Night That Panicked America

[Michael]

Amazingly, my favorite Portland video store had a copy of Night That Panicked America and though it was a so-so copy, I was pleasantly surprised at how good the movie was! The actor playing Orson, though he didn't look like him, was quite good. It was thrilling to see the radio broadcast played out and all the supporting performances were very strong. Though there were a few moments bordering on melodrama in the people's reaction scenes, all in all it gets a strong thumbs up from me. Most of the broadcast is seen or heard in the movie. Paul Stewart consulted on the movie, and it seems pretty acturate as far as the events go. What I didn't know is that Nicolas Meyer wrote the screenplay. Anyhow, this rental will be a keeper!

Thanks! Michael

[R Kadin]

I agree with you. It's a well-done production, with proper kudos to (now-deceased) Paul Shenar, who acted the OW role. Maybe I should be lookng around for a DVD version to add to my OW collection...

[Michael]

Doubt a DVD version exists. The one I found was one that was dubbed off the air. But if you do find it, let me know!

[71-1045893605]

I'm one of the few people who didn't care for this film. Sure, it attempts to re-create the reactions of people in the 1930's, but it had too many subplots for me to give a shit. I wanted it to focus more on what "Welles" was thinking about. The actor playing Welles, Paul Shenar, was far better as a drug kingpin in "Scarface". The only thing that saves this drivel for me is the dramatic appearance of a pre-Three's Company, John Ritter. Other than that, there's nothing special about this average TV movie.

[allegra]

The WotW show I really found intriguing (perplexing may be the better word) is “The Night America Trembled,” hosted by the legendary Edward R. Murrow, which I finally found earlier this year (at www.cduniverse.com) after about two years of relentless (but fruitless) searching. For all its positive qualities, it manages to miss the boat in a somewhat startling fashion: Though presented as a dramatization of an actual event, to commemmorate the 20th anniversary of the infamous broadcast, not ONCE is Welles’s name mentioned. In fact, the three roles Orson took on in the original broadcast (including, not insignificantly, himself!) are played by different men, one a dynamic and unmistakably Welles-like fellow who alternately narrates and directs. It’s almost as though someone took the opportunity to do to Welles what he did to the nation a generation before, but in reverse: Rather than taking a fantasy, and giving it the appearance of fact, they took a real event – and gave it the appearance of fiction!

Does anyone have any insight into or background on this...?
[B][I]

[RexWazowski]

I really didn't care for this film. I think a better way to celebrate the broadcast would've been a documentary. This television movie was just so damned contrived.

--kris--

[Michael]

Definitely agreed it was somewhat contrived with the "reaction" scenes. It always amazes me that writers feel they have to "flesh out" real events with contrived dilemnas. I just loved the radio studio stuff though and did find it extremely well done on that end. The actors in the reaction scenes did well with the weak materials they were given. Esp. Vic Morrow. I did like Shenar very much as welles. Agreed, it would have been more interesting to focus on one element or the other (the reactions or Welles) to make a truly fine movie. So there's my 2 1/2 cents! -- Michael

[mteal]

Here's the entire 1978 TV film on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ6Ipwx86oU