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 | California | Phone Booth | Bird Attack | Socialite

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)

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	....	costume designer: Miss Hedren
Rita Riggs	....	wardrobe supervisor

Other crew
Ray Berwick	....	bird trainer
James S. Pollak	....	titles
Peggy Robertson	....	assistant: Mr. Hitchcock
Lois Thurman	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

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

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)

Also Known As:

Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (UK) (complete title)
Les oiseaux (Belgium: French title) (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Los pájaros (Argentina) (Peru) (Spain) [es]
Die Vögel (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Fåglarna (Finland: Swedish title) (Sweden) [sv]
Os Pássaros (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
De vogels (Netherlands) [nl]
De vogels (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
Els ocells (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Fuglene (Denmark) [da]
Fuglene (Norway) [no]
Gli uccelli (Italy) [it]
Kuslar (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Linnut (Finland) [fi]
Madarak (Hungary) [hu]
Ptáci (Czechoslovakia: Czech title) [cs]
Ptaki (Poland) [pl]
Ptice (Serbia) [sr]
Ta poulia (Greece) [el]

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (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:

This was not the first dramatization of Daphne Du Maurier's short story. It was previously adapted for radio at least twice, once starring Herbert Marshall, and again in 1954. Furthermore, it was adapted by writer James P. Cavanagh for a half-hour episode of the TV series "Danger" (1950). Cavanaugh also wrote at least five episodes of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1955), including two directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and was the first writer to adapt Robert Bloch's novel of Psycho (1960) for Hitchcock's production. However, his script was jettisoned in favor of the Joseph Stefano adaptation.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Melanie is driving to Bodega Bay, her car is heard accelerating, but her foot is flat on the floor, not on the pedal.

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 'Topaz': An Appreciation by Film Critic/Historian Leonard Maltin (2001) (V)

Soundtrack:

Risseldy, Rosseldy

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.