The idea that brought us to this film had to do with the proposed date for The Convention- just a week before Halloween! That led to thoughts of Halloween stories and the like, eventually leading us to "War Of The World's (one of our favorite radio plays). Then we recalled that Grover's Mill is in New jersey and that somewhere in the script, Princeton is mentioned.
We hope this clarifies why this video is being featured on our site, although it could certainly rest on it's own merits we felt the need to explain a bit.
Imagine our surprise at finding out there is a person named James Wilson in the Cast!
This short sci-fi film screened at the 2006 Vancouver Student Film Festival, where it won Best Cinematography and Best Supporting Actor (Jason Logan: H.G. Wells). Radio impresario Orson Welles and legendary author H.G. Wells are besieged by aliens in a rural New Jersey radio station. Directed by Paul St.Amand Produced by Vikas Mathur Vancouver Film Institute This award winning feature is being shown to you by permission of Mr Armand,the Director.
STRANGER: (OFF MIKE) Stop. . . (CLOSER) where did you come from?
• PIERSON: I come from . . . many places. A long time ago from Princeton.
• STRANGER: Princeton, huh? That's near Grovers Mill!
• PIERSON: Yes.
In adapting H.G. Wells's seminal 1898 science-fiction novel "The War of the Worlds" -- in which Martians touched down outside of London,Welles and playwright Howard Koch wanted to bring the story stateside. Koch, not quite sure where to commence the broadcast setting, picked up a pencil and blindly stabbed down on the state of New Jersey.Located in the West Windsor township of New Jersey, and not far from the state capital of Trenton and the prestigious university of Princeton, the village of Grover's Mill is famously remembered as the beachhead of Orson Welles' Martian Invasion.
The New York police sent out the following:
"To all receivers: Station WABC informs us that the broadcast just concluded over that station was a dramatization of a play. No cause for alarm."
The New Jersey State Police teletyped the following:
"Note to all receivers—WABC broadcast as drama re this section being attacked by residents of Mars. Imaginary affair."
The switchboard of The New York Times was overwhelmed by the calls. A total of 875 were received. One man who called from Dayton, Ohio, asked, "What time will it be the end of the world?" A caller from the suburbs said he had had a houseful of guests and all had rushed out to the yard for safety.
Harlem was shaken by the "news." Thirty men and women rushed into the West 123d Street police station and twelve into the West 135th Street station saying they had their household goods packed and were all ready to leave Harlem if the police would tell them where to go to be "evacuated." One man insisted he had heard "the President's voice" over the radio advising all citizens to leave the cities.Harlem was shaken by the "news." Thirty men and women rushed into the West 123d Street police station and twelve into the West 135th Street station saying they had their household goods packed and were all ready to leave Harlem if the police would tell them where to go to be "evacuated." One man insisted he had heard "the President's voice" over the radio advising all citizens to leave the cities.
In Queens the principal question asked of the switchboard operators at Police Headquarters was whether "the wave of poison gas will reach as far as Queens." Many said they were all packed up and ready to leave Queens when told to do so.
Patrolman John Morrison was on duty at the switchboard in the Bronx Police Headquarters when, as he afterward expressed it, all the lines became busy at once. Among the first who answered was a man who informed him:
"They're bombing New Jersey!"
"How do you know?" Patrolman Morrison inquired.
"I heard it on the radio," the voice at the other end of the wire replied. "Then I went to the roof and I could see the smoke from the bombs, drifting over toward New York. What shall I do?"
In San Francisco the general impression of listeners seemed to be that an overwhelming force had invaded the United States from the air, was in the process of destroying New York and threatening to move westward. "My God," roared one inquirer into a telephone, "where can I volunteer my services? We've got to stop this awful thing."
Newspaper offices and radio stations in Chicago were swamped with telephone calls about the "meteor" that had fallen in New Jersey. Some said they had relatives in the "stricken area" and asked if the casualty list was available.
At Fayetteville, N. C., people with relatives in the section of New Jersey where the mythical visitation had its locale went to a newspaper office in tears, seeking information.
A message from Providence, R. I., said: "Weeping and hysterical women swamped the switchboard of The Providence Journal for details of the massacre and destruction at New York, and officials of the electric company received scores of calls urging them to turn off all lights so that the city would be safe from the enemy."
Minneapolis and St. Paul police switchboards were deluged with calls from frightened people.
The Times-Dispatch in Richmond, Va., reported some of their telephone calls from people who said they were "praying."In Birmingham, Ala., people gathered in groups and prayed, and Memphis had its full quota of weeping women calling in to learn the facts.
In Indianapolis a woman ran into a church screaming: "New York destroyed; it's the end of the world. You might as well go home to die. I just heard it on the radio." Services were dismissed immediately.
Sample Associated Press Headlines:
Man Wants to Fight Mars
San Francisco--An offer to volunteer in stopping an invasion from Mars came among hundreds of telephone inquiries to police and newspapers during the radio dramatization of H.G. Wells' story. One excited man called Oakland Police and shouted: "My God! Where can I volunteer my services? We've go to stop this awful thing!"
Woman Tries Sucide
Pittsburgh--A man returned home in the midst of the broadcast and found his wife, a bottle of poison in her hand, screaming: "I'd rather die this way than like that."
Church Lets Out
Indianapolis--A woman ran into a church screaming: "New York destroyed; it's the end of the world. You might as well go home to die. I just heard it on the radio." Services were dismissed immediately.
College Boys Faint
Brevard, N.C.--Five Brevard College students fainted and panic gripped the campus for a half hour with many students fighting for telephones to inform their parents to come and get them.
It's a Massacre
Providence, R.I.--Weeping and hysterical women swamped the switchboard of the Providence Journal for details of the "massacre." The electric company received scores of calls urging it to turn off all lights so that the city would be safe from the "enemy."
She Sees "the Fire"
Boston.--One woman declared she could "see the fire" and told the Boston Globe she and many others in her neighborhood were "getting out of here.'
"Where Is It Safe?"
Kansas City.--One telephone informant said he had loaded all his children into his car, had filled it with gasoline, and was going somewhere. "Where is is safe?" he wanted to know. The Associated Press
SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES
PRINCETON, N. J., Oct 30.—Scholastic calm deserted Princeton University briefly tonight following widespread misunderstanding of the WABC radio program announcing the arrival of Martians to subdue the earth.
Dr. Arthur F. Buddington, chairman of the Department of Geology, and Dr. Harry Hess, Professor of Geology, received the first alarming reports in a form indicating that a meteor had fallen near Dutch Neck, some five miles away. They armed themselves with the necessary equipment and set out to find a specimen. All they found was a group of sightseers, searching like themselves for the meteor.
At least a dozen students received telephone calls from their parents, alarmed by the broadcast. The Daily Princetonian, campus newspaper, received numerous calls from students and alumni.
