What's the best part of "The Birds"?

Hard to choose. Although I would add the scene when Tippi wakes up after being rescued from the room where she was attacked by the birds, and instinctively claws at the air out of fear.

My cameo.

The ending was pretty fucking great.

I wish I had had room to have included that, r1!

Also, the way Angela Cartwright in the car says "And... [italic]they covered her....[/italic]" when she describes Suzanne Pleshette's self-sacrifice.

Doesn't she dial the telephone with a pencil???

Sorry: VERONICA Cartwright, not Angela Cartwright!

I like the phone booth scene.

The whole Attack on Bodega Bay (including the car explosion and the phone booth scene) is an absolute masterpiece. I especially love the iconic "bird's eye view" shot from high above as the gulls swoop down with the town and burning gas station below. Epic.

I don't think it's an "absolute masterpiece," r8, because it's marred by the ridiculous three frozen shots of 'Tippi' turning in different directions intercut with the shots of the flames racing up from the flowing gas to the gas pumps. What the hell did Hitchcock think he was doing there?

Otherwise I think it's a great scene. I love the shot of the lady ornithologist cowering in the hallway after the attack.

I also love the scene where the birds are attacking the outside of Mitch's house and Jessica Tandy flutters about helplessly inside the living room, like a trapped bird herself.

[quote]it's marred by the ridiculous three frozen shots of 'Tippi' turning in different directions intercut with the shots of the flames racing up from the flowing gas to the gas pumps

That is one of my favorite sections of the whole scene! I think it perfectly captures a type of perception that can occur in emergencies -- that time freezes and/or slows down while still racing ahead. (Note that the shots themselves aren't "frozen"; only Tippi is. The people around her continue to move.) And the editing effectively mimics the rhythms of the sharp, pecking bird attacks.

I love the scene near the beginning when Tippi goes to drop off the love birds at Rod Taylor's apartment and encounters his bitchy neighbor, Richard Deacon. He gives her the gay stink-eye and basically tells her to 'move it along, toots.'

Purely superficial reasons ala Tippi and Annie: Rod Taylor's hot body. Nice phat ass under that suit.

What i want to know is, at what point, when and what made Hitchcock say, "Hmm, this will make a good film... I'll do it."

I mean, you read the story and love it but it does not exactly leap off the page as easily filmable. Like say, Rebecca is. This was pre CGI of course. The visual story is the birds, hundreds, thousands of these critters who aren't exactly tameable in the way dogs are. The imaginative balls of Hitchcock.

Any film scholars know or care to surmise?

I love the fact that we never found out what set the birds off.

I first saw this on the late movie when I was about 8yo in 1972, this film made me a Hitchcock fan. Rod Taylor was my hot daddy ideal in my head at that age as well, beefy, hairy chest, manly. Yum Yum!!

I can't choose - I love every bit of it - even the parts that have nothing to do with the birds themselves, like the extent to which Melanie Daniels will go for a practical joke on a perfect stranger who stung her in a pet shop, or the borderline sociopathy exhibited by Lydia Brenner in her desire to keep Mitch all to herself. There's fantastic moments, like the pair of caged lovebirds swaying with the motion of Melanie's car, and the smartassed smirk on Melanie's face just a second before the first gull hits her; the first sparrow on the hearth, Melanie says, "Mitch," and then a furious swarm of them fly out of the chimney. Lydia unable to speak to the guy outside the house after finding her neighbor, then burning down the road in her pickup truck; only once she's made it inside the house does she permit herself to start sobbing. And this, followed by her sob of rage at seeing Melanie there.

Great stuff.

"𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦 𝑅𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦, 𝐻𝑒𝑦 𝐷𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑒 𝐷𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑡𝑦,

𝑁𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑦 𝑛𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑦, 𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦,

𝑊𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑦 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤."

The crows silently congregating on the playground while Tippi sits with her back turned, smoking.

I remember that first sparrow on the hearth scene. Then a flood of birds comes down the chimney and you have 5 minutes of absolute chaos, then the abrupt cut to the aftermath. A policeman standing there holding a dead bird and he says something like, "Yeah, that's a sparrow." The audience always cracks up at his line.

[quote]please answer honestly.

Have DLers answered dishonestly in previous Hitchcock threads?

"Risseldy Rosseldy"

(fast-forward to 2:28, in case the link doesn't do it)

Cartwright seemed more like Taylor's daughter than his sister

Fun Fact, R6 (and R21): Veronica Cartwright went on to play Lambert, first (or was it second) victim of Alien.

