Orson Welles with an entirely African American cast, and the political musical "The Cradle Will Rock". In 1937 he and John Houseman founded the Mercury Theatre, an independent repertory theatre company that presented a series of productions on Broadway through 1941. Welles found national and international fame as the director and narrator of a 1938 radio adaptation of H. G. Wells's novel "The War of the Worlds" performed for his radio anthology series "The Mercury Theatre on the Air". It reportedly caused widespread panic when listeners thought that an invasion by extraterrestrial beings was actually occurring. Although some contemporary sources say these
Orson Welles well as Bernard Herrmann. Welles invested his earnings into his failing stage play. "Commentaries" was a political vehicle for him, continuing the themes from his "New York Post" column. Again, Welles lacked a clear focus, until the NAACP brought to his attention the case of Isaac Woodard. Welles brought significant attention to Woodard's cause. The last broadcast of "Orson Welles Commentaries" on October 6, 1946, marked the end of Welles's own radio shows. The film that Welles was obliged to make in exchange for Harry Cohn's help in financing the stage production "Around the World" was "The Lady from Shanghai",