The Birds (1963)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Daphne Du Maurier (story)
Evan Hunter (screenplay)

Release Date:

28 March 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Suspense and shock beyond anything you have seen or imagined!

Plot:

A wealthy San Francisco playgirl 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 | Phone Booth | California | Children | Bird Attack

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Rod Taylor	...	Mitch Brenner
Jessica Tandy	...	Lydia Brenner
Suzanne Pleshette	...	Annie Hayworth
Tippi Hedren	...	Melanie Daniels (as 'Tippi' Hedren)
Veronica Cartwright	...	Cathy Brenner
Ethel Griffies	...	Mrs. Bundy, elderly ornithologist
Charles McGraw	...	Sebastian Sholes, fisherman in diner
Ruth McDevitt	...	Mrs. MacGruder, pet store clerk
Lonny Chapman	...	Deke Carter, cook in diner
Joe Mantell	...	Traveling salesman at diner's bar
Doodles Weaver	...	Fisherman helping with rental boat
Malcolm Atterbury	...	Deputy Al Malone
John McGovern	...	Postal clerk
Karl Swenson	...	Doomsayer in diner
Richard Deacon	...	Mitch's city neighbor

Also Known As:

Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (UK) (complete title)

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:M (TV rating) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1963) | UK:15 (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 | 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:

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 says can be heard saying to Mitch Brenner "What happened, Mitch?"

Goofs:

Continuity: Just before the gas station explosion, gas is shown running into the left rear tire of a red car. The next shot of that car, taken from a little farther back, shows gas running near the tail of the car but the area around the tire itself is completely dry.

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 Forget Paris (1995)

Soundtrack:

Risseldy, Rosseldy

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!