The Birds (1963)

A wealthy San Francisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people there in increasing numbers and with increasing viciousness.

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Daphne Du Maurier (story), Evan Hunter (screenplay)

Stars:

Tippi Hedren, Suzanne Pleshette, Rod Taylor

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tippi Hedren	...	Melanie Daniels (as 'Tippi' Hedren)
Suzanne Pleshette	...	Annie Hayworth
Rod Taylor	...	Mitch Brenner
Jessica Tandy	...	Lydia Brenner
Veronica Cartwright	...	Cathy Brenner
Ethel Griffies	...	Mrs. Bundy - Ornithologist
Charles McGraw	...	Sebastian Sholes - Fisherman in Diner
Doreen Lang	...	Hysterical Mother in Diner
Ruth McDevitt	...	Mrs. MacGruder - Pet Store Clerk
Joe Mantell	...	Traveling Salesman at Diner's Bar
Malcolm Atterbury	...	Deputy Al Malone
Karl Swenson	...	Drunken Doomsayer in Diner
Elizabeth Wilson	...	Helen Carter
Lonny Chapman	...	Deke Carter - Diner Owner
Doodles Weaver	...	Fisherman Helping with Rental Boat

Storyline

Melanie Daniels is the modern rich socialite, part of the jet-set who always gets what she wants. When lawyer Mitch Brenner sees her in a pet shop, he plays something of a practical joke on her, and she decides to return the favor. She drives about an hour north of San Francisco to Bodega Bay, where Mitch spends the weekends with his mother Lydia and younger sister Cathy. Soon after her arrival, however, the birds in the area begin to act strangely. A seagull attacks Melanie as she is crossing the bay in a small boat, and then, Lydia finds her neighbor dead, obviously the victim of a bird attack. Soon, birds in the hundreds and thousands are attacking anyone they find out of doors. There is no explanation as to why this might be happening, and as the birds continue their vicious attacks, survival becomes the priority.

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Plot Keywords:

bird | socialite | bird attack | school | california | 

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Taglines:

It could be the most terrifying motion picture I have ever made!

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 May 1963 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds

Filming Locations:

17110 Bodega Lane, Bodega, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) (uncredited)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mitch Zanich, owner of the Tides Restaurant at the time of shooting, told Hitchcock he could shoot there if the lead male in the film was named after him, and Hitch gave him a speaking part in the movie. Hitchcock agreed: Rod Taylor's character was named Mitch Brenner, and Mitch Zanich was given a speaking part. After Melanie is attacked by a seagull, Mitch Zanich can be heard saying to Mitch Brenner, "What happened, Mitch?"

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Goofs

During the scene where the red haired girl falls, she breaks her glasses, however her face was too close to the ground for the glasses to shatter so badly. The cracks on both lenses are also thick white star burst patterns showing they had been already smashed by something like a hammer, and even if the glasses had genuinely smashed from landing on the ground, the damage would not be identical to both lenses seeing as how they landed at an angle, only one lens would have sustained the most damage and left one side still in tact. The glasses were broken before they were even dropped.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Melanie Daniels: Hello there, Mrs. MacGruder.
Mrs. MacGruder, pet store clerk: Oh, hello, Miss Daniels.
Melanie Daniels: Have you ever seen so many gulls? What do you suppose it is?
Mrs. MacGruder, pet store clerk: Well, there must be a storm at sea, that can drive them inland, you know. I was hoping you'd be a little late because he hadn't arrived yet.
Melanie Daniels: Oh, but you'd said three o'clock...
Mrs. MacGruder, pet store clerk: Oh I know, I know. I've been calling all morning. Oh, Miss Daniels you have no idea. They are so difficult to get, really they are. We have to get them from India, when they're just baby chicks,...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

There were no ending credits. And in the opening credits the title "THE BIRDS" was slowly pecked a way by the passing crows.

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Connections

Referenced in Tripping the Rift: Ghost Ship (2004)

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Soundtracks

"Rissle-dy, Rossle-dy"
(uncredited)
("I married my wife in the month of June")
Derived from the traditional Scottish folk song "The Wee Cooper o'Fife"
Additional lyrics by Evan Hunter
Sung by the schoolchildren

User Reviews

A highly innovative horror

Imagine Hitchcock trying to sell this idea to the film studios: the lives of a mundane country family are shattered when vicious rooks attack. Why? No particular reason. And what then? They fly away. and then? They come back again and attack. And then go and then . .. It seems like an impossible plot to pull off, but Hitchcock does it, slowly building up the tension which spasmodically swells and subsides. Younger viewers may get irritated with the slow stealth of the opening scenes and may want to thrash the T.V. when the film comes to its beautifully droll conclusion, but form once those birds start attacking, every viewer is riveted. It was fine Hitchcockian innovation that took this very slim, cock-a-mamy story and turned in to a tense thriller. But the greatest innovation is the film score - there isn't any. No director is more closely identified with the music of their films, but in Birds, Hitchcock created a horror that is uniquely quiet. The great man appreciated something that so few others do - the atmospheric potency of silence, and how, in different settings, silences can differ in character. Yet so many who watch the film seem to forget that the music isn't there. That's the film's greatest attribute.