The War of the Worlds (radio drama) leading to an outcry against the broadcasters and calls for regulation by the Federal Communications Commission. Nevertheless, the episode secured Welles's fame as a dramatist. "The War of the Worlds" was the 17th episode of the CBS Radio series "The Mercury Theatre on the Air," which was broadcast at 8 pm ET on Sunday, October 30, 1938. H. G. Wells' original novel tells the story of a Martian invasion of Earth. The novel was adapted for radio by Howard Koch, who changed the primary setting from 19th-century England to the contemporary United States, with the landing point of the first
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