American Experience

War of the Worlds

Season 25 Episode 6 | 51m 47s | Video has closed captioning.

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Shortly after 8 p.m. on the Halloween Eve, 1938, a panicked radio announcer broke in with a report that Martians had landed in the tiny town of Grovers Mill, New Jersey. Although most listeners understood that the program was a radio drama, the next day's headlines reported that thousands of others plunged into panic. It turned out to be H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds performed by Orson Welles.

Aired: 10/29/13

Expired: 10/28/16

Rating: NR

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For Season 25 of American Experience, exclusive corporate funding is provided by Liberty Mutual Insurance, major funding by The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS stations.

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