I was looking for the option where Cardinal Ralph de Bricassart lifted his ruby cleric robes to expose his large, throbbing manhood, and then realized that was The Thorn Birds…

I can't remember what Annie asks Melanie as she's leaving when she first drives up to her house. Maybe if she was planning on staying in Bodega Bay or going to Mitch's. Melanie stops before getting into her car and replies with a cunty "yes" along with a bitchy gaze. Always cracks me up.

The more and more I think about it, I think The Birds may be my favourite Hitchcock movie. I have a soft spot for Rear Window and Shadow of a Doubt, but there's something about The Birds that always draws me back in.

I think it is the fact that there is no explanation, and does Melanie bring all this evil energy with her?

'Tippi' Hedren was as hopeless, useless and synthetic as Gumby.

The entire movie....but I always liked the old man at the dnd of the bar who keeps saying, "It's the end of the world!"

Plus: Darlene Conley (Sally Spectra from The Bold & The Beautiful) was the waitress

The vacant parking spot in front of the pet store in downtown San Francisco

[quote]there's something about The Birds that always draws me back in.

The Birds is one of those movie universes I would love to live in. Well without the whole birds attacking everyone part, of course.

Melanie's nightgown, lol. I always found Tandy and Taylor's mother/son relationship creepy.

[quote]the old man at the dnd of the bar who keeps saying, "It's the end of the world!"

That man would go on to found Walnut Grove on TV 10 years after The Birds.

R28. Doris Day must have just driven out of it.

The location. rest of the film? Meh.... Fun trivia: on one of the older "Roseanne"s, Darlene wore a Chanel sheath dress, a blonde wig and 3 huge stuffed seagulls attached to her at different spots for Halloween. Brilliant!!

It really is a bizarre film.

How did 75-year-old Jessica Tandy have a 9-year-old daughter? And a 40-year-old son, too?

And why did Angela Cartwright seem so incredibly needy and, let's say, special needs when it came to Melanie?

And what did set off the birds?

I wish Hitchcock had ended it the way he wanted to, with a shot of Taylor's car making it to San Francisco - only to see the Golden Gate Bridge completely covered with the nefarious birds.

The Birds is Hitchcock's commentary that a beautiful, sensuous and striking woman is more threatening than killer birds.

Lydia is more threatened by Melanie than by the birds.

Twenty-four years after the Birds, Veronica's character in The Witches of Eastwick, Felicia, would be calling Melanie "WHORE!!!"

Jessica was 54 when that movie was made. Veronica Cartwright was 14. The math works. In the movie her character was 11, so the math still works. She was just a change of life baby - give or take a year or two.

She had Mitch when she was a teen and Cathy in her 40s.

[quote]What i want to know is, at what point, when and what made Hitchcock say, "Hmm, this will make a good film... I'll do it." I mean, you read the story and love it but it does not exactly leap off the page as easily filmable. Like say, Rebecca is. This was pre CGI of course. The visual story is the birds, hundreds, thousands of these critters who aren't exactly tameable in the way dogs are. The imaginative balls of Hitchcock. Any film scholars know or care to surmise?

The Daphne du Maurier story was anthologized in one of those "Hitchcock Presents" books with which he really had little to do, and he read it and did some digging and learned no one had adapted yet, although there had been interest from various parties for radio or television. What was appealing to him was the idea of a threat from something most of us see all the time and don't think much about. These are not huge birds of prey; they're just sparrows and crows and such. And the way they're behaving has no logical explanation.

Psycho had been a big hit and was terrifying to a lot of people in 1960, so it was a good followup to that.

The filmability of the story as written wouldn't have troubled him at all. He always took a free hand with source material. The film of Rebecca is as faithful as it is because of David O. Selznick's insistence. Had Hitchcock had everything his own way, it would have been very different. (In that particular case, I'm actually glad Selznick micromanaged. It's a great Hollywood film as is, a good meeting of very different temperaments. I don't like much of what Hitchcock reportedly wanted to do to make it his own.)

[quote] The Birds is Hitchcock's commentary that a beautiful, sensuous and striking woman is more threatening than killer birds.

That might have been an interesting premise for a intense drama. And it might have displayed more of Hitchcock's pathetic worshiping of frigid blondes.

But the project is completely undermined by the disastrous choice of this bland plastic female who had the vocal and thespian powers as this—

R37 he must have consulted with a bird wrangler first to check how birds can be managed for a shoot. The studio would've required it.

