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Hitchcock Chronology: Month of April

Entries in the Hitchcock Chronology for the month of April...

1910

  • The US film company Famous Players-Lasky announces that it plans to open studios in the UK and development work begins in October 1919 at a new studio complex in Islington, London. Islington Studios are officially opened in May 1920.[1]

1920

  • 22nd - J.M. Barrie's melancholic play Mary Rose debuts at the Haymarket Theatre in London. According to some sources, Hitchcock saw the play on the first night.
  • 23rd - The Times carries a review of the first night of J.M. Barrie's play Mary Rose at the Haymarket Theatre, "It is like nothing you have ever seen and yet full of everything you have seen from a child up. Its ghosts are almost more human than its creatures of flesh and blood, so that you subdue your shiver to love them."[2]

1921

1924

  • 18th - Licensed victualler Harry Lee dies, aged 31, leaving Hitchcock's sister Ellen Kathleen a widow with two young sons.

1925

1926

  • 14th - The Observer newspaper carries a review of The Pleasure Garden saying that, whilst Hitchcock was "saddled with a complicated story", "he has made some of it, so interesting as to make one eager and optimistic for his future."[4]
  • 16th - The Pleasure Garden receives a premiere presentation at the Odeon Capitol cinema, Haymarket, London.[5]

1928

  • 9th - Hitchcock's sister Ellen Kathleen gives birth to a child out of wedlock, christened Albert William Ingram. The father is licensed victualler Albert Edward Ingram, who is married to another woman, and the child is raised by foster parents. Albert and Ellen fail to register the birth of the child until 1932.
  • 13th - British International Pictures begin running newspaper competition adverts, hoping to discover new British female film stars.[6]

1929

1931

  • 27th - Hitchcock's sister Ellen Kathleen marries licensed victualler Albert Edward Ingram in a Roman Catholic ceremony at the St Thomas of Canterbury, Fulham. Father W.A. Wright performs the ceremony and the witnesses are Emma Jane Hitchcock and Alma Reville. Ellen Kathleen had given birth to an illegitimate child in April 1928, the result of her affair with Albert Edward, who was married to another woman at the time.

1932

1933

  • 26th - The Gloucestershire Echo carries a report about the portrait commissioned of Hitchcock painted by deaf and mute artist Alfred Thomson. A few days later, the Western Morning News reported that the painting "shows our ablest film director dramatically placed in studio surroundings".[10][11][12]
  • 28th - Actor Robin Irvine, who had appeared in Downhill and Easy Virtue, dies aged 32 after contracting pleurisy in Bermuda.[13]

1934

1935

1937

1938

  • 4th - The Manchester Guardian reports that Hitchcock purchased a painting by English artist Christopher Wood (1901-1930) for £200 at an art exhibition held at the New Burlington Galleries in London.[17][18]
  • 20th - Newspapers report that an electrician's strike has halted production of Hitchcock's latest film, The Lady Vanishes.[19]
  • 30th - Actress Nova Pilbeam is injured when the taxi she is travelling in is hit by another car. The driver of the other car, Ernest Arthur Hardy, is later fined £10 for careless driving.[20]

1939

  • 5th - The Hitchcocks arrive at the Santa Fe Railway Depot in Pasadena, California — known as the "Gateway to Hollywood" — where they are met by Myron Selznick.[21]
  • 13th - Hitchcock is a guest on The Royal Gelatin Hour, a radio variety show hosted by singer-bandleader Rudy Vallée. The other guests were American actress Kay Francis and English actor Eric Blore.[22]
  • Hitchcock cables Robert Donat urging him to consider the lead role of Maxim de Winter in Rebecca. Selznick is unconvinced — his list of potential actors includes Walter Pidgeon, Leslie Howard, Mervyn Douglas and William Powell.[23]

1940

1943

  • 16th - The Los Angeles Times reports that Hitchcock is keen to cast actress Kathleen Hepburn in Lifeboat.[25] By June, Tallulah Bankhead had been signed for the film.

