The Birds is a 1963 horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on the short story, The Birds by Daphne du Maurier. The film’s innovative special effects, soundtrack, and apocalyptic theme influenced later “revenge of nature” disaster films. Unlike most other films of its era, The Birds did not have a music score or an ending in the conventional sense.

Beautiful and young Melanie Daniels (“Tippi” Hedren), a wealthy socialite whose father is the proprietor of a large newspaper, visits a SanFrancisco pet shop to pick up a myna bird she has ordered for her aunt. There, Melanie meets Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), a lawyer who is looking for a pair of lovebirds to give to his young sister. (Notice Alfred Hitchcock leaving the pet shop with the two dogs as Tippi Hedren enters the shop)

Intrigued by him, she buys the lovebirds and finds the address for Mitch’s home in Bodega Bay, a small coastal village up the Pacific coast. Melanie drives to Bodega Bay and delivers the birds by sneaking across the small harbor in a motor boat to the Brenner residence. Melanie walks right into the house and leaves the birds on a table with a note. As Melanie is heading back across the bay, Mitch circles around in his car to meet her. 

Just as she is about to pull up to the dock, a seagull swoops down and gashes her head.

Over the next few days the bird attacks continue, as Melanie develops relationships with Mitch, his clinging mother, Lydia (Jessica Tandy), his teenage sister, Cathy (Veronica Cartwright), and Cathy’s teacher (and Mitch’s former lover), Annie Hayworth (Suzanne Pleshette).

The climax of the film comes as a seagull attack on the harbor-front results in a fire and more deaths. Melanie and Mitch’s family ultimately take refuge in Mitch’s house, where Mitch saves Melanie from birds who have broken into the attic. Lydia and Mitch bandage Melanie’s wounds, but determine she must get to a hospital. 

The attacks escalate from a few birds strafing Cathy’s birthday party, to a neighboring farmer’s gruesome death, to a mass attack on the town’s children at their school. Annie Hayworth is killed by a swarm of attacking birds while trying to protect the children. 

In asurreal and apocalyptic scene, a sea of landed birds ripples menacingly around them as they leave the house, but does not attack. The car radio gives reports of several smaller attacks by birds in a few other communities in coastal California. The sea of birds parts as they slowly proceed toward the road and pick up speed. The film concludes with the sun rising as the four of them drive away from the farm, down the coast road and out of sight.

The Making of The Birds

The film depicts a series of bird attacks on the residents of a Californian seaside village named Bodega Bay. In Daphne du Maurier’s story, the birds attacked Britain, not California. The film was shot on location both in Bodega Bay and the nearby village of Bodega, the location of the historic school building used in the production. This was the second of Hitchcock’s films to be shot in Sonoma Count; the first was Shadow of a Doubt, filmed mostly in Sonoma County’s county seat, Santa Rosa. Hitchcock also filmed a few scenes in downtown San Francisco, including his own cameo in which he exited the pet store with his own dogs.

Hitchcock was inspired by a report in the 18 August 1961 issue of the Santa Cruz California Sentinel newspaper of birds exhibiting strange and sometimes violent behavior. This event was brought up in the film between the town residents in the Tides diner.

Hedren was told mechanical birds would be used for the terrifying and brutal attic scene. Instead, live birds were hurled at her by prop men for a week. When one nearly gouged her eye she became hysterical, collapsed and spent a week haunted by “nightmares filled with flapping birds”. After visiting the set Cary Grant praised her as “one very brave lady”.

Instead of a typical film soundtrack, Hitchcock had Oskar Sala painstakingly create bird sounds on his trautonium, which were then scored to the movie by Bernard Hermann. No natural bird sounds were used. There is a very high-pitched soundtrack of electronic noise through the film which subconsciously adds to the tension experienced by the viewer. Just prior to the attack on the school children, as they run from the historic school, they sing an unaccompanied song.

Hitchcock insisted that the film be without a final “The End”, which further hints at the lyrical  nature of the movie (called by Federico Fellini: “an apocalyptical poem”). Hitchcock reportedly did consider a final shot of the Golden Gate Bridge covered with birds, implying that the birds would not stop with their local attacks.

delete reply fuzzysworld wrote on Feb 24, ’08 I love this movie.  I heard they were doing a remake but I can’t believe it can top the original.  One of the most fun things about watching Alfred Hitchcock movies is trying to spot him in a scene.

delete reply redheadgirl4 wrote on Feb 24, ’08 This movie scared the living daylights out of me. To this day, I can’t see a group of birds without getting nervous. I’m so sad to learn though that they used live birds, I had no idea! I had no idea either that this was based on a Daphne du Maurier story, how interesting! Hitchcock seems to have been quite a fan of hers, based on his having done Rebecca too. I’m very curious to read this now that I’ve seen that here, so thank you so much for that interesting information! This is such an amazing blog. I love how you did the pictures! You even got Hitchcock’s cameo, how cool is that? Thanks for this great review of a Hitchcock classic.

delete reply starfishred wrote on Feb 24, ’08 This is an all time classic and no remake will ever do this justice and besides personally I hate remake movies as if there isn’t enough material in this world to make new ones.

edit delete reply lauritasita wrote on Feb 24, ’08 I wish they would stop doing remakes. They’re always disappointing and never as good. This movie really scared me the first time I saw it, but I was also very young at the time.

delete reply strongwilledwoman wrote on Feb 25, ’08 I saw this with my best friend, she kept screaming and would drop her head on my shoulder to avoid some of the scenes, unfortunately  she bumped my nose and it started to bleed. I missed the ending so she paid my way to see it the next night. She wouldn’t come with me though, it’s to bad because it wasn’t as bad the second time I saw it. I’ll pass on the remake as it won’t be the same.

delete reply nicholasjv wrote on Feb 25, ’08 This was a very effective and well-made Hitchcockian thriller… Thanks for the review and for taking part in Movie Monday!

delete reply starfishred wrote on Feb 25, ’08 lauritasita said I wish they would stop doing remakes. They’re always disappointing and never as good. This movie really scared me the first time I saw it, but I was also very young at the time. I saw it with my girl friend and I keep hiding under my coat but it was soooo good wouldn’t have missed a minute of it hehehehe

delete reply philsgal7759 wrote on Feb 25, ’08, edited on Feb 25, ’08 While an excellent film it scared the daylights out of me. I don’t generally like scary movies but Hitchcock is my exception Although don’t sit near me or your arm might look like it suffered a BIRD attack

edit delete reply lauritasita wrote on Feb 25, ’08 Although Hitchcock is famous for his horror films, he was more commonly known as The Master of Suspense. The special effects they use today make The Birds look like a comedy.

delete reply sanssouciblogs wrote on Feb 25, ’08 This movie can scare the poop outta ya!!! Good job. Did you know Tippy Hedron is Melanie Griffith’s mother!?

delete reply starfishred wrote on Feb 25, ’08 sanssouciblogs said This movie can scare the poop outta ya!!! Good job. Did you know Tippy Hedron is Melanie Griffith’s mother!? hehehehe yes I knew that about Tippy Hedron but tippy is much prettier.

edit delete reply lauritasita wrote on Feb 25, ’08 No, I didn’t know that! Thanks for the tidbit, sis !

delete reply papahere wrote on Feb 26, ’08 I think our deepest fears are in losing control by an overwhelming natural force…Hitchcock is a genius when playing with our instinctual fears. ~ Papa

edit delete reply lauritasita wrote on Feb 26, ’08, edited on Feb 26, ’08 Sometimes our imagination is our worst enemy. Hitchcock was good at using cinematography to project this.