1938 in film

The top ten 1938 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

• January – MGM 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.
• 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 became 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 Edgar Yipsel Harburg and composer, Harold Arlen, begin work on the musical score for The Wizard of Oz.
• 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 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 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.[6]

• 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

United States unless stated

• Dick Tracy Returns, starring Ralph Byrd
• The Fighting Devil Dogs, starring Lee Powell and Herman Brix
• Flaming Frontiers
• Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars, starring Buster Crabbe
• The Great Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
• Hawk of the Wilderness, starring Herman Brix
• The Lone Ranger
• The Secret of Treasure Island
• The Spider's Web
• Red Barry

• Harold Lloyd (1913–1938)
• Charlie Chaplin (1914–1940)
• Lupino Lane (1915–1939)
• Buster Keaton (1917–1944)
• Laurel and Hardy (1921–1945)
• Our Gang (1922–1944)
• Marx Brothers (1929–1937)
• The Three Stooges (1933–1962)

• Krazy Kat (1925–1940)
• Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (1927-1938)
• Mickey Mouse (1928–1953)
• Silly Symphonies
  • The Moth and the Flame
  • Wynken, Blynken and Nod
  • Farmyard Symphony
  • Merbabies
  • Mother Goose Goes Hollywood
• Screen Songs (1929-1938)
• Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
• Terrytoons (1930–1964)
• Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
• Scrappy (1931–1941)
• Betty Boop (1932–1939)
• Popeye (1933–1957)
• Happy Harmonies (1934-1938)
• Color Rhapsodies (1934–1949)
• Donald Duck (1937–1956)
• Walter Lantz Cartunes (also known as New Universal Cartoons or Cartune Comedies) (1938–1942)
• The Captain and the Kids (1938–1939)

• January 1 – Frank Langella, American actor
• January 6 – Larisa Shepitko, Soviet director (died 1979)
• January 12 – Lewis Fiander, Australian actor (died 2016)
• January 14 – Jack Jones, American singer, actor
• January 26 – Henry Jaglom, English-born director and playwright
• January 29 – Aminah Cendrakasih, Indonesian actress
• February 12 – Oliver Reed, English actor (died 1999)
• February 17 – Yvonne Romain, English actress
• February 19 – René Muñoz, Cuban-born actor, Mexico-based screenwriter (died 2000)
• February 23
  • Jiří Menzel, Czech director (died 2020)
  • Diane Varsi, American actress (died 1992)
• February 24 – James Farentino, American actor (died 2012)
• March 4 – Paula Prentiss, American actress
• March 5 – Fred Williamson, American actor
• March 18 – Shashi Kapoor, Indian actor (died 2017)
• March 25 – Hoyt Axton, American country music singer-songwriter, actor (died 1999)
• April 15 – Claudia Cardinale, Italian actress
• May 12
  • Luana Anders, American actress (died 1996)
  • Millie Perkins, American actress
• May 22 – Richard Benjamin, American actor, director
• May 24 - Tommy Chong, Canadian-American actor, writer, director, musician, cannabis rights activist and comedian.
• June 12 – Tom Oliver, Australian actor
• June 16 – Michael Culver, English actor
• June 18 – Michael Sheard, Scottish actor (died 2005)
• June 21 – Celia Rodriguez, Filipina actress
• June 25 – Giampiero Littera, Italian actor
• July 6 – Luana Patten, American actress (died 1996)
• July 8 – Andrey Myagkov, Soviet/Russian actor
• July 9 – Brian Dennehy, American actor (died 2020)
• July 11 – Jiří Krampol, Czech actor
• July 18 – Paul Verhoeven, Dutch director
• July 20
  • Diana Rigg, English actress (died 2020)
  • Natalie Wood, American actress (died 1981)
• July 23 – Ronny Cox, American actor, singer-songwriter
• August 6 – Paul Bartel, American actor, writer and director (died 2000)
• August 8 – Connie Stevens, American actress, singer
• August 26 – Susan Harrison, American actress
• August 29 – Elliott Gould, American actor
• September 2
  • Clarence Felder, American actor
  • Giuliano Gemma, Italian actor (died 2013)
  • Mary Jo Catlett, American actress
• September 8 – Philip L. Clarke, American voice actor (died 2013)
• September 28 – Ben E. King, American soul singer (died 2015)
• October 1
  • Tunç Başaran, Turkish screenwriter, film director, film producer and actor (died 2019)
  • Stella Stevens, American actress
• October 10 – Steve Gordon, American filmmaker (died 1982)
• October 22 – Christopher Lloyd, American actor
• November 13 – Jean Seberg, American actress (died 1979)
• December 12 – Connie Francis, American singer, actress
• December 16 – Liv Ullmann, Norwegian actress
• December 29 – Jon Voight, American actor

• January 20 – Émile Cohl, 81, French film pioneer
• January 21 – Georges Méliès, 76, French film pioneer, The Impossible Voyage, A Trip to the Moon, The Merry Frolics of Satan, The Conquest of the Pole
• January 26 – Matthew Betz, 56, American actor, The Wedding March, The Patent Leather Kid, The Big House, The Hurricane Express
• August 4 – Pearl White, 49, American silent film star, The Perils of Pauline, The Exploits of Elaine
• August 6 – Warner Oland, 58, Swedish-born actor, The Jazz Singer, Shanghai Express, Charlie Chan in London, Charlie Chan at the Opera
• September 19 – Pauline Frederick, 55, American stage & film actress, Thank You, Mr. Moto, Smouldering Fires, This Modern Age, Devil's Island
• October 1 – Conway Tearle, 60, American stage & film actor, The Hurricane Express, Romeo and Juliet, Stella Maris, The Lost Zeppelin
• December 25 – Harry Myers, 56, American film actor and director, City Lights, Baby
• December 28 – Florence Lawrence, 48, Canadian actress, Hollywood's first "star", Lady Helen's Escapade, The Taming of the Shrew, The Mended Lute, Betrayed by a Handprint

• Eddie Albert – Brother Rat
• Peter Finch – Dad and Dave Come to Town
• John Garfield – Swingtime in the Movies
• William Holden – Prison Farm
• Lena Horne – The Duke is Tops
• Glynis Johns – South Riding
• June Lockhart – A Christmas Carol
• Maureen O'Hara – Kicking the Moon Around
• Vincent Price – Service de Luxe
• Michael Redgrave – The Lady Vanishes