[quote]And why did Angela Cartwright seem so incredibly needy and, let's say, special needs when it came to Melanie?

It’s Veronica! And her character was a budding Karen based on her dialogue. Not surprising given her mother but I’ve always wished Annie had survived and this little brat had been bird food.

Another aspect that grabbed attention at the time it was released was Hitchcock’s ad campaign: “The birds is coming!” on huge billboards all over the U.S. it caused tremendous scandal and debate.

Made a lot of people go out of curiosity.

(Though Rod Taylor was his handsomest in “The Time Machine” (1960), he was thicker in “The Birds,” in both chest and butt, and his chest seemed hairier. He was to appear shirtless in several later movies, but these two ended up being the apogee of his manly beauty.)

R41... thank you for the details on taylor! what young gay boy at the time didn't fantasize about taylor's rod?! lol!..

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Bodega Bay, as shot by AH

R43... no doubt constant in the sun and drinking too much aussie beer and genetics did him in I guess....

May favorite part is the dykey ornithologist at the diner wearing a beret.

R41 he looks hot in a silly DoDo movie The Glass Bottom Boat where he is seen in a bathing suit

-- Hitchcock’s ad campaign: “The birds is coming!”

Oh dear.

One of the disturbing parts of the ending is Melanie, who was so vivacious, spirited, and full of life throughout the film, is basically zombified by the end as if her wings have been clipped. She is completely catatonic.

The look on Annie's face after Melanie drives away, and Annie realizes her hope of getting back with Mitch is slipping away.

[quote] Hitchcock’s ad campaign: “The birds is coming!” on huge billboards all over the U.S. it caused tremendous scandal and debate.

Among furious grammar queens, like r48 no doubt.

Why couldn't the billboards have splashed "ROD TAYLOR IS COMING!"?....

Suzanne pleshette had quite big tits

Can't believe no one has mentioned the scene where Jessica Tandy goes over to Dan's house; it's pure Hitchcock First she notices the shattered teacups, then she takes a long suspenseful walk down a hall, then she sees the seagull smashed in the glass window and the trashed bedroom, and finally, the quick cuts to Dan and his pecked out eyes....THAT had them screaming in the theaters!!!

[quote] My favorite part is the dykey ornithologist at the diner wearing a beret

An English Hitchcock scholar would be able to tell us that this persona appears in his English movies.

Suzanne Pleshette lying spread eagle 😍😉😍😛😍😊😍😂😁after being attacked

It’s one of the poll options, r54, and r17 mentions the aftermath but your summary is perfect. Those pecked out eyes still haunt me. One of the great images of horror cinema, IMO.

I wonder why Hitch didn't cast Walter Pidgeon or Peter Finch?

The children in the classroom singing that fucko creepy song:

Lyrics for 'Risseldy, Rosseldy' I married my wife In the month of June, Risseldy, rosseldy, Mow, mow, mow, I carried her off In a silver spoon, Risseldy, Rosseldy, Hey bambassity, Nickety, nackety, Retrical quality, Willowby, wallowby, Mow, mow, mow. She combed her hair But once a year, Risseldy, rosseldy, Mow, mow, mow, With every rake She shed a tear, Risseldy, Rosseldy, Hey bambassity, Nickety, nackety, Retrical quality, Willowby, wallowby, Mow, mow, mow.

She swept the floor But once a year, Risseldy, rosseldy, Mow, mow, mow, She swore her broom Was much to dear, Risseldy, Rosseldy, Hey bambassity, Nickety, nackety, Retrical quality, Willowby, wallowby, Mow, mow, mow

Tippi watching the carnage from the telephone booth.

[quote]Have DLers answered dishonestly in previous Hitchcock threads?

Yes they have indeed and it was scandalous, an outrage.

[quote]Not surprising given her mother but I’ve always wished Annie had survived and this little brat had been bird food.

It’s ok pal, I got her in the end!

[quote]I especially love the iconic "bird's eye view" shot from high above as the gulls swoop down with the town and burning gas station below. Epic.

A number of years ago, I saw The Birds at a theater that shows old films, and that scene of the birds circling from above and then descending on the town reminded me of WWII films when circling bomber planes attacked allied soldiers.

Given the fact that the movie was made in the early 1960s, I wonder how much of the country's anxiety about the USSR played into the film on some level.

