Protraph Lack of good storyline.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Michael_Elliott The Night That Panicked America (1975)*** (out of 4) Orson Welles and his fellow actors arrive at the radio station on October 30, 1938 to begin their performance of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds. Around the country various people turn the radio on and hear the broadcast but don't understand that it's fake.This dramatization of the events of that day have been told countless times in both books, television shows and movies but this here is one of the better examples even though it too is far from perfect. THE NIGHT THAT PANICKED America has some terrific stuff in it that makes it worth viewing but at the same time the subject is so great that you can't help but wish one day someone really nails the material. With that said, there are some fun performances throughout and there's no doubt that it remains fun.The best thing going for this film is the actual re-enactment of the radio station. I thought director Joseph Sargent did a terrific job at showing us what it was like in a radio station back in these days and seeing the re-enactment of the broadcast was a lot of fun. A lot of screen time is devoted to this so that means that very few of the surrounding stories are built up. The character development is pretty much missing and I think one flaw with the picture is that there are so many characters that we just don't really get to know any of them.The film offers up a rather nice cast including Vic Morrow, Eileen Brenan, Tom Bosley, Will Geer, a young John Ritter and Paul Shenar as Welles. The supporting stories range from mildly interesting to some pretty bland stuff including a man trying to get a woman to marry him before the invasion. Still, THE NIGHT THAT PANICKED America is worth watching and especially if you're familiar with the true story.

tavm Today is the 71st anniversary of Orson Welles' radio production of H. G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds" as adapted by Howard Koch for the program "Mercury Theater on the Air". It's also the 30th of my first listening to it on WIBR-AM when I switched between the radio (which had a clear signal) to stereo (which had static making it impossible to hear) back to radio for the last news "bulletins" and the final monologue of Welles. So for the occasion, I decided to rewatch the telemovie, "The Night That Panicked America", especially after listening again to the original radio broadcast this morning. While Koch's script was indeed used for the movie there are some noticeable differences: Koch was not identified in the original radio broadcast, after the initial music of "Ramon Raquello and His Orchestra" the rest of it was not the same as on the program, and Orson here says the network's full name at the end instead of its initials. Anyway, the film goes from the behind-the-scenes before, during, and after the show at CBS to events at various places in the United States where the "invasions" supposedly took place. Much of it is pretty intensely dramatic but there are also some humorous scenes like when reporter "Carl Phillips" is identified as "burned", the person that played him (Granville Van Dusen) is seen looking at a crossword puzzle. That scene in San Francisco with that butler mocking his employer with his take on the Martians was also good for a laugh. Not to mention that water tower scene near the end. But there were some intense ones too like the scenes involving Eileen Brennan and Vic Morrow as a married Jersey couple who panic during the broadcast with their kids in tow or Will Geer as the Presbyterian minister who almost loses it when Cliff DeYoung-whose character is Catholic-rushes back in the church to frantically get Geer's daughter played by Meredith Baxter to marry him. It's also a hoot to see Tom Bosley, who's always Howard Cunningham to me, as a nervous network executive, John Ritter as a farmer boy anxious to fight the Germans, and especially, "American Top 40/America's Top 10" host Casey Kasem as many of the radio play's characters (of course, he introduces the band at the beginning). The same goes for one Burton Gilliam, who I recognized from Blazing Saddles, as a bar patron who knows it's a radio show initially before being fooled and getting arrested. Other nice touches are the way the "aliens" opened their hatch (a jar being opened inside a toilet bowl), seeing that farmer switch from the more popular "Chase and Sanborn Hour"-which starred Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy-because he didn't like the singer showcased, and seeing the "Secretary of Interior" sound just like Roosevelt! (Loved hearing the way the last one just stretch his words!) The best part, however, was seeing the way Orson Welles was portrayed by Paul Shenar as we see him directing from his podium, saying the lines Welles said, and arguing with Bosley about putting that disclaimer on the air during the station break (I happen to think the way they all got excited about where to put the disclaimer was contrived and was probably meant to be there even before the hysteria but it was still a dramatically compelling scene). I've probably said too much so I'll just say that "The Night That Panicked America" comes highly recommended to anyone who loves seeing a behind-the-scenes depiction of a radio program and the events that happened around it.

darthvader1961 I am not generally a fan of movies made for television, but "The Night America Panicked" is a clear Exception. I was fourteen years old when I watched it with my mother who boasted a firsthand experience of the original Orson Welles broadcast of "War of the Worlds," and the resulting mayhem. She had told the story to me many times when I was younger and it was interesting to see it recreated. My mom was so impressed with the late Paul Shenar's enthusiastic portrayal of Orson Welles that she became a lifelong fan. I became of fan of Orson Welles and I loved "Citizen Kane" as well as the humor behind Citizen Kane's promotional trailer (the girls are here for the purpose of ballyhoo). Like other fans, I would like to see this movie preserved on DVD. I would buy it so I could watch it again.

Kai-18 This is a great movie. If it's ever on TV, I suggest watching it. Personally I don't usually like TV movies but this is an exception. Very good with interesting situations and likable characters. It's hard to beleive something like this once happened but it's allm true. Orson Wells must have gotten into a lot of trouble after that one. It's a shame it's not on DvD. Watch it on Halloween or the Night before.