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Hitchcock Chronology: Grace Kelly

Entries in the Hitchcock Chronology relating to Grace Kelly...

1953

July

October

  • Grace Kelly's agent telephones her to let her know she has been offered the role of "Lisa" in Rear Window. Kelly has already been offered the lead role opposite Marlon Brando in On The Waterfront, but jumps at the chance to work with Hitchcock again.[2][3]

November

  • 27th - Principal photography begins Hitchcock's first film for Paramount, Rear Window, starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly. The first sequence to be filmed is the complex opening title sequence — 10 takes are required before Robert Burks is happy.[4][5][6]

1954

May

July

  • 13th - Filming of To Catch a Thief's Hotel Carlton raft sequence with Cary Grant, Grace Kelly and Brigitte Auber begins in Paramount's "A" water tank on Set #12.[9]

1955

February

  • 24th - Geoffrey Shurlock, the new director of the Production Code Administration, issues the certificate of approval to To Catch a Thief on the proviso that an edit is made to the scene with Grace Kelly and Cary Grant which ends with the fireworks display. Hitchcock eventually appeases Shurlock by toning down Lyn Murray's sensuous tenor saxophone in the scene.[10]

1956

April

  • 18th - Grace Kelly marries Rainier III, Prince of Monaco. Although Hitchcock was invited to the ceremony, he declined.[11]

1962

March

  • 19th - The Palace of Monaco makes a formal announcement that Princess Grace is intending to return to acting and will star in Hitchcock's adaptation of Marnie.[12][13]
  • 23rd - Following criticism that Princess Grace was returning to acting purely to raise money for the Monaco Government, she puts out an annoumcent stating, "With the profit from this film I want to endow in Monaco a fund for needy children and encourage young Monegasque sportsmen."[14]
  • 23rd - MGM president Joseph R. Vogel writes to Hitchcock claiming that Princess Grace is still under contract to the studio and that MGM would have to be a partner in the production of Marnie. Hitchcock rejects the claim.[15]

April

  • The French Government renounces the Administration and Mutual Assistance Convention treaty with Monaco in an attempt to reign in Monaco's reputation as a tax haven. The pressure on Monaco to negotiate a new treaty over the next few months means that Princess Grace will eventually abandon her plans to play the lead role in Hitchcock's Marnie.[16][17]
  • 24th - Concerned about the short gap between completing The Birds and the planned start date for Marnie of 1st August, Hitchcock announces that the latter will be delayed. He added that Princess Grace had agreed to the change.[18]

June

  • 7th - Princess Grace releases a statement that she has withdrawn from Marnie and will not be resuming her acting career.[19]

1971

September

  • 14th - The Hitchcocks spend the evening dining with Princess Grace of Monaco and her husband, who are visiting London.[20]
  • 17th - Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco visit Hitchcock during location filming on Frenzy in Covent Garden Market.

1972

May

  • 20th - The Hitchcocks spend a day in Monaco with Princess Grace and her husband.[21]

1977

November

  • Grace Kelly visits the Hitchcocks.[22]

1978

February

  • Grace Kelly visits the Hitchcocks.[23]

1982

September

  • 13th - Grace Kelly suffers a stroke whilst driving with her daughter Stéphanie near La Turbie and crashes the car. She is pulled alive but unconscious from the wreckage and taken to Monaco Hospital.
  • 14th - Grace Kelly dies from the injuries she sustained during the car crash the previous day, aged 52.
  • 18th - Following a requiem mass held at Saint Nicholas Cathedral, Monaco, Grace Kelly is buried in the Grimaldi family vault. Cary Grant is among the attendees at the service.

References

  1. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 343
  2. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 345
  3. American Cinematographer (1990) - Hitchcock's Techniques Tell Rear Window Story
  4. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 43
  5. American Cinematographer (1990) - Hitchcock's Techniques Tell Rear Window Story
  6. Patrick McGilligan states filming began in October, but this is likely an error.
  7. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 351
  8. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 105
  9. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 116
  10. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 122
  11. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, pages 380-1
  12. Hitchcock and the Making of Marnie (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, page 10
  13. Milwaukee Sentinel (19/Mar/1962) - Hitch Scoop 'Em, Signs Grace
  14. The Times (23/Mar/1962) - Princess Grace to set up fund
  15. Hitchcock and the Making of Marnie (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, page 11
  16. Hitchcock and the Making of Marnie (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, pages 13-14.
  17. Save Hitchcock: The Truth why Grace of Monaco didn't play Marnie
  18. The Times (24/Apr/1962) - Princess Grace film delayed
  19. The Times (08/Jun/1962) - Princess Grace's film plans off
  20. Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy: The Last Masterpiece (2012) by Raymond Foery, pages 63-64
  21. Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy: The Last Masterpiece (2012) by Raymond Foery, page 114
  22. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 733
  23. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 733