
Mercury Theatre: The War of the Worlds - October 30, 1938
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $1.43
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Orson Welles
-
By:
-
Orson Welles
About this listen
The Mercury Theatre on the Air, a radio series created by Orson Welles, presented adaptations of classic literary works. These were performed by actors from Welles' celebrated Mercury Theatre repertory company, with music composed or arranged by Bernard Herrmann. The series ran from July to December 1938, after which the title was changed to The Campbell Playhouse.
©2010 ABN (P)2010 ABNListeners also enjoyed...
-
Orson Welles: The Ultimate Collection
- By: Orson Welles
- Narrated by: Orson Welles
- Length: 60 hrs and 40 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If you are a lover of old-time radio and a fan of Orson Welles, you won't want to miss this treasure chest of legendary Orson Welles radio broadcasts! With his flair for the sensational and innovative, Welles captured audiences' attention with his 1930s CBS weekly drama series The Mercury Theatre on the Air, later renamed The Campbell Playhouse, which featured hour-long dramatizations of classic books. His 1938 production, The War of the Worlds (an H. G. Wells adaptation) was especially memorable, as were many other productions, each featuring talented voices and actors.
-
-
Here is my review for what is worth.
- By Scott on 07-03-14
By: Orson Welles
-
The War of the Worlds (Dramatized)
- By: Orson Welles
- Narrated by: Orson Welles
- Length: 56 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the evening of October 30th, 1938, Earth went to war with Mars. Martians invaded New Jersey! Here is the famous panic-inducing broadcast that shook the world, starring Orson Welles.
-
-
The Original
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 12-16-15
By: Orson Welles
-
The Black Stone
- By: Robert E. Howard
- Narrated by: H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society
- Length: 1 hr and 18 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dark Adventure Radio Theatre presents Robert E. Howard's tale of horrors in Eastern Europe in a 1930s-style radio drama. Charlie Tower seeks refuge from the horrors of the Great War in Berlin's most notorious nightclubs. There a chain of events is set in motion that will lead him across Europe to investigate the mysterious Black Stone. Is it merely a creation of superstitious peasants, or is it a nexus for hideous gods of the ancient world to set foot into ours?
-
-
More, please, more!
- By alikabok1966 on 03-15-23
By: Robert E. Howard
-
Mercury Theatre: Julius Caesar - September 11, 1938
- By: Orson Welles
- Narrated by: Orson Welles
- Length: 1 hr and 6 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Mercury Theatre on the Air, a radio series created by Orson Welles, presented adaptations of classic literary works. These were performed by actors from Welles' celebrated Mercury Theatre repertory company, with music composed or arranged by Bernard Herrmann.
-
-
Great play, but what were they saying?
- By Aron on 12-02-15
By: Orson Welles
-
Mercury Theatre: Dracula - July 11, 1938
- By: Orson Welles
- Narrated by: Orson Welles
- Length: 53 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Mercury Theatre on the Air, a radio series created by Orson Welles, presented adaptations of classic literary works. These were performed by actors from Welles' celebrated Mercury Theatre repertory company, with music composed or arranged by Bernard Herrmann.
-
-
Awesome performance! Orson Welles show us why he
- By Erick Jam on 09-28-19
By: Orson Welles
-
Mercury Theatre: Treasure Island - July 18, 1938
- By: Orson Welles
- Narrated by: Orson Welles
- Length: 1 hr and 3 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Mercury Theatre on the Air, a radio series created by Orson Welles, presented adaptations of classic literary works. These were performed by actors from Welles' celebrated Mercury Theatre repertory company, with music composed or arranged by Bernard Herrmann. The series ran from July to December 1938, after which the title was changed to The Campbell Playhouse.
