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:

Socialite | Bird Attack | Birthday | Children | Seagull

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 3 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)

Special Effects by
Larry Hampton	....	special effects (as Lawrence A. Hampton)
Dave Fleischer	....	special effects (uncredited)
Chuck Gaspar	....	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	....	costumes designer: Miss Hedren
Rita Riggs	....	wardrobe supervisor

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)
• 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)
• 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)

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:

Australia:M (TV rating) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1963) | UK:15 (video rating) (1987) | UK:X (1963) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Spain:T | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-15 (uncut) (2002) (DVD) | South Korea:15 | Brazil:14 | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | USA:GP (re-rating) (1971) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | France:-12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:16 (1976) | Norway:18 | Peru:14 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (certificate #20385) (original rating) | USA:PG-13 (new rating) (1984) | West Germany:16 | Singapore:PG | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

17110 Bodega Lane, Bodega, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

In one of the first scenes, Tippi Hedren can be seen crossing the street to the pet shop. As she does, she disappears behind a sign for a moment and reappears on the other side. Alfred Hitchcock so hated working on location that he used this moment to seamlessly cut to a studio shot.

Goofs:

Continuity: After two birds break the glass on the phone booth, it appears that the glass isn't shattered when Melanie is grabbed out of it.

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:

Referenced in Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)

Soundtrack:

Arabesque nr. 1 in E

Tippi Feathers With Mother

Seems silly to give a 10 to "The Birds" what can I give to "Notorius" then? Or "Rear Window"? A 20? It doesn't matter, a 10 shouldn't mean the best but one of the best. Best as in degrees of enjoyment, best as in time of enjoyment, 10 for the kind of enjoyment. "The Birds" is a ten for all of the above. Hitchcock's world varied consistently, it depended very much on his travelling companions. Writers first and foremost then composers. There is no music in "The Birds" so most of my questions are directed to the eclectic Evan Hunter who dissected Daphne de Maurier's original story and transformed it into something that not even Hitchcock had attempted before. A lyrically surreal horror soap opera kind of thing. It visits many of Hitchcock's obsession's of course, an icy blond and a castrating mother. Tippi Hedren follows a long line of Hitchcock blonds, from Madeline Carroll and Ingrid Bergman to Grace Kelly, Kim Novak, Janet Leigh, Eva Marie Saint and Doris Day as Jessica Tandy follows Madame Constantin, Jesse Royce Landis and Louise Latham not to mention Mrs. Bates. Evan Hunter was behind films like Richard Brooks's "Blackboard Jungle" and a semi forgotten gem Frank Perry's "Last Summer" As well as having Akira Kurosawa based his film noir "The Ransom" on one of his novels. Here, he follows Hitchcock's needs with religious reverence and at the same time comes out with something quite unique. I love the light weightiness of the heaviness. I've always loved the daringness of the pacing. The car trip to to Bodega Bay or the long shots of Jessica Tandy's truck driving away in horror from the farm. This movie is also a reminder to the filmmakers, depending in special effects, that effects tend to age a movie far too fast. The effects should be at the service of the characters and not the other way round. Rod Taylor, a charming, versatile matinée idol with a brain and the scrumptious Suzanne Pleshette ad to the many pleasures this 10 of a film will keep in store for generations to come.