May 9, 2002

Guide to The Birds (1963)

by Jesse Sutterlin, SUNY Fredonia

USA. English. Color. 119 minutes. VHS and DVD.

Crew

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Screenplay: Daphne Du Maurier, Evan Hunter
Cinematography: Robert Burks
Editing: George Tomasini
Production design: Robert F. Boyle
Costume design: Edith Head
Producer: Alfred Hitchcock

Sound Consultant: Bernard Herrmann

Cast

Tippi Hedren (Melanie Daniels)

Rod Taylor (Mitch Brenner)

Jessica Tandy (Lydia Brenner)

Suzanne Pleshette (Annie Hayworth)

Veronica Cartwright (Cathy Brenner)

Ethel Griffies (Mrs. Bundy)

Charles McGraw (Sebastian Sholes)

Ruth McDevitt (Mrs. MacGruder)

Malcolm Atterburg (Deputy Al Malone)

Synopsis

Mitch Brenner, a lawyer in San Francisco meets at a bird shop Melanie Daniels, a young privileged woman. He was there to buy a pair of lovebirds for his sister Cathy’s birthday. He pretends not to know Melanie, and she pretends that she works there. Mitch lets Melanie make a fool of herself by releasing a bird in the store. Mitch then reveals he knows who she is. Melanie decides to get back at Mitch by delivering a pair of lovebirds to his home in Bodega Bay.

Once in Bodega Bay, Melanie meets Mitch’s mother Lydia. Lydia has successfully pushed all the women who Mitch has brought home out of his life. A relationship soon forms between Mitch and Melanie that is not liked by Lydia. During this time the birds in Bodega Bay begin attacking the residents of the town for some unknown reason. At the end of the film the birds have Mitch, Melanie, Lydia, and Cathy trapped in the house. Melanie goes alone into the attic where hundred of birds attack her. Mitch and Lydia save her and they all leave to take Melanie to the hospital.

Critical Responses to The Birds

“Film The Birds.” America. 108, April 20, 1963, 589.

In this review of the Alfred Hitchcock film “The Birds” the reviewer starts with a quotation from the movie taken from an elderly ornithologist about the number of birds in the United States. The ornithologist goes on to state that birds could not be attacking people because birds have such small brains. The writer of the review then tell the premise of the film the reader and proposes the idea to the reader that humans are not the most abundant species on this planet and that we would be in grave danger “if any of the lower forms of life suddenly developed the exclusively human capacity for wanton destruction.” The writer then says that the reasoning for the bird attacks is never revealed but the film is filled with promises that an answer will come. The film then poses questions if the characters are the reasons behind the bird attacks. The reviewer end saying that “The picture pursues these false clues with excessive long-windedness and occasional fatuity.” The reviewer also states in their closing remarks that the film’s use of camera tricks is very good and realistic. This review was quite good. The use of a quotation at the beginning gave the reader something to think about as they decided whether or not to watch the film, and ultimately with curiosity winning and another ticket sale for the film. This was a very interesting review.

Hartung, T. Philip.” The Screen- They is here.” Commonweal. April 12, 1963, pp. 73-74.

This review of the Alfred Hitchcock film “The Bird” gives the reader a look at the film as well as a critique of the stage elements of the picture. The first thing pointed out is the film's advertising campaign, which states, “The Birds is coming.” The review tell about how gory some of the scenes in the film are and compare the scene where Tippi Hedren is attacked in the attic to the scene where Anthony Perkins stabs Janet Leigh in the film “Psycho.” The reviewer says that the film is well made cinematically and the acting and music are good but the story leaves something to be desired. Then writer says the film is nothing more than a “startling exercise in horror.” He goes on to state that maybe the film is suppose to represent “man’s inhumanity to man-and to beast.” The writer then reviews other films building from this conclusion. This review offered more of a summary then an actual review. It gave away too much information to spark interest and read more like an essay than a review in a major publication.

Crowther, Bosley. “Hitchcock’s Feathered Fiends Are Chilling.” New York Times. April 1, 1963, 54.