1944

1946

1949

1951

  • 5th - Actor Edward Rigby, who played the role of Old Will in Young and Innocent, dies aged 72.
  • The Hitchcocks continue their European vacation. Leaving Italy, they travel to Austria, visiting Innsbruck, then on to Germany, visiting Bavaria, Munich and Berlin. Finally, they visit Paris before ending their vacation in London.[30]

1952

1953

1954

  • With the budget for To Catch a Thief escalating towards $3,000,000, Hitchcock begins cutting unnecessary scenes from the script, including a planned police chase through a street carnival.[35][36]

1955

1956

  • 15th - Filming on The Wrong Man is halted to allow Vera Miles to marry Tarzan actor Gordon Scott.[43]
  • 18th - Grace Kelly marries Rainier III, Prince of Monaco. Although Hitchcock was invited to the ceremony, he declined.[44]

1957

1958

1959

1960

1962

  • 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.[58][59]
  • 2nd - The studio-based filming on The Birds begins at Universal Studios. Initial filming concentrates on scenes inside the Brenner house, including the sparrow attack.[60]
  • 2nd - Evan Hunter submits his final amendments to the screenplay for The Birds, including changes to the film's coda. Ultimately, Hitchcock decides not to use Hunter's ending.[61]
  • 16-17th - Studio-based filming on The Birds continues with the interior shots of Fawcett farmhouse, including Jessica Tandy discovering Dan Fawcett's body.[62]
  • 18th - At the suggestion of Saul Bass, German electronic music composer Remi Gassmann writes to Hitchcock to extol the virtues of the tratonium instrument for creating film soundtracks. Hitchcock will go on to use the tratonium to create the soundtrack for The Birds.[63]

1965

1968

  • 10th - At the 40th Academic Awards, Hitchcock receives the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award from fellow director Robert Wise. Famously, his acceptance speech is just two words — "thank you".[65]
  • Hitchcock begins regular meetings with author Leon Uris to develop the screenplay for Topaz.[66]

1969

  • Hitchcock returns to Paris in mid-April to film the duel finalé for Topaz. News that Alma has been hospitalised forces the director to return to Los Angeles before the sequence is completed and Herbert Coleman takes over. Two further endings will be filmed, with Hitchcock returning to Paris once more to film an ending at Orly Airport. The third "suicide" ending is constructed from existing footage.[66]

1970

  • 6th - Hitchcock undergoes a thorough physical examination. He spends much of the year recuperating after the rigours of filming Topaz.[67]

1971

  • 9th - Hitchcock receives Anthony Shaffer's first draft of the Frenzy screenplay and spends the weekend reading it.[68]
  • 17th - Film editor Charles Rees places two personal adverts in The Times in the hope of being hired as the editor for Frenzy (1972) — they read "MR. HITCHCOCK. May we assist Charles Rees. Phone Roger Wilson, David Gowing, Shepperton." and "DEAR MR. HITCHCOCK. I want to cut your next film. Charles Rees. London. 01-937 9490."[69]
  • 19th - Having flown in from New York, Anthony Shaffer meets with Hitchcock to discuss further revisions to the Frenzy screenplay. By now, the screenplay has become 160 pages long.[68]
  • 30th - Alma reads the Frenzy screenplay and provides a number of script and continuity issues for Anthony Shaffer to address.[70]

1972

  • 27th - Hitchcock attends a film class at the University of South California, held by Professor Arthur Knight. The director screens Frenzy for the students.[71]

1974

  • Writer Ernest Lehman completes an initial draft of Deceit (later retitled Family Plot).[72]
  • 29th - The Film Society of Lincoln Center, New York, hold a gala tribute to Hitchcock. In his address, the director ends by saying "They tell me that a murder is committed every minute, so I don't want to waste any more of your time. I know you want to get to work. Thank you."[73][74]

1975

  • After months of discussion and occasional disagreements with Hitchcock, Ernest Lehman finalises his screenplay for Deceit.[75]

