The Birds (1963)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Daphne Du Maurier (story)
Evan Hunter (screenplay)

Release Date:

28 March 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | 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:

Male Female Relationship | Island | Lovebird | Children | Family Relationships

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
Elizabeth Wilson	...	Helen Carter
Bill Quinn	...	Man in diner (as William Quinn)
Doreen Lang	...	Mother in diner
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Morgan Brittany	...	Girl at birthday party (uncredited)
Darlene Conley	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Man walking dogs out of pet shop (uncredited)
Mike Monteleone	...	Gas station attendant (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfred Hitchcock

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

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

Original Music by
Bernard Herrmann

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
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

Other crew
Ray Berwick	....	bird trainer
Ub Iwerks	....	special photographic advisor
James S. Pollak	....	titles
Peggy Robertson	....	assistant: Mr. Hitchcock
Lois Thurman	....	script supervisor
Albert Whitlock	....	pictorial designs

Production Companies

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

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1963) (USA) (theatrical)
• CIC Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Carlotta Films (1999) (France) (re-release)
• DiscoVision (1979) (USA) (laserdisc)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1986) (USA) (laserdisc)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1968) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Home Video (Brazil) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures (1963) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1999) (Germany) (VHS)
• Väinän Filmi (1963) (Finland) (theatrical)

Also Known As:

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

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

17110 Bodega Lane, Bodega, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The sound of reel-to-reel tape being run backwards and forwards was used to help create the frightening bird squawking sounds in the film

Goofs:

Continuity: When Melanie arrives for dinner with Mitch and his family, the driver's seat of her car is clearly set further back than the rest of the front seats. When she leaves, she gets into the car and we see the driver's seat is now perfectly aligned with the rest of the seats.

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 Rick Stein in du Maurier Country (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Arabesque nr. 1

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.