What happens
Sid Ryan, a New York publicity man, is approached by Mr. Lucha, who claims to be a Martian and pays a large retainer to run a campaign announcing a Martian invasion. Ryan builds a suspense campaign leading to a Martian Day parade on Fifth Avenue, complete with midgets, clowns and a silent column of men in spacesuits. As the parade draws near, Ryan grows suspicious of his mysterious client and the true purpose behind the spectacle. This is the X Minus One radio series, first broadcast on May 1, 1955, with George Leopold's story performed by Joseph Curtin as Ryan and Joe De Santis as Lucha.
New York City, 1950s, with Sid Ryan's publicity office and the Fifth Avenue parade route
Characters: Sid Ryan, Mr. Lucha, Oliver, Sammy, Commissioner Patrick Lee, Ken Bailey, Ada Shackley, Gloria Montetex
Listen for: The parade narration on Fifth Avenue, when the silent Martian ranks march past the reviewing stand and the crowd turns grim.
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.