By: Orson Welles
-
Orson Welles: The Ultimate Collection
- By: Orson Welles
- Narrated by: Orson Welles
- Length: 60 hrs and 40 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If you are a lover of old-time radio and a fan of Orson Welles, you won't want to miss this treasure chest of legendary Orson Welles radio broadcasts! With his flair for the sensational and innovative, Welles captured audiences' attention with his 1930s CBS weekly drama series The Mercury Theatre on the Air, later renamed The Campbell Playhouse, which featured hour-long dramatizations of classic books. His 1938 production, The War of the Worlds (an H. G. Wells adaptation) was especially memorable, as were many other productions, each featuring talented voices and actors.
-
-
Here is my review for what is worth.
- By Scott on 07-03-14
By: Orson Welles
-
The War of the Worlds (Dramatized)
- By: Orson Welles
- Narrated by: Orson Welles
- Length: 56 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the evening of October 30th, 1938, Earth went to war with Mars. Martians invaded New Jersey! Here is the famous panic-inducing broadcast that shook the world, starring Orson Welles.
-
-
The Original
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 12-16-15
By: Orson Welles
-
The Black Stone
- By: Robert E. Howard
- Narrated by: H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society
- Length: 1 hr and 18 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dark Adventure Radio Theatre presents Robert E. Howard's tale of horrors in Eastern Europe in a 1930s-style radio drama. Charlie Tower seeks refuge from the horrors of the Great War in Berlin's most notorious nightclubs. There a chain of events is set in motion that will lead him across Europe to investigate the mysterious Black Stone. Is it merely a creation of superstitious peasants, or is it a nexus for hideous gods of the ancient world to set foot into ours?
-
-
More, please, more!
- By alikabok1966 on 03-15-23
By: Robert E. Howard
-
Mercury Theatre: Julius Caesar - September 11, 1938
- By: Orson Welles
- Narrated by: Orson Welles
- Length: 1 hr and 6 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Mercury Theatre on the Air, a radio series created by Orson Welles, presented adaptations of classic literary works. These were performed by actors from Welles' celebrated Mercury Theatre repertory company, with music composed or arranged by Bernard Herrmann.
-
-
Great play, but what were they saying?
- By Aron on 12-02-15
By: Orson Welles
-
Mercury Theatre: Dracula - July 11, 1938
- By: Orson Welles
- Narrated by: Orson Welles
- Length: 53 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Mercury Theatre on the Air, a radio series created by Orson Welles, presented adaptations of classic literary works. These were performed by actors from Welles' celebrated Mercury Theatre repertory company, with music composed or arranged by Bernard Herrmann.
-
-
Awesome performance! Orson Welles show us why he
- By Erick Jam on 09-28-19
By: Orson Welles
-
Mercury Theatre: Treasure Island - July 18, 1938
- By: Orson Welles
- Narrated by: Orson Welles
- Length: 1 hr and 3 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Mercury Theatre on the Air, a radio series created by Orson Welles, presented adaptations of classic literary works. These were performed by actors from Welles' celebrated Mercury Theatre repertory company, with music composed or arranged by Bernard Herrmann. The series ran from July to December 1938, after which the title was changed to The Campbell Playhouse.
By: Orson Welles
Related to this topic
-
Dragon Day
- By: Bob Proehl
- Narrated by: Hayley Atwell, Michael Chiklis, Aldis Hodge, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Compiled by intrepid journalist Neve Pride, this archive of recordings spans the months after dragons emerged on earth, chronicling the communities that sprang up amid the destruction, the scientists, military leaders, and experts searching for a defense, and those steadfastly seeking the missing. Neve and her young daughter Bex travel among the wreckage speaking to those left behind and surviving, against all odds. Neve records everything for history, and in the hopes of locating a clue as to where the dragons came from and how one might stop them.
-
-
Performance and production
- By Amazon Customer on 03-31-25
By: Bob Proehl
-
Project Hail Mary
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 16 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission - and if he fails, humanity and the Earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time. And he's just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.
-
-
Bazinga
- By Davidgonzalezsr on 05-04-21
By: Andy Weir
-
Hitchhikers
- By: Ben H. Winters
- Narrated by: Therese Plummer
- Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Annie has always had high hopes for her future. But the reality of her life just isn’t measuring up. She loves her fiancé, Greg–doesn’t she? She’s going to get her degree and open her own business–won’t she? Then, a strange old woman shows up outside her house, and she seems to know a lot about Annie. An awful lot. Annie could tell the old woman to get lost. Yet there’s something about her Annie just can’t shake. And what she learns could change her life forever–but is it the life she envisioned?