In this review of Alfred Hitchcock’s film “The Birds” the writer tries to rationalize the reason for the bird attacks. He questions whether Hitchcock planned the film to be “symbolic of how the world might be destroyed (or menaced) by a sudden disorder of nature’s machinery.” He also sees the films premise as an allegorical representation of “the classical Furies that were supposed to pursue the wicked of the earth.” He looks into the characters in the story, focusing on the mother to prove the point of the punishment of the wicked theory. The reason for the characters being attacked is, as he sees it, their jealously. He goes on to say there is no explanation for the attacks but the “fierceness and frightfulness of it are sufficient to cause shocks and chills.” He finished by saying that the casting was good for the picture states that the bird were “you’ve never seen such actors! They are amazingly malevolent feathered fiends.” This review offered an enthusiastic look at the film and most likely sparked interest in the film. The use of analysis and promotion would make the average viewer and the learned one both want to see the film. This was a very well written review.

Morris D. Christopher “Reading the Birds and The Birds,” Literature/Film Quarterly 28 (2000).

In this critical analysis of the Alfred Hitchcock film “The Birds” the writer is trying to find significant meaning behind the title. The review is written with a lot of technical jargon making it difficult to read to the untrained. To summarize the main points of the article the author doesn’t believe the actual bird animal is why the film is titled so. He discusses the play “The Birds” by Aristophanes and links the two using similar plots and common use of linguistics. He goes on and discusses the importance of the opening credits and how the formation of the birds creates the words. Moving on the writer discusses how the story revolves around true identity and how false representations are made throughout the piece, i.e., the first meeting of Melanie and Mitch and the relationships between Annie and Mitch. “In the beginning humans cage birds… at the end, birds cage humans. He proves this point by illustrating how at the end of the film the family is trapped in the house by the birds outside. The writer then shows another lesson in the story, that you are not safe indoors or outdoors. The birds attack the people outside on several instances in the film and even find their way inside to menace the characters, this “confirms to the basic principles of Hitchcockian terror- that there is no safe place. The reviewer talks about the idea of puncturing in the film, how Melanie was cut in the beginning by a gull then a balloon was popped at the birthday party and then finally coming to an explosion at the Brenner farmhouse where “visualization of punctured glass, wood, clothing, skin,” which are “all exterior sheathings of interiors.” As seen by the reviewer this symbolizes breaking through to the truth, identity, and or motives. This analysis was too cut and dry and as stated before the jargon made it too complex a thing for the average person to read. It offered up some good ideas on what the film was trying to say but was overwritten.

Background and Interesting Facts about The Birds

Hitchcock originally wanted Joseph Stefano, who wrote the script for Psycho, to write the script for The Birds. Stefano wasn’t interested in the story so he declined. Hitchcock also asked Samuel Tayler and Earnest Lehman, but they had other commitments.

Evan Hunter who wrote the script is better know for his detective stories, which he wrote under the name “Ed McBain.”

Hitchcock spotted Tippi Hedren, Sego diet drink commercial.

Hitchcock wanted Tippi to gain weight for the part so he had two bushels of potatoes delivered to her house with a note attached saying that in sufficient amounts potatoes were rich in calories.

Hitchcock didn’t want well-known actors for the film because the special effects took up a majority of the budget. Hunt suggested Anne Bancroft for the role of the schoolteacher but Hitchcock cast newcomer Suzanne Pleshette. Jessica Tandy was the only established actor cast.

Hitchcock makes his cameo in the beginning of the film. He is the man walking the two dogs past the pet shop; they were actually his own dogs.

During filming, Hedren’s daughter Melanie Griffith, was given a doll by Hitchcock that looked eerily like her mother. The box that it came in was highly decorated and Melanie took it to be a coffin.

There is a goof in the film, in the scene after Melanie delivers the lovebirds to the Brenner home. The camera follows Hedren back to her boat with the dolly track being visible.

The schoolhouse used in the film appears to be in the town limits of Bodega Bay. The schoolhouse is actually located five miles away in the town of Bodega, CA.

The Aston Martin DB2/4 drop-head coupe that Melanie drives has no gearshift; the engine sounds in the film are obviously from a manual transmission though.

Many times in the film, the car is being driven on the wrong side of the road.

When Melanie is climbing the stairs to the attic we can see her shadow on the wall, even though the only light is the flashlight she is using.

In the scene where Melanie is attacked by birds in the attic, the birds were attached to Hedren’s clothes by nylon threads to keep them from getting away. The scene took a week to film. During filming one of the birds actually cut Hedren near her eye. After the bird attacked her filming was stopped for a week.

The movie was intended to end with a shot of the Golden Gate Bridge to be covered in birds but the idea was scrapped due to cost.

The usual, “The End” title is missing from this picture because Hitchcock wanted to give a feeling of unending terror.

English teachers nationwide were annoyed with the grammatically incorrect tagline on the movie posters for the film, which stated, “THE BIRDS IS COMING!”

The crow that sits on Hitchcock’s shoulder in the films promo photos was bought from a 12-year-old boy for $10.

The Birds has no musical score, Bernard Herrmann one of Hitchcock’s collaborators is credited as sound consultant.

The Birds was nominations for two awards. Ub Iwerks was nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Effects, Special Visual Effects. Evan Hunter was nominated at the Edgar Allan Poe Awards for Best Motion Picture.

Daphne du Maurier (who wrote the novel in which film was based on)’s son reported in May 2001 that Seagulls were terrorizing him and his wife at their cottage in Cornwall, England.

Critical Analysis

The film The Birds, directed by Alfred Hitchcock is a story that can be interpreted a number of ways. The reason why the birds attack in the film isn’t defined. Margaret Horwitz feels that the attacks in the film are a result of the character actions. The film gives the audience a feeling of chaos through the birds’ attacks and also through actions of the characters. The Birds is basically a story of a man who meets a woman. The woman then follows him to his hometown and meets his mother. Soon after her arrival, the birds start attacking people.

In one of the first shots in the film, Melanie Daniels walks to the bird shop; a flock of seagulls fly overhead, setting the motif of the film. Upon entering the shop she meets Mitch who knows her from a previous encounter in court. He pretends not to know her and acts as if she works there. Mitch wants to buy lovebirds for his sister Cathy’s birthday. After he reveals to Melanie that he knows her true identity, she decides to buy the lovebirds and deliver them to his home in Bodega Bay. After she delivers the birds, a gull attacks her, setting into motion all that follows in the film. False explanations are thrown out during the course of the film to explain the birds’ behavior but none can be found true. The reason for the attacks is never stated and is left for the viewer to formulate. Did Melanie bring about the birds ferocity?

Melanie, in a sense is the cause of the attacks; the attacks are caused to punish her (Horwitz 284). The attacks themselves are metaphors for the larger story in The Birds, in which Melanie is only one of the key players. It is the story of Mitch and his mother Lydia. The relationship between the Lydia and Mitch has an oedipal duplicity of child/husband. As Horwitz states the film itself outright denies this assessment with Annie’s dialog with Melanie, but the film does illustrate the oedipal idea clearly. With the death of her husband, Lydia attached herself to her son as a substitute. To further confuse the situation, Mitch refers to his mother as “dear” and “darling.” Lydia has a fear of being abandoned by her son and pushes all of Mitch’s girlfriends away, as she did with Annie (Horwitz 282). During this time period the overprotective mother was a common devise in Hitchcock’s films (Cohen 142-143). Upon first meeting Melanie, Lydia grimaces at her and privately tells Mitch that she is the wrong type for him, referring to Melanie’s fame in the gossip columns. Mitch goes back to Melanie and questions her on this while sitting in her car. While this is going on, the birds watch from overhead atop the telephone line like a jury (Horwitz 282). As Horwitz explains, the birds are a form of surveillance, acting as an extension of Lydia (Horwitz 280).

As Mitch becomes more involved with Melanie the bird attacks progressively get more vicious. At the birthday party for Cathy, Mitch and Melanie are off alone and Melanie reveals that her mother abandoned her at an early age, which raises the question, is better to be loved or abandoned? Melanie feels it is better to be abandoned, while Mitch feels its better to be loved. As they walk back to the party, Lydia looks up at them and frowns showing her displeasure of them being together, immediately afterward Cathy is attacked by a gull setting into motion a full scale attack on the children at the party. The birds attack Cathy for befriending Melanie earlier (Horwitz 283).

The final attack in the film is on Melanie at the Brenner home. Melanie has gained the affection of Mitch and also Cathy. When Cathy got sick, Melanie took care of her, performing Lydia’s role as mother. Lydia is set apart from the family, and the camera work illustrates this. During this shot a worm’s eye view of Lydia moves out to show the whole living room revealing Mitch and Melanie very close and Lydia in the background. This shows that Lydia has lost her place as alpha female of the family and Melanie is taking her place, which prompts the final attack. Melanie goes up to the attic alone with only a flashlight to see by. She walks into a room at the top of the stairs; she then shines a light into the room revealing many birds, which quickly overcome her. Mitch rescues her, but she is in shock. Lydia with Melanie now made impotent can reclaim her role in the family.

There is no clear logical explanation of the bird attacks in the film, but the metaphorical reason is clear. The bird attacks are the personification of Lydia’s rage and fight to remain the alpha female of the family. Whenever she got close to Mitch an attack occurred and at the end when Melanie took Lydia’s position in the family the birds attacked her aggressively. The birds act as Lydia’s path to vengeance against Melanie the intruder of the family (Horwitz 286). When the characters leave to take Melanie to the hospital the birds do not attack because Lydia has won and there is no longer a need for their attacks.

The lovebirds are also a strong symbol in the film. They symbolize the characters in the story. The birds are trapped in a cage; the end of the film traps the characters within their own cage. When barricaded in the Brenner home the house acts as a cage surrounded on the outside by danger and chaos. The characters are just like the lovebirds trapped in their cage (Morris). Melanie is suggested to be like a bird. In the beginning of the film, Mitch catches a bird that Melanie releases in the bird shop and says, “Back in your gilded cage, Melanie Daniels.” Another hint of Melanie’s connection to the birds are the first three letters of her license plate- RUJ- (“Are you Jay?”)(Spoto Art 388).

A twist to the story is Melanie’s journey back to childhood and finding the mother figures she longed for. Looking back at the conversation between Mitch and Melanie at the birthday party, Melanie reveals his abandonment and at the close of the conversation says that she should go back and join the other children, claiming that she is a child as well. Melanie is transformed back to a childlike state psychologically after the birds attack her in the attic. Lydia holds her like the mother that abandoned her. In this translation Melanie gained a mother figure in Lydia (Horwitz 285). What will happen between Melanie and Mitch is unclear.

In conclusion, The Birds is a film of multiple translations. It leaves the audience guessing the entire time and leaves it to them to piece together the puzzle Hitchcock left for us. Horwitz and others give us translations of the films giving some psychological meaning behind the attacks. As with the finally of the film there is no natural reason why the birds attacked. To further the suspense Hitchcock chose not to finish the film the classic “The End.” This creates the idea that this reality can exist and the danger isn’t over perhaps for these characters (Spoto Dark 464).

Works Cited

Cohen, Paula Marantz. Alfred Hitchcock: The Legacy of Victorianism. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky Press, 1995.

“Full Cast and Crew for Birds, The (1963).” Retrieved May 8, 2002.

<http://us.imdb.com/Credits?0056869>.

“Goofs for Birds, The (1963).” Retrieved April 10, 2002. <http://us.imdb.comGoofs?0056869>.

Horwitz, Margaret. M. “The Birds: A Mother’s Love.” A Hitchcock Reader. Ed. Marshall Deutelbaum and Leland Poague. Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1986. pp. 279-287.

Morris D. Christopher “Reading the Birds and The Birds” Literature Film Quarterly, 28 (2000).

Spoto, Donald. The Art of Alfred Hitchcock: Fifty Years of His Motion Pictures. New York: Hopkinson and Blake, 1979.

Spoto, Donald. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock.. Boston, Toronto: Little, Brown and Company, 1983.

“Trivia for Birds, The (1963).” Retrieved April 10, 2002.

http://us.imdb.com/Trivia?0056869.