dealing with a religiously bigoted father and a battling married couple dominate most of the audience listening in all the while when special effects through the help of Orson Welles and his magnificent crew are enacting a fictional bit of science fiction that the world thinks is real.
Filled with a cast of suburb actors (among them Tom Bosley, Eileen Brennan, Vic Morrow, Meredith Baxter and Will Geer), this has a script that is alternately funny and suspenseful, ironic because you can't believe that everybody listening seems to be falling for this deliciously planned prank. Some of the gullible listeners even head out to New Jersey with tons of ammunition to fight the alien invaders, some of whom believe are actually Germans. Even though the movie watching audience knows the truth,
Among the best moments are a sound alike of FDR giving a national report and the butler at the party trying to convince his boss that it is simply a radio show, and basically ignored, eventually deciding to allow his employer to remain fooled. The build up in panic makes this all the more enjoyable as seemingly smart humans really show how idiotic and naive they are. This is an above average TV movie with great direction, a convincing script, and a pace that makes the film fly by.
Filled with a cast of suburb actors (among them Tom Bosley, Eileen Brennan, Vic Morrow, Meredith Baxter and Will Geer), this has a script that is alternately funny and suspenseful, ironic because you can't believe that everybody listening seems to be falling for this deliciously planned prank. Some of the gullible listeners even head out to New Jersey with tons of ammunition to fight the alien invaders, some of whom believe are actually Germans. Even though the movie watching audience knows the truth,
Among the best moments are a sound alike of FDR giving a national report and the butler at the party trying to convince his boss that it is simply a radio show, and basically ignored, eventually deciding to allow his employer to remain fooled. The build up in panic makes this all the more enjoyable as seemingly smart humans really show how idiotic and naive they are. This is an above average TV movie with great direction, a convincing script, and a pace that makes the film fly by.