The Birds (1963)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Daphne Du Maurier (story)
Evan Hunter (screenplay)

Release Date:

30 May 1963 (Argentina)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Suspense and shock beyond anything you have seen or imagined!

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Bird | Socialite | Bird Attack | School | California

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

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
John McGovern	...	Postal Clerk
Richard Deacon	...	Mitch's City Neighbor
Bill Quinn	...	Sam - Man in Diner (as William Quinn)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Morgan Brittany	...	Brunette Girl at Birthday Party (uncredited)
Darlene Conley	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Man Walking Dogs Out of Pet Shop (uncredited)
Dal McKennon	...	Sam the Cook (uncredited)
Mike Monteleone	...	Gas Station Attendant (uncredited)
Jeannie Russell	...	School Child (uncredited)
Roxanne Tunis	...	Extra (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfred Hitchcock

Writing credits
Daphne Du Maurier		(story)
Evan Hunter		(screenplay)

Produced by
Alfred Hitchcock	....	producer (uncredited)

Cinematography by
Robert Burks		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
George Tomasini

Production Design by
Robert F. Boyle		(as Robert Boyle)

Set Decoration by
George Milo

Makeup Department
Virginia Darcy	....	hair stylist
Howard Smit	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Norman Deming	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James H. Brown	....	assistant director

Art Department
Harold Michelson	....	storyboard artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Remi Gassmann	....	electronic sound production and composition
Bernard Herrmann	....	sound consultant
William Russell	....	sound recordist
Oskar Sala	....	electronic sound production and composition
Waldon O. Watson	....	sound recordist
Bernard Herrmann	....	sound designer (uncredited)
James V. Swartz	....	sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Larry Hampton	....	special effects (as Lawrence A. Hampton)
Dave Fleischer	....	special effects (uncredited)
Chuck Gaspar	....	special effects (uncredited)
Don Wolz	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Ub Iwerks	....	special photographic advisor
Albert Whitlock	....	pictorial designs
Bob Broughton	....	visual effects (uncredited)
Scott Dougherty	....	digital restoration producer: Cinesite (uncredited)
Roswell A. Hoffmann	....	second unit matte photography (uncredited)
Jerry Pooler	....	digital restoration supervisor (uncredited)
Tiffany Smith	....	digital restoration coordinator: Cinesite (uncredited)

Stunts
Leonard P. Geer	....	stunts (uncredited)
Sol Gorss	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dean Smith	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Bobby Greene	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)
Leonard J. South	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Edith Head	....	costume designer: Miss Hedren
Rita Riggs	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Bud Hoffman	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Other crew
Ray Berwick	....	trainer of the birds
James S. Pollak	....	titles
Peggy Robertson	....	assistant: Mr. Hitchcock
Lois Thurman	....	script supervisor
John 'Bud' Cardos	....	bird wrangler (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures (presents)
• Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions (uncredited)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1963) (USA) (theatrical) (as A Universal release)
• Universal Pictures (1963) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Väinän Filmi (1963) (Finland) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1968) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• DiscoVision (1979) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MCA Home Video (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1986) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Carlotta Films (1999) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Universal Pictures (1999) (Germany) (VHS)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Turner Classic Movies (TCM) (2012) (USA) (theatrical)
• Universal Film (1963) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• CIC Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2008) (Greece) (DVD)
• Universal Home Video (Brazil) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Nordic (2001) (Sweden) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Walt Disney Productions (uncredited)

Other Companies

• Berliner Synchron  German dubbing

Also Known As:

"Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds" - UK (complete title), USA (complete title)

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) (uncredited)

Certification:

USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | France:-12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:16 (1976) | Norway:18 | Peru:14 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (original release) | USA:PG-13 (re-rating) (1984) | West Germany:16 | Singapore:PG | Iceland:16 | Australia:M (TV rating) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1963) | UK:15 (video rating) (1987) | UK:X (original rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Spain:T | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-15 (uncut) (2002) (DVD) | South Korea:15 | Brazil:14 | USA:GP (re-rating) (1971) | UK:15 (re-release: re-rating) (2012) | UK:15 (tv rating) | Italy:T (re-rated) | Italy:VM14 (orginal rating)

Filming Locations:

17110 Bodega Lane, Bodega, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

In the The Birds II: Land's End (1994) (TV), Tippi Hedren does not play her character in this film of Melanie Daniels but a character named Helen.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Melanie Daniels is sneaking up Mitch's dock to deliver the lovebirds, she looks over at the barn he's in, the sky has a complete gray cloud cover. Seconds later, she looks at the barn, not a cloud in the blue sky.

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, and then we have...
Melanie Daniels:But this one won't be a chick, will he?
Mrs. MacGruder, pet store clerk:Certainly not. Oh no, certainly not. This will be a full grown mynah bird, full grown.
Melanie Daniels:And he'll talk?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in 'Torn Curtain' Rising (2000) (V)

Soundtrack:

Rissle-dy, Rossle-dy

The last movie Senator Gill ever saw

An old friend, the late State Senator Ted Gill, of Holyoke, Colorado, once told me that The Birds was the last movie he ever saw. He gave up movies after seeing this flick...they were just getting too weird and disturbing for an old rancher like him. It's still pretty terrifying, even if you've seen it again and again. You know what bad, brutal scenes are coming and don't want to see the carnage again, but can't help yourself. It's ominous as the crows flock tighter and tighter, always more and more, on the schoolyard Monkey-Bars and it's also exciting to see the school kids chased down by the crows a few minutes later. Subplots like the pitiful neurosis of Lydia Brenner, Mitch & Annie's lost-love-affair, Mitch's indifference to the needs of others, and the poor-little-rich-girl Melanie, who still just wants her mommie, are all well-written and acted. Loved best by me is Hitchcock's humorous characters who are CHARACTERS! The old drunk at the bar quoting Holy Scripture, the nosy neighbor done wonderfully by Richard Deacon, the dowdily-dressed old intellectual in the cafe buying her cigarettes and evidently a scientific expert for any field. Sir Alfred's macabre touches of comedy are unmatched, even in today's thrillers. I'm repulsed and attracted by such scenes as the one in the farmhouse, where Jessica Tandy discovers an old friend pecked to death, with his eye sockets bloody and empty. I find myself still searching for gory details on the farmer's body because Hitch didn't let the camera dwell on the horrible face too long. But he DID give us two rapid jump-cuts with closer and closer close-ups, and we end up seeing just as much detail as Jessica just did - enough to know that "We gotta git outta there!" Overall, a fine time. 119 minutes of revolting fun!