' For The Wrong Man, Henry Fonda was instructed to take a crash course in jazz; for The Birds Tippi Hedren took piano lessons so she could play a Debussy arabesque.
What happened to Tippi Hedren while filming The Birds?
In a state of exhaustion, when one of the birds gouged her cheek and narrowly missed her eye, Hedren sat down on the set and began crying. A physician ordered a week's rest. Hitchcock protested, according to Hedren, saying she was the only one left to film.
At the time of filming The Birds Tippi was 34 years old, more than 30 years younger than Hitchcock and engaged to be married to her second husband but that did not deter Hitchcock.
Why did Hitchcock decide not to use any music in The Birds?
“Unmindful of his artistic pretensions for the film, I told him I thought that would be a mistake; that music could subtly foreshadow dire events to come or stridently accompany bird attacks until we had the audience screaming. He said no. No music.” Alfred Hitchcock during production of The Birds.
Tippi Hedren: Alfred Hitchcock Assaulted Me After I Refused To Sleep With Him
Is The Birds based on a true story?
The Birds is also partly inspired by the true events of a mass bird attack on the seaside town of Capitola in California on August 18, 1961, when "Capitola residents awoke to a scene that seemed straight out of a horror movie.
Mechanical and live-trained birds were used in the film, along with optically altered film overlay of flying birds. The film took almost three years to complete before it was released in 1963. Hitchcock chose the Bodega Bay area for the foggy weather and skyline, which at that time was subdued and open.
How many real birds were used when filming The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock?
According to Hitchcock, 28,000 birds were used (out of which 3,200 were trained, 30 were considered special, and 4 were so consistently reliable they became leads).
The Birds is a political allegory about the psychological violence of capitalism and the fear-mongering of the Cold War. Fear of nuclear attack is apparent when the birds “cover the bay like a white cloud”, suggestive of a nuclear mushroom cloud.
This nickname for baby girls has Swedish roots and comes from Tupsa, meaning "sweetheart." During the '60s, it was made famous by Hollywood starlet Nathalie Kay "Tippi" Hedren.
Why did Alfred Hitchcock ruin Tippi Hedren's career?
"She's always been really honest and firm about standing up for yourself. That's what she did," Johnson told the outlet. "Hitchcock ruined her career because she didn't want to sleep with him, and he terrorized her. He was never held accountable."
Say “Bodega Bay” and most people's thoughts turn to Alfred Hitchcock and a bird-filled world run amok. But that's Hollywood fiction. Bodega Bay's real story lies in blue-water vistas extending to the horizon, coastal bluffs laden with wildflowers, and gray whales saluting with a tail fluke as they pass.
Tippi is founder and President of The Roar Foundation and resides at Shambala in a cottage surrounded by big cat compounds. "I awaken to their roars." The story of Tippi's life and the animals "dearest to her heart" was told in Simon & Schuster's The Cats of Shambala (1985).
For the Birds is an amazing short film that manages to be interesting rather than just an entertaining experience. The really interesting message that the short has to offer basically handles our perceptions of one's weakness, and how we underestimate one's potential power and then soon realize our misjudgments.
Alfred Hitchcock revealed on The Dick Cavett Show (1968) that 3,200 birds were trained for the movie. He said the ravens were the cleverest, and the seagulls were the most vicious. Several endings were being considered. One that was considered would have shown the Golden Gate Bridge completely covered by birds.
The 150 year old Potter School behind St. Theresa's Church five miles south of Bodega Bay in Bodega, was vacant at the time of the filming. After Alfred Hitchcock's crew repaired the exterior it was used for several scenes. Today it is a private residence and is sometimes open for tours.
Located along the coast and only 50 miles outside metropolitan San Francisco, Bodega Bay was the ideal spot for shooting this film since it is a popular area for bird migration.
' For The Wrong Man, Henry Fonda was instructed to take a crash course in jazz; for The Birds Tippi Hedren took piano lessons so she could play a Debussy arabesque.
Hitchcock's crew constructed several sets on the site of Gaffney Ranch to create “Brenner Ranch,” where the male protagonist Mitch (Rod Taylor) lives. You can see it during the birthday party scene and seagull attack, as well as the end of the film when the group escapes the flock at night.
And yet, from the hundreds of thousands of dollars wasted on phony-looking mechanical birds to real birds attacking the cast and crew to Alfred Hitchcock's allegedly incessant harassment of star Tippi Hedren, the making of The Birds was almost as terrifying as the movie itself.
Sixty years on from that five-day nightmare on The Birds, the now 93-year-old Tippi Hedren is still scarred from her treatment at the hands of the world's then most famous and powerful director. “Studios were the power,” the actress said in 2012.
Tippi Hedren (born January 19, 1930, New Ulm, Minnesota, U.S.) American film actress best known for her role in the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock movie The Birds and for her advocacy work, particularly on behalf of big cats.
