Hitchcock Chronology: 1944
Overview
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Month by Month
January
- 20th - Hitchcock begins filming Bon Voyage and Aventure Malgache at British International Pictures' Welwyn Studios in Hertfordshire, UK.[1][2]
- Lifeboat opens in American theatres.[3]
February
- 25th - Hitchcock finishes filming Bon Voyage and Aventure Malgache.[4][5]
March
- 2nd - Hitchcock flies back to America, having completed Bon Voyage and Aventure Malgache in England. He cables David O. Selznick from the Saint Regis Hotel to say he'd like to write the script for Spellbound with Ben Hecht.[6][7] Hitch had been scheduled to sail back to America from Greenock, Scotland aboard the RMS Aquitania which was due to depart on the 2nd.[8]
- 23rd - Myron Selznick, Alfred Hitchcock's first American agent, dies from an abdominal hemorrhage, aged 46. His brother, David, is at his bedside when he passes away.[9]
April
- By the end of April, Ben Hecht and Hitchcock have completed the script for Spellbound.[10]
May
- Ben Hecht and Hitchcock arrive back in Hollywood and begin meetings with David O. Selznick to discuss Spellbound.[11]
June
- Principal photography begins on Spellbound, starring Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman.[12][13]
July
August
- Hitchcock and Ben Hecht map out a treatment for Notorious.[14]
- Hitchcock has his first meeting with Salvador Dalí to discuss the dream sequences for Spellbound.[15]
- 30th - Hitchcock begins filming the Spellbound dream sequences designed by Salvador Dalí. The sequences take nearly an entire month to film.[16][17]
- 31st - Hitchcock signs a new contract with David O. Selznick, which more than doubles his salary.[18]
September
- 15th - Hitchcock meets with RKO producer William Dozier at Chasen's Restaurant, where he outlines the plot of a story that will eventually become Notorious. Dozier is keen for RKO to purchase the story, but David O. Selznick overrules and decides it should be a Selznick International Pictures film.[19]
October
- 13th - Filming on Spellbound is completed. An end-of-shooting party is held, with Romanoff's providing the catering.[20]
- 15th - Hitchcock arrives in London. Much to David O. Selznick's annoyance, Hitchcock uses up his 12 weeks of holiday to meet with Sidney Bernstein in order to continue their discussions about creating a new film company.[21]
November
- 21st - Eliot Stannard, one of England's most prolific screenwriters, dies aged 56. He wrote (or co-wrote) the scenarios for Hitchcock's The Pleasure Garden (1925), The Mountain Eagle (1926), Downhill (1927), The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927), The Ring (1927), Champagne (1928), Easy Virtue (1928), The Farmer's Wife (1928) and The Manxman (1929).
December
- Hitchcock returns from London in time for Christmas. David O. Selznick gives the go-ahead for Notorious to be Hitchcock's next film.[22] During Hitchcock's absence, Selznick hired William Cameron Menzies to reshoot some of the scenes in Spellbound's dream sequence — when Salvador Dalí finally saw the finished film, he was reportedly very disappointed with the changes made to his designs.[23]
- Hitchcock and Ben Hecht continue working on Notorious.[24]
- 26th - Hitchcock and Ben Hecht arrive in Washington and spend the evening "roughing out a script" for Watchtower Over Tomorrow.[25][26]
See Also...
- articles from 1944
- births in 1944
- deaths in 1944
Notes & References
- ↑ Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 348
- ↑ The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 272
- ↑ Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 350
- ↑ Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 348
- ↑ The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 272
- ↑ Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 348
- ↑ The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 283
- ↑ Hitchcock is listed on the Aquitania passenger list, along with a handwritten note "R.A.F. allied forces under orders". The dangers of Atlantic travel meant that both Sidney Bernstein and Alma Reville were listed as people to be contacted in the event of Hitch's death if the Aquitania was sunk.
- ↑ Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 353
- ↑ The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 273
- ↑ Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 356
- ↑ Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 359.
- ↑ Spoto gives a start date of July 10th.
- ↑ Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 367.
- ↑ Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 361.
- ↑ Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, pages 361-63.
- ↑ Spoto gives different dates, claiming Dalí arrived in Hollywood in September and the sequences were filmed in October.
- ↑ The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 276
- ↑ The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 283
- ↑ The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, pages 276 & 278
- ↑ The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 278
- ↑ The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 279
- ↑ Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, pages 363-64
- ↑ Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 367.
- ↑ Hitchcock Annual (1996) - The unknown Hitchcock: Watchtower over Tomorrow
- ↑ Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 368.
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