On 30 October 1938, Orson Welles, the creator of Citizen Kane, directed the Mercury Theatre on the Air in a dramatisation of the science fiction novel by H G Wells, The War of the Worlds.

Welles set events from the story in contemporary locations and dramatised them in the style of a musical program interrupted by news bulletins, complete with eyewitness accounts. The broadcast caused panic in the United States, with many listeners convinced that Martians were invading earth.

The next day, Welles publicly apologised. Even though lots of lawsuits were filed against Welles and the CBS radio network, all were dismissed. The incident is mentioned in textbook accounts of mass hysteria and the delusions of crowds.

Sourced from www.imdb.com.