-
-
The ever present battle between past and future.
- By Kindle Customer on 03-14-25
By: Ben H. Winters
-
When the Moon Hits Your Eye
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For some it’s an opportunity. For others it’s a moment to question their faith: In God, in science, in everything. Still others try to keep the world running in the face of absurdity and uncertainty. And then there are the billions looking to the sky and wondering how a thing that was always just there is now... something absolutely impossible.
-
-
Wil Wheaton is torture
- By Amazon Customer on 03-27-25
By: John Scalzi
-
The Martian
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive - and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet.
-
-
I love Wil Wheaton but why not R. C. Bray?
- By L. Newman on 01-11-20
By: Andy Weir
-
Starter Villain
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits.
-
-
Volcanic Lairs, Death Rays & Cats… Oh My! 😼
- By C. White on 09-19-23
By: John Scalzi
-
Dragon Day
- By: Bob Proehl
- Narrated by: Hayley Atwell, Michael Chiklis, Aldis Hodge, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Compiled by intrepid journalist Neve Pride, this archive of recordings spans the months after dragons emerged on earth, chronicling the communities that sprang up amid the destruction, the scientists, military leaders, and experts searching for a defense, and those steadfastly seeking the missing. Neve and her young daughter Bex travel among the wreckage speaking to those left behind and surviving, against all odds. Neve records everything for history, and in the hopes of locating a clue as to where the dragons came from and how one might stop them.
-
-
Performance and production
- By Amazon Customer on 03-31-25
By: Bob Proehl
-
Project Hail Mary
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 16 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission - and if he fails, humanity and the Earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time. And he's just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.
-
-
Bazinga
- By Davidgonzalezsr on 05-04-21
By: Andy Weir
-
Hitchhikers
- By: Ben H. Winters
- Narrated by: Therese Plummer
- Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Annie has always had high hopes for her future. But the reality of her life just isn’t measuring up. She loves her fiancé, Greg–doesn’t she? She’s going to get her degree and open her own business–won’t she? Then, a strange old woman shows up outside her house, and she seems to know a lot about Annie. An awful lot. Annie could tell the old woman to get lost. Yet there’s something about her Annie just can’t shake. And what she learns could change her life forever–but is it the life she envisioned?
-
-
The ever present battle between past and future.
- By Kindle Customer on 03-14-25
By: Ben H. Winters
-
When the Moon Hits Your Eye
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For some it’s an opportunity. For others it’s a moment to question their faith: In God, in science, in everything. Still others try to keep the world running in the face of absurdity and uncertainty. And then there are the billions looking to the sky and wondering how a thing that was always just there is now... something absolutely impossible.
-
-
Wil Wheaton is torture
- By Amazon Customer on 03-27-25
By: John Scalzi
-
The Martian
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive - and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet.
-
-
I love Wil Wheaton but why not R. C. Bray?
- By L. Newman on 01-11-20
By: Andy Weir
-
Starter Villain
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits.
-
-
Volcanic Lairs, Death Rays & Cats… Oh My! 😼
- By C. White on 09-19-23
By: John Scalzi
What listeners say about Mercury Theatre: The War of the Worlds - October 30, 1938
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Keeponbookin
- 07-05-21
spine shivering fearful fun
I loved this dramatization. It sent shivers down my spine. even knowing it wasn't real.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- A. West
- 01-17-19
The infamous broadcast that scared the country!
An Orson Welles classic. it's fascinating to hear the broadcast that frightened the country in an earlier more credulous time (Halloween of 1938). Still a good adaptation of the book. And it's played very well.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Heather Sivret
- 10-31-19
best ever
Poor New Jersey, it was cut in half by the martians. Best listen for Halloween.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful