Radio drama critical acclaim. Some of the many storytellers and monologists on early 1920s American radio might be able to claim even earlier dates. Perhaps America's most famous radio drama broadcast is Orson Welles' "The War of the Worlds" (a 1938 version of H. G. Wells' novel), which convinced large numbers of listeners that an actual invasion from Mars was taking place. By the late 1930s, radio drama was widely popular in the United States (and also in other parts of the world). There were dozens of programs in many different genres, from mysteries and thrillers, to soap operas and comedies. Among
Orson Welles In 1984, Welles wrote the screenplay for a film he planned to direct, an autobiographical drama about the 1937 staging of "The Cradle Will Rock". Rupert Everett was slated to play the young Welles. However, Welles was unable to acquire funding. Tim Robbins later directed a similar film, but it was not based on Welles's script. At the time of his death, Welles was in talks with a French production company to direct a film version of the Shakespeare play "King Lear", in which he would also play the title role. "" was an adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's novel. Welles