1938 in film
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Events
- January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence, the roles are switched between the two actors.
- April 5 — Noel Langley completes the first script for The Wizard of Oz.
- May 7 — Lyricist Edgar Yipsel Harburg and composer, Harold Arlen, begin work on the musical score for The Wizard of Oz.
- July 25 — MGM announces that Bert Lahr has been cast as the "Cowardly Lion" in The Wizard of Oz.
- October 13 — Filming starts on The Wizard of Oz.
- October 21 — Buddy Ebsen suffers from a near fatal allergic reaction to the aluminum dust used in his "Tinman" make-up on the set of The Wizard of Oz. Ebsen is replaced by Jack Haley.
- December 23 — Margaret Hamilton is severely burned during a mishap on the set of The Wizard of Oz. Hamilton, who was cast in the role of the "Wicked Witch", left the film for six weeks.
Top grossing films
- Radio City Revels
Academy Awards
- Best Picture: You Can't Take it With You - Columbia
- Best Actor: Spencer Tracy - Boys Town
- Best Actress: Bette Davis - Jezebel
Movies released
Movies released in 1938 include:
- The Adventures of Robin Hood, starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland
- Aleksandr Nevsky, starring Nikolai Cherkasov
- Alexander's Ragtime Band, starring Tyrone Power, Don Ameche and Alice Faye
- The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse, starring Edward G. Robinson
- Angels with Dirty Faces, starring James Cagney and Pat O'Brien
- Block-Heads, starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy
- Bluebeard's Eighth Wife, starring Gary Cooper
- Boys Town, starring Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney
- Bringing Up Baby, starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn
- A Christmas Carol, starring Reginald Owen
- The Citadel, starring Robert Donat and Rosalind Russell; directed by King Vidor
- The Dawn Patrol, starring Errol Flynn
- Four Daughters, starring Claude Rains
- Holiday, starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant
- Jezebel, starring Bette Davis
- The Lady Vanishes, starring Michael Redgrave and Margaret Lockwood; directed by Alfred Hitchcock
- Pygmalion, starring Leslie Howard
- Radio City Revels, starring Jack Oakie and Ann Miller
- Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, starring Shirley Temple
- Room Service, starring the Marx Brothers
- Tell Your Children, (also known as Reefer Madness)
- Test Pilot, starring Clark Gable and Myrna Loy
- You Can't Take It with You, starring Jean Arthur and Lionel Barrymore
Births
- January 14 — Jack Jones, singer, actor
- February 23 — Diane Varsi, actress (+1992)
- April 17 — Pérette Pradier, French actress
- November 13 — Jean Seberg, actress (+1979)
Deaths
- August 4 - Pearl White, American silent film star
- August 6 - Warner Oland, Swedish-born actor
- December 28 - Florence Lawrence, Hollywood's first "star"de:Filmjahr 1938