1980

  • With his health failing in early April, Hitchcock takes to bed at his Bel Air home.[76]

1987

1990

1998

2002

2006

2010

2014

References

  1. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, pages 47-48
  2. The Times (23/Apr/1920) - Mary Rose: New Barrie Play at the Haymarket
  3. Variety (22/Apr/1925). A full review of the screening was carried in Variety (27/May/1925).
  4. The Observer (14/Apr/1926) - The Pleasure Garden
  5. The Times (16/Apr/1926) - Advert: The Pleasure Garden
  6. Hull Daily Mail (13/Apr/1928) - Here Is Your Chance To Be A Film Star!
  7. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 120
  8. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 120
  9. The Times (04/Apr/1932) - New films in London
  10. Gloucestershire Echo (26/Apr/1933) - Language in Pictures
  11. Western Morning News (29/Apr/1933)
  12. Wikipedia: Alfred Thomson
  13. The Times (02/May/1933) - Obituary: Robin Irvine
  14. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 141
  15. Source: Motion Picture Daily (09/Apr/1935)
  16. The 39 Steps: A British Film Guide (2003) by Mark Glancy, page 39
  17. The Manchester Guardian (04/04/1938) - Big Prices at an Art Exhibition
  18. Wikipedia: Christopher Wood (English painter)
  19. Aberdeen Journal (20/Apr/1938) - Work on New Film Held Up
  20. As reported in the Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette (17/Jun/1938).
  21. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 234
  22. Radio listing in the San Antonio Express (13/Apr/1939)
  23. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 237
  24. "Tennis Matches to Aid British War Relief Fund" in Los Angeles Times (21/Apr/1940)
  25. "Hedda Hopper Looking at Hollywood" in Los Angeles Times (16/Apr/1943).
  26. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 273
  27. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 284
  28. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, pages 431-32
  29. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 432
  30. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, pages 454-55
  31. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 336
  32. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 457
  33. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, pages 457-58
  34. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 468
  35. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 102
  36. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 493
  37. Close-Up of Alfred Hitchcock (BBC Radio, 03/Apr/1955)
  38. Project Genome: BBC Radio Times Archive
  39. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 362
  40. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, chapter 13
  41. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 362
  42. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 362
  43. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 379
  44. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, pages 380-1
  45. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 546
  46. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 546
  47. Vertigo: The Making of a Hitchcock Classic (1998) by Dan Auiler, pages 143-44
  48. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 403
  49. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, pages 403-4
  50. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 404
  51. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 409
  52. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 409
  53. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 444
  54. Motion Picture Daily (04/Apr/1960) reported that Hitchcock departed from California during the weekend of 2nd April
  55. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 444
  56. The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, pages 24 & 28
  57. Source: Motion Picture Daily (28/Apr/1960)
  58. Hitchcock and the Making of Marnie (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, pages 13-14.
  59. Save Hitchcock: The Truth why Grace of Monaco didn't play Marnie
  60. The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, pages 127-28
  61. Sight and Sound (1997) - Me and Hitch
  62. The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, pages 132-33
  63. The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, pages 157-58
  64. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 664
  65. YouTube: acceptance speech footage
  66. 66.0 66.1 Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, chapter 17
  67. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, chapter 18.
  68. 68.0 68.1 Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy: The Last Masterpiece (2012) by Raymond Foery, page 27
  69. Internet Movie Database: Charles Rees
  70. Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy: The Last Masterpiece (2012) by Raymond Foery, page 28
  71. Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy: The Last Masterpiece (2012) by Raymond Foery, pages 112-3
  72. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, pages 720-21
  73. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 721
  74. Film Comment (1974) - Hitchcock
  75. The Encyclopedia of Alfred Hitchcock (2002) by Thomas M. Leitch, page 100
  76. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, pg 745
Hitchcock Chronology
1890s 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899
1900s 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
1910s 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
1920s 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1930s 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940s 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950s 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
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