Suzanne Pleshette's character seemed super lez in it!

[quote] I wonder why Hitch didn't cast Walter Pidgeon or Peter Finch?

I wonder why he cast Plastic Woman?

At least Grace Kelly had meat on her bones but Plastic Woman looks like a carcass.

R49 - it's also worth noting that it's only when Melanie becomes powerless - when Mitch carries her down the stairs after being assaulted by the birds in that room - that mother Lydia is capable of showing any warmth toward her.

And that affection is returned in the car when (if I remember correctly) Melanie grasps Lydia's arm.

It's at that point Melanie gains a mother, which is important given the comment she makes to Mitch at the children's party about her own mother.

Another Hitch film where Tippi Hedren plays a character with mommy issues.

Marnie = Painful disaster.

LOOOOOVE Marnie - wanted to BE that bitch as a young gayling

The few moments when Rod take off his jacket so you can see his ass were the best part for me.

The scene where Tandy finds the farmer with eyes pecked out. When Tandy drives TO his place, the birds eye view shot shows zero dust from her car. The crew had to wet down the entire road to get this effect .

When Tandy leaves, the viewer sees dust for miles (again birds eye view). Hitchcock used this to demonstrate how terrified she was to drive at such a high Speed home.

I refuse to see this movie particularly after reading the description in this post. EGADS.

Nothing is ever going to beat seeing beautiful Tippi Hedren placidly smoking on the bench while the children sing that ridiculous song inside and then she follows watching one crow to turn around and see hundreds all over the playground equipment. It's a classic cinematic scene not just for this movie but all movies in general. Glad to see it leading (as of now).

I, like many others, find the scene with the birds landing on the jungle gym until it's completely covered the most effective. It's a shame Hitchcock couldn't go with his original ending as that would have been similar in tone to the bleak ending of du Maurier's excellent story and also mirrored how, in the story, the birds attacking is a nation-wide rather than isolated phenomenon.

[quote]Although I would add the scene when Tippi wakes up after being rescued from the room where she was attacked by the birds, and instinctively claws at the air out of fear.

THIS is the scariest moment for me.

The Children's birthday party had one big flaw.. Real birds would have been ALL OVER that birthday cake pecking it to crumbs. . Instead they never touched it!

Obviously, R76, children taste better than cake.

One of the most perfect scenes in any film, r73 and r74.

"it's marred by the ridiculous three frozen shots of 'Tippi' turning in different directions intercut with the shots of the flames racing up from the flowing gas to the gas pumps"

It's called Pudovkian Montage, darling, and it's a staple of film editing,

"The few moments when Rod take off his jacket so you can see his ass were the best part for me.:

Aussie, you know.

The Birds is one of my favorite movies. A best part for me is the pet store in the opening scenes. There really was a pet store there on Maiden Lane. I'm from SF and used to go to Maiden Lane as a child with my mother who frequently dragged us downtown to shop in the fabulous stores around Union Square. We always visited the pet store, as I did whenever I went downtown.

There was a small luncheon café across the street from the pet store for ladies who shopped. It was upstairs and looked like an English tea shop inside, with servers dressed in kimonos. Once I ordered Welsh rarebit.

Now I live closer to Bodega Bay than downtown SF and part of why I love watching The Birds is seeing the local scenery before modern times. They moved some locations around in the Bodega Bay area, it's fun to try to figure it out. For example, the school is inland in the tiny town of Bodega, not at the actual bay.

[quote] Marnie = Painful disaster.

If you don't get Marnie, you don't know film nor have an artistic bone in your body.

[quote] artistic bone

Have you heard what Hitchcock said about 'Marnie'?

"If you don't get Marnie, you don't know film nor have an artistic bone in your body."

I fuckin' LOVE Marnie, terrible rear projections and all.

[quote] The Children's birthday party had one big flaw.. Real birds would have been ALL OVER that birthday cake pecking it to crumbs. . Instead they never touched it!

They were cranky that day.

[quote] the smartassed smirk on Melanie's face just a second before the first gull hits her

This is the exact moment I was going to mention. That smug look on her face made her so very, very slapable. And the birds agreed!

R81: "modern"? It's not like this was shot in the middle ages with candle light.

[quote] Retrical quality,

I thought it was "mystical quality."

I love when the sexless ornithologist lady rattles off those statistics about birds in her weird British accent. She has such an amazing voice.

That's Ethel Griffies, r85. I think she was a British actress trying to do Mid-Atlantic. I agree, I love her voice.

