Hitchcock Chronology: Maurice Evans

August

6th - Hitchcock is one of 300 guests attending a luncheon ceremony to honour pilot Amy Johnson at the Savoy Hotel, London. The Hon. Esmond Harmsworth presents Miss Johnson with a cheque for £10,000. The other attendees from the world of British cinema are listed as Brian Aherne, Noel Coward, Annie Croft, Gwenn ﬀrangeon-Davis, Maurice Evans, Jean Forbes-Robertson, Nancy Heath, W.H. Heath, Lupino Lane, Charles Laughton, Frank Lawton, Auriol Lee, Alison Leggett, Ivor Novello, Mabel Poulton and Glen Byam Shaw.^[1]

October

The law suit originally filed by Irving Fiske in 1947, which claimed Hitchcock and Cary Grant had plagiarised Fiske's concept of a modern-language version of Hamlet, is heard at New York Federal Court with Judge William Bondy presiding. Fiske sought $750,000 in damages. After 11 days of detailed testimony, including key statements by Maurice Evans, Judge Bondy halted the trial and directed the jury to find the case "not proven". Hitchcock, who was busy filming The Trouble with Harry, did not attend the trial. Fiske was later ordered to pay $5,000 towards the director's legal costs.

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