1938 in film

== Top-grossing films (U.S.) ==
edit
The top ten 1938 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
Highest-grossing films of 1938
Rank	Title 	Distributor 	Domestic rentals
1 	Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs	RKO/Walt Disney 	$3,996,000
2 	Boys Town 	MGM 	$2,828,000
3 	Alexander's Ragtime Band 	20th Century Fox	$2,630,000
4 	Test Pilot 	MGM 	$2,431,000
5 	You Can't Take It with You 	Columbia 	$2,182,000
6 	Sweethearts 	MGM 	$2,017,000
7 	In Old Chicago 	20th Century Fox	$1,964,000
8 	The Adventures of Robin Hood 	Warner Bros. 	$1,928,000
9 	Love Finds Andy Hardy 	MGM 	$1,637,000
10 	Marie Antoinette 	MGM 	$1,633,000
== Events ==
edit
* January – MGM announces that Judy Garland will be cast in the role of Dorothy Gale in the upcoming The Wizard of Oz film. Ray Bolgeris cast as the Tin Woodman and Buddy Ebsen as the Scarecrow. At Bolger's insistence, the roles are switched between the two actors. On July 25, MGM announces Bert Lahr has been cast as the Cowardly Lion.
* January 21 – Pioneering French film director Georges Méliès, best remembered for groundbreaking films like A Trip to the Moon and The Impossible Voyage, dies in Paris, aged 76.
* February 4 – Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first-ever full-length animated feature film, is released nationally in the United States, less than two months after its premiere in Los Angeles. The film is a huge box office success, and briefly holds the record as the highest-grossing sound film of all time.
* February 24 – The entertainment trade newspaper Variety confirms that the film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) had bought the rights to adapt L. Frank Baum’s beloved children’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for the screen
* April 5 – Noel Langley completes the first script for The Wizard of Oz.
* April 20 – Leonard Slye appears in his first starring role as Roy Rogers in Under Western Stars. He becomes one of the most popular Western stars being ranked number one from 1943 to 1952 and would become known as "King of the Cowboys".
* May 7 – Lyricist Yip Harburg and composer Harold Arlen begin work on the musical score for The Wizard of Oz.
* May 14 – Release of Warner Bros.' epic swashbuckler film The Adventures of Robin Hood, starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. Critically acclaimed for its vivid use of Technicolor, as well as its memorable action scenes, the film goes on to win three Academy Awards.
* October 13 – Filming starts on The Wizard of Oz on the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio lot in Culver City, California, initially with Richard Thorpe as director.
* October 21 – Buddy Ebsen suffers from a near fatal allergic reaction to the aluminum dust used in his Tin Woodman make-up on the set of The Wizard of Oz. Ebsen is replaced by Jack Haley.
* December 22 – MGM's first feature film in three-strip Technicolor, Sweethearts, starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, is released.
* December 23 – Margaret Hamilton is severely burned during a mishap on the set of The Wizard of Oz. Hamilton, cast in the role of the Wicked Witch of the West, leaves the film for six weeks.
* Orson Welles makes Too Much Johnson, starring Joseph Cotten. It is never completed and first released only in 2013.
* Producer George Minter establishes Renown Pictures, a British film distributor.
== Academy Awards ==
edit
Main article: 11th Academy Awards
* Best Picture: You Can't Take It with You – Columbia
* Best Director: Frank Capra – You Can't Take It with You
* Best Actor: Spencer Tracy – Boys Town
* Best Actress: Bette Davis – Jezebel
* Best Supporting Actor: Walter Brennan – Kentucky
* Best Supporting Actress: Fay Bainter – Jezebel
== 1938 film releases ==
edit
=== January–March ===
edit
* January 1938
** January 6
*** In Old Chicago
* February 1938
** February 4
*** Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
* March 1938
** March 26
*** Jezebel
=== April–June ===
edit
* April 1938
** April 7
*** The Adventures of Marco Polo
** April 22
*** Test Pilot
* May 1938
** May 14
*** The Adventures of Robin Hood
* June 1938
** June 2
*** Three Comrades
=== July–September ===
edit
* July 1938
** July 8
*** Marie Antoinette
* August 1938
** August 5
*** Alexander's Ragtime Band
** August 9
*** Four Daughters
* September 1938
** September 9
*** Boys Town
** September 16
*** Too Hot to Handle
** September 29
*** You Can't Take It with You
=== October–December ===
edit
* October 1938
** October 14
*** Young Dr. Kildare
* November 1938
** November 11
*** If I Were King
* December 1938
** December 22
*** Sweethearts
== Notable films released in 1938 ==
edit
United States unless stated
=== A ===
edit
* Adiós Buenos Aires – (Argentina/Spain/Canada)
* The Adventures of Marco Polo, starring Gary Cooper and Basil Rathbone
* The Adventures of Robin Hood, directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone
* The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, directed by Norman Taurog
* Águila o sol (Heads or Tails), starring Cantinflas – (Mexico)
* Alexander Nevsky, directed by Sergei Eisenstein, starring Nikolai Cherkasov – (U.S.S.R.)