'𝑅𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦,' R88.

‘𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐲 𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐲’ 𝐢𝐧 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒊𝒓𝒅𝒔

𝐼 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝐽𝑢𝑛𝑒,

𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦 𝑅𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤.

𝐼 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑜𝑛,

𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦 𝑅𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦, 𝐻𝑒𝑦 𝐷𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑒 𝐷𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑡𝑦,

𝑁𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑦 𝑁𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑦, 𝑅𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑄𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦,

𝑊𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑦 𝑊𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑦, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤.

𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑎 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟,

𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦 𝑅𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤.

𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑘𝑒, 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑎 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑟,

𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦 𝑅𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦, 𝐻𝑒𝑦 𝐷𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑒 𝐷𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑡𝑦,

𝑅𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑄𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦 𝑅𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦,

𝑁𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤.

(repeat 2nd and 3rd paragraph)

𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑝𝑡 𝑢𝑝 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑎 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟,

𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦 𝑅𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤.

𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑚𝑠 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑡𝑜𝑜 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑟,

𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦 𝑅𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦, 𝐻𝑒𝑦 𝐷𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑒 𝐷𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑡𝑦,

𝑁𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑦 𝑁𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑦, 𝑅𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑄𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦,

𝑊𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑦 𝑊𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑦, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤.

𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑑'𝑠 𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑡,

𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦 𝑅𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤.

𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ, 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑡,

𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦 𝑅𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦, 𝐻𝑒𝑦 𝐷𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑒 𝐷𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑡𝑦,

𝑁𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑦 𝑁𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑦, 𝑅𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑄𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦,

𝑊𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑦 𝑊𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑦, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤.

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟, 𝑖𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑎 𝑔𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑙𝑦 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑦,

𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦 𝑅𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤,

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑙𝑒𝑔𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑦,

𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦 𝑅𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦, 𝐻𝑒𝑦 𝐷𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑒 𝐷𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑡𝑦,

𝑁𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑦 𝑁𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑦, 𝑅𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑄𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦,

𝑊𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑦 𝑊𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑦, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤.

𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑦,

𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦 𝑅𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦, 𝐻𝑒𝑦 𝐷𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑒 𝐷𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑡𝑦,

𝑁𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑦 𝑁𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑦, 𝑅𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑄𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦,

𝑊𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑦 𝑊𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑦, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤.

𝐼 𝑎𝑠𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑎𝑠ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑟,

𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦 𝑅𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤,

𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑒 𝑚𝑦 ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑜𝑟,

𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦 𝑅𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦, 𝐻𝑒𝑦 𝐷𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑒 𝐷𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑡𝑦,

𝑁𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑦 𝑁𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑦, 𝑅𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑄𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦,

𝑁𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤.

(repeat 1st and 2nd paragraph)

𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑎 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟,

𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦 𝑅𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦, 𝐻𝑒𝑦 𝐷𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑒 𝐷𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑡𝑦,

𝑁𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑦 𝑁𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑦, 𝑅𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑄𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦,

𝑊𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑦 𝑊𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑦, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤,

𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦 𝑅𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑦, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝑛𝑜𝑤.

Eh... the formatting didn't permit the paragraphs, dammit!

[R41]: Back in the early 80’s, when I was living in New York, and married to a woman, I went to the Club Baths, where I met a stocky, hot man, who later told me he was a Long Island State Patrolman. Somehow, at one point I mentioned being enamored of Rod Taylor. (When I was 16, I actually joined his fan club, me and 487 middle-aged women!)

So Mr. State Cop tells me that, back in about 1960, he had been trying to be a model in L.A., where he met Taylor at a party, and added they’d been fuck buds for about a year.

Naturally, I asked him what was Taylor’s cock like? And he said it was about like mine. (About 6.5 thick.) Mr. Cop gave me his name and number, but I never called. Too bad; he was hunky and sweet.

Closets can be full of regrets.

I don't know how often she visited, but Tippi Hedren sometimes came to Bodega Bay to meet fans. I live about 35 minutes from the coast and went out one day when I learned she was coming.

She was at the Tides Inn for a meet and greet, looking great for a woman in her 80s. She's 92 now. I didn't speak with her (now I wish I did), she was busy talking to a crowd of fans.

The Tides is said to be the café where the scene took place but it's completely changed and I understand the cafe scenes were filmed in Hollywood.

I bought a mouse pad featuring a scene with the ornithologist in the café with Tippi. It's next to me at my desk right now.

A few shirtless photos of Rod Taylor c. 1960-63 (from other films, of course) would keep this thread going all week.

