Hitchcock Chronology: 1938

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Month by Month

January

• 1st - BBC Television broadcasts an adaptation of J.M. Barrie's play "Mary Rose". Amongst the cast are Dame May Whitty, Esmond Knight and John Laurie.
• 24th - BBC Radio broadcasts an episode of the 30-minute "The Cinema: The Director's Job" series in which Hitchcock talks about his work. The Yorkshire Post description reads, "The third of the talks on The Cinema (National, 8) is to be given by Alfred Hitchcock, the producer, who will speak about his work. Hitchcock has become outstanding among producers by reason of such successes as Blackmail some years ago, and later The Thirty Nine Steps, Secret Agent and Sabotage."

April

• 4th - The Manchester Guardian reports that Hitchcock purchased a painting by English artist Christopher Wood (1901-1930) for £200 at an art exhibition held at the New Burlington Galleries in London.
• 20th - Newspapers report that an electrician's strike has halted production of Hitchcock's latest film, The Lady Vanishes.
• 30th - Actress Nova Pilbeam is injured when the taxi she is travelling in is hit by another car. The driver of the other car, Ernest Arthur Hardy, is later fined £10 for careless driving.

May

• 28th - Hitchcock judges an amateur film festival in Glasgow, Scotland. Herbert J. Arundel of Stoke-on-Trent won first prize for his film The Smugglers' Cave.

June

• 1st - The Hitchcocks depart from Southampton to New York aboard the RMS Queen Mary. He hopes to secure himself an American contact during the visit.
• 6th - The Hitchcocks arrive at New York aboard the SS Queen Mary and are met by Kay Brown.
• 10th - The Hitchcocks depart from New York for Hollywood.
• David O. Selznick meets actress Joan Fontaine at a garden party hosted by Charles Chaplin. When she mentions that she has just finished reading Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, Selznick admits he had recently bought the film rights and offers her a screen test for the role of the 2nd Mrs. de Winter.
• 15th - Hitchcock meets with David O. Selznick.
• 16th - Hitchcock meets with Sam Goldwyn.
• 23rd - Hitchcock meets for a second time with Sam Goldwyn.

July

• 2nd - David O. Selznick makes an initial contract offer to Hitchcock. The contract is below Hitchcock's expectations, but Myron Selznick insists that it will be a better offer than Sam Goldwyn can make, so Hitchcock accepts.
• 6th - Myron Selznick hosts a celebratory party for the Hitchcocks. The other guests are Dan Winkler, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard.
• 8th - The Hitchcocks travel back to New York by train.
• 12th - David O. Selznick announces that he has signed Hitchcock.
• 13th - The Hitchcocks set sail back to England aboard the SS Normandie. They plan to return to America once Jamaica Inn has been completed.
• 17th - An interview with Hitchcock is published in the New York Times in which the director talks about his plans to film Titanic. He claims that he persuaded the Cunard Line to agree to the film by saying, "Over the grave of the Titanic rides, in safety, the Queen Mary."
• 18th - The Hitchcocks arrived into Le Harve, aboard the SS Normandie.

September

• 11th - Actress Nova Pilbeam plays the title role in a BBC Radio adaptation of J.M. Barrie's play "Mary Rose", produced by Cyril Wood. The play is repeated again on the 13th.
• Some British newspapers report that David O. Selznick has purchased the rights to Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca and name Carole Lombard as being cast in the lead role.
• 21th - Variety reports that Hitchcock will begin filming Titanic for Selznick International in January 1939, followed by Rebecca in March.

October

• A month later than originally planned, filming commences on Jamaica Inn, starring Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara.

November

• After much press speculation that Hitchcock's first American film will be about the Titanic disaster, David O. Selznick formally announces it will be an adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca.

December

• The New York Film Critics name Hitchcock as "Best Director of 1938" for The Lady Vanishes in their annual poll. The news alarms Selznick, as his own vagueness about the actual start date for Rebecca could give Hitchcock the opportunity to make his debut US film for another studio. Selznick quickly renegotiates the contact and gives Hitchcock better terms whilst ensuring that he has the final say-so over any projects for other studios.

See Also...

• articles from 1938
• births in 1938
• deaths in 1938

Notes & References

Hitchcock Chronology
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