* Alexander's Ragtime Band, starring Tyrone Power, Don Ameche, Alice Faye
* Algiers, starring Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamarr
* The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse, starring Edward G. Robinson
* Angels with Dirty Faces, starring James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Humphrey Bogart
=== B ===
edit
* Bank Holiday, starring Margaret Lockwood – (GB)
* La Bête humaine (The Human Beast), directed by Jean Renoir, starring Jean Gabin and Simone Simon – (France)
* The Big Broadcast of 1938, starring W.C. Fields, Martha Raye, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour
* Billy the Kid Returns, starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy
* Block-Heads, starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy
* Blondie, starring Penny Singleton
* Bluebeard's Eighth Wife, starring Gary Cooper and Claudette Colbert
* Boys Town, starring Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney
* Bringing Up Baby, directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn – number 14 on the American Film Institutelist of best comedy films
* The Buccaneer, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Fredric March
=== C ===
edit
* Carefree, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
* Carmen, la de Triana (Carmen, the girl from Triana) – (Spain/Germany)
* Charlie Chan in Honolulu, starring Sidney Toler
* A Christmas Carol, starring Reginald Owen
* The Citadel, directed by King Vidor, starring Robert Donat and Rosalind Russell – (GB)
* Climbing High, starring Michael Redgrave and Jessie Matthews – (GB)
* Cocoanut Grove, starring Fred MacMurray
* College Swing, starring George Burns, Gracie Allen, Martha Raye, Bob Hope
* Convict 99, starring Will Hay – (GB)
* Crime School, starring The Dead End Kids and Humphrey Bogart
* The Crowd Roars, starring Robert Taylor and Maureen O'Sullivan
=== D ===
edit
* Dangerous to Know, starring Anna May Wong and Akim Tamiroff
* The Dawn Patrol, starring Errol Flynn
* Diao Chan – (China)
* The Divorce of Lady X, with Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon – (GB)
* The Drum, with Sabu and Raymond Massey – (GB)
* Ducháček Will Fix It (Ducháček to zařídí) – (Czechoslovakia)
=== F ===
edit
* La Femme du Boulanger (The Baker's Wife), directed by Marcel Pagnol, starring Raimu – (France)
* Ferdinand the Bull, a Disney animated short
* Fools for Scandal, starring Carole Lombard
* The Four Companions, directed by Carl Froelich, starring Ingrid Bergman (Germany)
* Four Daughters, starring Claude Rains
* Four Men and a Prayer, directed by John Ford, starring Loretta Young, Richard Greene, David Niven
* Four's a Crowd, starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Rosalind Russell, Patric Knowles
=== G ===
edit
* The Gaunt Stranger, starring Sonnie Hale – (GB)
* The Girl of the Golden West, starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy
=== H ===
edit
* Hard to Get, starring Olivia de Havilland and Dick Powell
* Having Wonderful Time, starring Ginger Rogers and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
* Her Jungle Love, starring Dorothy Lamour and Ray Milland
* Here's Flash Casey, starring Eric Linden, Boots Mallory, and Cully Richards
* Holiday, starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant
* Honeysuckle, starring Hugo del Carril and Libertad Lamarque (Argentina)
* Hotel du Nord, directed by Marcel Carné – (France)
=== I ===
edit
* I Am the Law, starring Edward G. Robinson
* If I Were King, starring Ronald Colman
* In Old Chicago, starring Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, Don Ameche
* Inspector Hornleigh, starring Gordon Harker and Alastair Sim – (GB)
* International Settlement, starring Dolores del Río
=== J ===
edit
* J'accuse!, directed by Abel Gance – (France)
* Jezebel, starring Bette Davis and Henry Fonda
* Judge Hardy's Children, starring Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden
* Just Around the Corner, starring Shirley Temple
=== K ===
edit
* Kentucky, starring Loretta Young, Richard Greene, Walter Brennan
* Kentucky Moonshine, starring the Ritz Brothers
* Kidnapped, starring Warner Baxter and Freddie Bartholomew
* Kilómetro 111 – (Argentina)
* King Kong Appears in Edo (Edo ni Arawareta Kingu Kongu) – (Japan)
=== L ===
edit
* The Lady Vanishes, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Michael Redgrave and Margaret Lockwood – (GB)
* Listen, Darling, starring Judy Garland and Freddie Bartholomew
* Little Miss Broadway, starring Shirley Temple, Jimmy Durante, Edna May Oliver