Shit happens...

Hello, Daddy!

Short clips of RT from THE V.I.P.s ('63), 36 HOURS ('65), THE GLASS BOTTOM BOAT ('66), and SUNDAY IN NEW YORK ('63).

I've been known to droop this line whenever anyone really pisses me off

"WHO are you? WHAT are you? WHERE DID YOU COME FROM? I think you're the cause of all this. I think you're EVIL..... EVIL!!!!!"

*SMACK!*

I was always Team Annie Hayworth. It was too bad the birds pecked her eyes out. That bitch Tippi blew into town one weekend and stole Annie's man!

Cute scene in the diner when Tippi is trying to convince everyone that the birds have gone crazy, that they are out to kill. Lesbian ornithologist dismisses her, nonsense birds bring beauty to the world, they are our friends, instantly followed by the waitress saying two roast chickens, coming up

The worst job in the world must have been being the set cleaner for the filming of “The Birds.”

ROD TAYLOR!

Ahhhhhh.......years ago (maybe 1961?) when I was a young child, there was a short-lived TV series of Bus Stop (based on the William Inge play) and the premise was the stories of a constant parade of guest stars who would be laid over in a bus stop in a midwestern town. IIRC Marilyn Maxwell played the recurring role of the waitress who ran the bus stop's cafe.

Anyway, the week Rod Taylor guested was probably the first time I was aware of him. His first scene began with him stretched out in his bed in nothing but his undies in the local motel. He was awoken by a sexy young woman who snuck into his room and woke him by sexily tickling his bare foot.

I swear it's what caused my lifelong foot fetishism. I've searched and searched the internet to find that episode or even just the scene, but with no luck. If anyone can find it and post it, I'd be eternally grateful......and I think it'll make a few converts here.

Rod was looking pretty old and worn out by the time he was on Falcon Crest. Then again, we all age so who am I to criticize?

I posted this years ago on another thread on The Birds, but in light of R99 it's worth repeating.

Years ago I saw the movie at a Jersey City theater that shows old films, and hundreds of people came to see The Birds the night it played.

The moment Hysterical Woman gets face-slapped by Melanie, the audience laughed and burst into applause.

R104 I checked on IMDB Rod was born in 1930 and Falcon Crest began in 1988. He was 58 when the show started and his first credit s from1951! He may have made a good James Bond

Imagine rimming Rod's ass.

R107 and imagine rod's entire ass quivering uncontrollably and then his entire body from the pleasure of it and his "orgasm face"! whew!!!!!!!

I've never heard or read the bizarre RISSELDY ROSSELDY anywhere except in THE BIRDS. Is it a real children's nonsense rhyme? Does anyone know its source, and what it meant to either Hitchcock or screenwriter Evan Hunter?

R11's clips is one of my favourite moments in movie history. What was the idea behind this scene? So memorable and unique.

Risseldy Rossildy is a real song, which Hunter said he learned from his daughter who learned it at school. Hitchcock agreed to use it since it was public domain and wouldn’t cost him anything. As Hunter was writing the scene, he realized the song wasn’t long enough to cover the whole sequence, so he wrote some additional lyrics, but in order to use his words in the movie he had to join ASCAP (or whichever union), which required Hitchcock to pay royalties to Hunter.

Thank you, r111, you're a mensch!

The New England accent on the shopkeep (John McGovern) in northern California. Some see this as a flaw, but I prefer to believe that he's a Maine or Vermont transplant who knew that Bodega Bay was incomplete without some good old East Coast starch.

He also plays the ineffectual, embarrassed doctor who, among other bad advice-givers, ruins Warren Beatty's life in Splendor in the Grass.

Thank you R 91. What was the original ending .

The original ending showed the death, destruction, and carnage the birds had wrought on the town, as the main characters are leaving. Dead bodies, fires, wrecked cars, etc. Then birds attack their car, pecking through the roof of it. Mitch speeds up and they manage to get away from that attack, but they can see in the distance that there are thousands of birds are all over the Golden Gate Bridge and in the sky circling SF.

It would have taken a long time and a lot of money to shoot, and the points were made other ways, such as the radio news telling us the phenomenon isn't limited to Bodega Bay. I think the ending of the finished film is perfect.

I agree, R113 Northern CA is full of national and international transplants, nothing odd about a New England accent at all.

I'm a North CA native, so's my father, and he sounded like he was from New York although we had no NY ancestors.

