Trivia / The Birds

• Ability over Appearance: Annie Hayworth was originally written as a middle-aged woman who just happened to live in the community. Suzanne Pleshette had lobbied hard for the role of Melanie, but Hitchcock decided to make Annie younger to accommodate her. The subplot of Annie being an ex-girlfriend of Mitch's was then added in.
• Actor-Inspired Element: Suzanne Pleshette suggested that Annie have a bloody ear hanging off when her body is found.
• Billing Displacement: Tippi Hedren is billed fourth with an "Introducing" credit, but Melanie Daniels is the protagonist.
• Cast the Runner-Up: Suzanne Pleshette wanted the role of Melanie, but Hitchcock convinced her to take the role of Annie and changed the character to a romantic rival for Mitch's attention, providing a little reality subtext between the two women.
• Completely Different Title: Became Flock of Birds in China.
• Creator Backlash: Tippi Hedren called the week where she had to film the bird attack in the attic "the worst week of my life".
• Darkhorse Casting: Tippi Hedren was a model who'd done some commercials as well (Alfred Hitchcock discovered her in a soft drink commercial), but her film experience was limited to a single bit part.
• Dawson Casting: Veronica Cartwright was thirteen, a couple of years older than her character Cathy.
• Deleted Scene:
  • The original ending called for Melanie and the Brenners making their escape through Bodega Bay, which has been turned into a war zone by the bird attacks. They make their way to San Francisco only to discover birds gathering on the Golden Gate Bridge.
  • An additional scene was scripted and shot, but cut from the film, featuring a talk between Melanie and Mitch just as Lydia drives off to go to the farm.
• Enforced Method Acting: Alfred Hitchcock's efforts to induce a genuine fear reaction from Tippi Hedren by throwing live birds at her (rather than the promised mechanical ones) led to her being ordered a week's rest, as she had started getting nightmares "filled with flapping wings". As a result, when Mitch is carrying Melanie down the stairs, it's a stand-in because Hedren was still in the hospital.
• Fake American: Rod Taylor was Australian.
• Friendship on the Set: In stark contrast to the difficult relationship between Hedren and Hitchcock, Suzanne Pleshette got along famously with Hitch, and the two would remain close friends for the rest of his life.
• Lying Creator: Tippi Hedren was thirty-three when the film was released. As that was considered to be rather old for a Hollywood leading lady, the studio lied to say she was twenty-eight. Her birth date was listed as 1935 for years afterwards until the actress finally came out and put a stop to it.
• Money, Dear Boy: Tippi Hedren's stated reason for appearing in The Bird's II: Land's End.
• Similarly Named Works: The Birds: A horror movie by Alfred Hitchcock, and a comedy by Aristophanes.
• Star-Making Role: Tippi Hedren. It was her film debut, and the original poster also showed a headshot of her with the caption, "A fascinating new personality" underneath.
• Throw It In!:
  • Mitch Zanich, owner of the Tides Restaurant, agreed to let them film inside if the lead character was named after him. So they named him Mitch Brenner. Zanich cameos as a man who asks "What happened, Mitch?" after Melanie is attacked by a seagull.
  • Tippi Hedren and Rod Taylor only met when filming started, having no pre-rehearsals beforehand. So their chemistry is actually spontaneous in the film.
  • It was the suggestion of screenwriter Evan Hunter's kids to have the school children singing "Risseldy Rosselty". As the song wasn't long enough to fill the scene, Hunter wrote extra stanzas - which he got royalties for afterwards.
  • When the bird flies into the phone booth, Tippi Hedren claims that the glass was meant to be shatter proof. But the fake seagull ended up breaking the glass all over her.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The rights to Daphne Du Maurier's short story were purchased to be done as an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Somewhere along the line, the decision was made to expand it into a feature film.
  • With Grace Kelly being Princess of Monaco, Hitchcock originally wanted Audrey Hepburn for Melanie Daniels. Virginia McKenna was also considered.
  • Hitchcock briefly considered Cary Grant for the role of Mitch Brenner, but decided against using the hugely expensive actor because he felt the birds and the Hitchcock name were the big attractions. He also considered Sean Connery, but he was busy with From Russia with Love (Connery, himself famously frustrated by the limits the James Bond role put on his career, starred in Hitchcock's next film Marnie). Chuck Connors was also considered.
  • Screenwriter Evan Hunter had Anne Bancroft in mind to play Annie Hayworth.
• Write Who You Know: Hitchcock claimed to have based the character of the drunken philosopher in the bar, played by Karl Swenson, on his friend Seán O'Casey.

---