* Little Tough Guy, starring Robert Wilcox, Helen Parrish, Marjorie Main
* Lord Jeff, starring Freddie Bartholomew and Mickey Rooney
* Love Finds Andy Hardy, starring Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden
=== M ===
edit
* Mad About Music, starring Deanna Durbin and Herbert Marshall
* The Mad Miss Manton, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda
* A Man to Remember, starring Anne Shirley and Edward Ellis
* Marie Antoinette, starring Norma Shearer and Tyrone Power
* Men with Wings, directed by William Wellman, starring Fred MacMurray and Ray Milland
* Merrily We Live, starring Brian Aherne, Constance Bennett, Billie Burke, Patsy Kelly
* Mollenard, directed by Robert Siodmak – (France)
* Mother Carey's Chickens, starring Anne Shirley
* The Mountain Calls (Der Berg Ruft) – (Germany)
* Mr. Moto's Gamble, starring Peter Lorre and Keye Luke
* Mr. Wong, Detective, starring Boris Karloff
* My Bill, starring Kay Francis, Dickie Moore
=== O ===
edit
* Of Human Hearts, starring Walter Huston, James Stewart, Beulah Bondi
* Old Bones of the River, starring Will Hay, Moore Marriott, Graham Moffatt – (GB)
* Olympia, a documentary by Leni Riefenstahl – (Germany)
* Out West with the Hardys, starring Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden
=== P ===
edit
* Paradise for Three, starring Frank Morgan, Robert Young, Mary Astor
* Paweł i Gaweł (Pawel and Gawel) – (Poland)
* Port of Seven Seas, directed by James Whale, starring Wallace Beery and Maureen O'Sullivan
* Port of Shadows (Le quai des brumes), directed by Marcel Carné, starring Jean Gabin and Michel Simon – (France)
* Prison Break, starring Barton MacLane and Glenda Farrell
* Professor Beware, starring Harold Lloyd
* Professor Mamlock – (U.S.S.R.)
* Pygmalion, directed by Anthony Asquith, starring Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller – (GB)
=== R ===
edit
* Radio City Revels, starring Jack Oakie
* Rawhide, starring Lou Gehrig, Smith Ballew, and Evalyn Knapp
* Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, starring Shirley Temple
* Red River Range, starring John Wayne
* Room Service, starring the Marx Brothers and Lucille Ball
=== S ===
edit
* The Saint in New York, starring Louis Hayward
* Save a Little Sunshine, starring Patricia Kirkwood and Tommy Trinder – (GB)
* The Shopworn Angel, starring James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan
* Sing You Sinners, starring Bing Crosby, Fred MacMurray, Ellen Drew, Donald O'Connor
* Sidewalks of London, starring Charles Laughton, Vivien Leigh, Rex Harrison – (GB)
* The Sisters, starring Errol Flynn and Bette Davis
* Sixty Glorious Years, starring Anna Neagle – (GB)
* Škola základ života – (Czechoslovakia)
* A Slight Case of Murder, starring Edward G. Robinson
* Suez, starring Tyrone Power and Loretta Young
* Sweethearts, starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy
=== T ===
edit
* The Terror of Tiny Town, starring Billy Curtis
* Test Pilot, starring Clark Gable and Myrna Loy
* That Certain Age, starring Deanna Durbin and Melvyn Douglas
* There Goes My Heart, starring Fredric March, Virginia Bruce and Patsy Kelly
* They Drive by Night, starring Emlyn Williams and Ernest Thesiger – (GB)
* Three Comrades, starring Robert Taylor, Margaret Sullavan, Franchot Tone
* Tom Sawyer, Detective, starring Donald O'Connor
* Too Hot to Handle, starring Clark Gable and Myrna Loy
=== U-V ===
edit
* Urlaub auf Ehrenwort (Leave on Parole) – (Germany)
* Valley of the Giants, starring Wayne Morris and Claire Trevor
* Young Fugitives, starring Harry Davenport
* Vivacious Lady, starring Ginger Rogers and James Stewart
* Volga-Volga – (U.S.S.R.)
=== W ===
edit
* We're Going to Be Rich – starring Gracie Fields, Victor McLaglen and Brian Donlevy – (GB)
* White Banners, starring Claude Rains and Fay Bainter
* A Woman's Face (En kvinnas ansikte), starring Ingrid Bergman – (Sweden)
* Woman Against Woman, starring Herbert Marshall and Virginia Bruce
=== Y ===
edit
* Yahya el Hub, directed by Mohammed Karim, starring Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Leila Mourad – (Egypt)
* A Yank at Oxford, starring Robert Taylor, Lionel Barrymore, Vivien Leigh – (GB)
* You Can't Take It with You, directed by Frank Capra, starring James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore – Oscars for best picture and director
* Young Dr. Kildare, starring Lew Ayres and Lionel Barrymore
* The Young in Heart, starring Janet Gaynor, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Paulette Goddard
=== Z ===
edit
* La Zandunga, starring Lupe Vélez and Arturo de Córdova – (Mexico)
Category:1930s in film