I understand how people find San Francisco but I'm always amazed when they come straight from somewhere else to Sonoma County (where I live now).

Maybe I shouldn't be surprised considering we grow grapes, make wine, and The Birds was filmed here.

Tippi's Aqua Net hair helmet that lasted over two days. You just know that a black widow spider had made its nest in her hair and laid eggs. Maybe that is what the birds were after.

^ Plastic Woman.

Barbie Doll.

Inept Thespian.

As inept as Jean Seberg.

[quote]R109: I've never heard or read the bizarre RISSELDY ROSSELDY anywhere except in THE BIRDS. Is it a real children's nonsense rhyme? Does anyone know its source, and what it meant to either Hitchcock or screenwriter Evan Hunter?

It's based on a Scottish folk song, ‘𝐖𝐞𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐎’𝐅𝐢𝐟𝐞’, first put into print in the 1880s, but doubtless there's versions older than that. The original was about beating one's wife for being lazy; later versions softened this aspect of the song. Like nursery rhymes, it went through lots of variations (the link below offers two versions of the 'original'). Phrases cited by others on this thread ('ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑏𝑜𝑚𝑏𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦,' '𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦,' '𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑦,') are from versions in the wild - and there were many -other than the version which was written for 'The Birds'.

My version differs from the link below, substituting, '𝐻𝑒𝑦 𝐷𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑒 𝐷𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑡𝑦' for 'ℎ𝑒𝑦𝑗𝑜ℎ𝑛𝑛𝑦 𝑑𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑡𝑦' because it reflects a set of the film's subtitles I once saw, and because, after listening closely to it for years and 𝑙𝑜𝑡𝑠 of viewings, that's what the phrase sounds like to me.

In American English, '𝑚𝑜𝑤 𝑚𝑜𝑤 𝑚𝑜𝑤' is an unsuitable rendering because "mow" (as in '𝑚𝑜𝑤 the lawn') would be pronounced rhyming with "know", or "Moe", with a long 'o.' Versions which render it '𝑚𝑜𝑤 𝑚𝑜𝑤 𝑚𝑜𝑤' would seem to be British, in keeping with 'having a 𝑟𝑜𝑤 (meaning a fight), rhyming with the name of China's late dictator, Mao. And while it's true that 'Wee Cooper o' Fife' was originally Scottish, or otherwise sung in the British Isles, the version that's sung in 'The Birds' is American, set on the West coast of the US.

It's HILARIOUS that the song is about a shrewish wife! Hitchcock knew what he was doing!

I would've loved the original ending with The Golden Gate Bridge covered in birds. It still leaves the unanswered question if it was just The Bay Area or was it the whole country or even the world.

R119, I've thought it was "now now now" for the last 50 years.

Rod - looking rugged

Reading this thread led me to read a very detailed article about many aspects of the making of The Birds. Although Hitchcock left the reason for the bird attacks ambiguous in the film, he subsequently said his feeling about it was the birds were getting back at humans for putting them in cages and killing and eating them. Hence the characters in the film are forced to be "caged" inside their homes until they are eaten/pecked to death by the birds. Other times, however, Hitchcock said the film was simply about scaring the audience.

The detailed description of how the special effects were done is interesting. Many of the flying bird shots were filmed over several days at the San Francisco city dump, where birds routinely flocked to look for food. Sequences from those many hours of film were overlaid with the film's live actor shots. In some cases, individual birds were copied from the dump films and pasted into the film; sometimes a particular bird was copied into a given shot more than once at different orientations. Trained live birds were used for certain scenes, and they did sometimes bite/peck the actors. Tippi Hendren got pecked on the third day of filming the attic bird attack scene, and she simply broke down and cried; she still had to do another three days of filming with the live birds to complete the scene. A relatively small number of mechanical birds were also used in the film, but apparently, they didn't look realistic enough on film to be used much.

I always thought about how bad Tippi Hedren must stink after wearing that same outfit for days in a row. Mitch must've liked them ripe

Um, you think they didn't have more than one not to mention dry clean them? This wasn't a nonunion picture.

Is the guy who gets burned up at the gas pump the same guy who was Ernest Borgnine's best friend in "Marty"?

R125 & R126 The studio must have spent a fortune on replicate wardrobes for each actor and dry cleaning because of the birds pooping on the clothes in the scenes filmed with live birds. Filming the movie must have been a real shit show!

I personally fit every one of the numerous duplicate green suits I designed for Tippi. My seams were legendary!

