Mercury Theatre on the Air was a radio drama headed by Orson Wells and John Houseman. The show released its first broadcast on Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in July 1938 and continued to release shows (later under the name Campbell Playhouse) through March 1940. The show's most famous broadcast aired on October 30, 1938: an adaptation of H.G. Wells's War of the Worlds that led some listeners to believe that Earth had really been invaded by Martians. On this website, visitors can listen to old Mercury Theatre on the Air broadcasts (including the War of the Worlds broadcast) in Real Audio or MP3. These shows include performances of The Immortal Sherlock Holmes, Rebecca, The 39 Steps, The Christmas Carol, and much more. In addition, the website includes a 1937 adaptation of Les Miserables, released as seven radio broadcasts. As the site notes, this earlier production featured many of the individuals who would go on to form the Mercury Players.
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