1938 in film
The year 1938 in film involved some significant events.
January – announces that Judy Garland will be cast in the role of Dorothy Gale in the upcoming The Wizard of Oz film. Ray Bolger is 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.
MGM
January 21 – Pioneering French film director , best remembered for groundbreaking films like A Trip to the Moon and The Impossible Voyage, dies in Paris, aged 76.
Georges Méliès
February 24 – The entertainment trade newspaper Variety confirms that the film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) had bought the rights to adapt ’s beloved children’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for the screen
L. Frank Baum
April 5 – completes the first script for The Wizard of Oz.
Noel Langley
April 20 – Leonard Slye appears in his first starring role as 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".
Roy Rogers
May 7 – Lyricist and composer Harold Arlen begin work on the musical score for The Wizard of Oz.
Yip Harburg
May 14 – Release of ' 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.
Warner Bros.
October 13 – Filming starts on The Wizard of Oz on the in Culver City, California, initially with Richard Thorpe as director.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio lot
October 21 – 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.
Buddy Ebsen
December 22 – 's first feature film in three-strip Technicolor, Sweethearts, starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, is released.
MGM
December 23 – 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.
Margaret Hamilton
makes Too Much Johnson, starring Joseph Cotten. It is never completed and first released only in 2013.
Orson Welles
In Old Chicago
Jezebel
, directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Flaming Frontiers
The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
The Lone Ranger
The Secret of Treasure Island
The Spider's Web
Red Barry
(1913–1938)
Harold Lloyd
(1914–1940)
Charlie Chaplin
(1915–1939)
Lupino Lane
(1917–1944)
Buster Keaton
(1929–1937)
Marx Brothers
(1934–1959)
The Three Stooges
Silly Symphonies
January 1 – , American actor
Frank Langella
January 4 – , Irish character actor
Jim Norton
January 8 – , American television personality and game show host
Bob Eubanks
William B. Davis
January 14 – , American singer, actor
Jack Jones
January 26 – , English-born director and playwright
Henry Jaglom
Marshall Efron
February 16 - , American actor, director and writer
Barry Primus
February 17 – , English actress
Yvonne Romain
February 20 – , American actor and film maker
Richard Beymer
Jiří Menzel
James Farentino
Diane Baker
March 4 – , American actress
Paula Prentiss
March 5 – , American actor
Fred Williamson
April 6 – , American actor
Roy Thinnes
April 15 – , Italian actress
Claudia Cardinale
May 5 – , American actor
Michael Murphy
May 13 – , American actor
Buck Taylor
May 14 - , English actor
Michael Preston
Richard Benjamin
May 24 – , Canadian-American actor, writer, director, musician and comedian
Tommy Chong
June 12 – , Australian actor
Tom Oliver
Ron Ely
June 25 – , Italian actor
Giampiero Littera
June 27 – , English-American actress and singer
Kathryn Beaumont
July 11 – , Czech actor
Jiří Krampol
July 18 – , Dutch director
Paul Verhoeven
Diana Rigg
July 22 – , English actor
Terence Stamp
July 23 – , American actor, singer-songwriter
Ronny Cox
July 27 - , French actress
Danielle De Metz
July 29 - , Italian director, screenwriter and actor
Enzo G. Castellari
July 30 – , American actor
Michael Bell
Paul Bartel
August 8 – , American actress, singer
Connie Stevens
August 9 – , American actor
Burton Gilliam
August 14 - , American film director
James Fargo
Ron Dean
August 19 – , American actress
Diana Muldaur
August 29 – , American actor
Elliott Gould
Clarence Felder
September 26 – , American character actor
Jonathan Goldsmith
Tunç Başaran
October 2 – , American film critic and "actor"
Rex Reed
October 4 – , American actress, voice artist and singer
Loretta Long
Barbara Baldavin
Derek Jacobi
Ardeshir Kazemi
November 26 – , Canadian-American voice actor
Rich Little
December 6 – , Belgian actor
Patrick Bauchau
December 12 - , English actor
Leslie Schofield
December 14 – , American actor
Hal Williams
Neil Connery
December 21 – , American actor
Larry Bryggman
December 29 – , American actor
Jon Voight
January 19 – , 65, American actor, The Kennel Murder Case, The Dragon Murder Case, Cappy Ricks Returns, Mr. Cinderella
Robert McWade
January 20 – , 81, French film pioneer
Émile Cohl
January 21 – , 76, French film pioneer, The Impossible Voyage, A Trip to the Moon, The Merry Frolics of Satan, The Conquest of the Pole
Georges Méliès
January 26 – , 56, American actor, The Wedding March, The Patent Leather Kid, The Big House, The Hurricane Express
Matthew Betz
August 4 – , 49, American silent film star, The Perils of Pauline, The Exploits of Elaine
Pearl White
August 6 – , 58, Swedish-born actor, The Jazz Singer, Shanghai Express, Charlie Chan in London, Charlie Chan at the Opera
Warner Oland
September 19 – , 55, American stage & film actress, Thank You, Mr. Moto, Smouldering Fires, This Modern Age, Devil's Island
Pauline Frederick
October 1 – , 60, American stage & film actor, The Hurricane Express, Romeo and Juliet, Stella Maris, The Lost Zeppelin
Conway Tearle
December 28 – , 48, Canadian actress, Hollywood's first "star", Lady Helen's Escapade, The Taming of the Shrew, The Mended Lute, Betrayed by a Handprint