Archive.org has the full movie. It's not HD, but it's not bad.

I meant the character, r125. You think Brinkmeyer’s offered one-hour dry cleaning?

r77, Nothing tastes better than cake.

[quote]Is the guy who gets burned up at the gas pump the same guy who was Ernest Borgnine's best friend in "Marty"?

Yes, actor Joe Mantell. He also played Walsh, the associate of Jake Gittes, in CHINATOWN and delivered the classic final line: "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown."

Didn’t DL fave Camille Paglia write an in-depth essay or book about the film? It’s one of her favorites.

Her book was in the BFI Film Classics series.

The funny thing about the Paglia book is that it basically rehashes what Robin Wood wrote about many years ago in his book Hitchcock's Films.

And what she didn't get from there, she got from Donald Spoto's The Art of Alfred Hitchcock.

Jessica Tandy deserves some love too. I think it's a great performance. Remember the part where they've barricaded themselves in the living room? JT is sleeping upright, and it's clear what a great mime she could be.

Suzanne's Annie was so incredibly butch that I would bet that not only did she not shave her pits or legs, but her bush looked like a Beatle's wig! Mitch like cleanliness so she didn't have a prayer.

R9 that’s Hitchcock’s warped sense of humor, not bad editing. One of my favorite scenes.

R139 It's my favourite scene in any movie. Just so out there.

"And what she didn't get from there, she got from Donald Spoto's The Art of Alfred Hitchcock.

But it's still a hundred times better than the Salman Rushdie monograph on The Wizard of Oz in the series. The worst.

R16- He was also very good looking in The Time Machine (1960).

This and Psycho are my favorite Hitchcock movies but there's one aspect to this movie that strikes me as absurd.

That little girl was supposed to be his sister. He looked much more like her father not her brother.

The lovebirds wanted out of the cage and directed the other birds to attack.

That Ms. Hedren wears the same green suit throughout the film.

I think it's the first Hitchcock film where characters sit/stand around talking about their feelings, at length (there's a scene with Annie and Melanie, one with Mitch and Melanie, and another one with Melanie and Mrs. Brenner). Hitchcock usually didn't deal with this kind of instrosception. Maybe it was the writer, or maybe it was just to pad the film between bird attacks. Anyway, I kind of like it.

*introspection lol

I LOVE that beautiful 1960 Chrysler Station Wagon that Melanie and the kids take refuge in.

[quote] That little girl was supposed to be his sister. He looked much more like her father not her brother.

Some people said my sister Marian looked more like my mother than my sister.

What do't you like about Salman Rushdie's Wizard of Oz, R141? Too little about the movie and too much about him? My copy's pages started falling out right away, so there's that.

In the birthday party scene, one of the running kids should have looked back and accidentally slam into the party table, overturning it. More fun wanton destruction by the birds!

I kiki whenever I see the kid getting pecked by the seagull as he lies on the grass kicking and screaming. 🤭🤭🤭🤭

[quote]R152: I kiki whenever...

WTF is that supposed to mean?

R153 Don't be so racist! Shame on you!

A dear friend of mine in the Navy, now deceased, also used the term to refer to giggling queens.

R154, that still doesn't mean that R152 makes any sense. It seems to be a noun, not a verb.

You also seem to be challenged on what constitutes racism.

R152 has taken the noun and is using it as verb.

Yes, R157, and it doesn't make sense that way.

You can't expect American Illiterates to make sense.

R158 it makes sense to ME.

Maybe the birds know what it means...

Where was the bird SHIT?

I like Ethel Griffies as the ornithologist Mrs. Bundy and Melanie's trip across the choppy bay to deliver the love birds. That scene is super fetishy. I prefer the first half of the movie which is just dripping under the surface with dirty and preserve vibes.

Nature preserve?

here's the scene of the birthday attack, with the hilarious scene of the little girl futilely kicking on the grass as the gull pecks at her head.

And here's the scene of "Tippi" getting the smug expression wiped off her face as the gull attacks her in the motorboat.

Just before the bird attack, Melanie and Mitch go for a short walk and we suddenly see them go from the location to a studio set, in front of a painted backdrop, which is jarring.

Another shot of the painting.

I picked Mitch's hot, sweaty, muscular body. God, he was handsome.

But I love the vaguely lesbian, whiskey-voiced ornithologist at the diner...the way she lights her cigarette...screams sophistication!

"Back in your gilded cage, Melanie Daniels."