Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds

Welcome to Civics and Coffee. My name is Alycia and I am a self-professed history nerd. Each week, I am going to chat about a topic on U.S history and give you both the highlights and occasionally break down some of the complexities in history; and share stories you may not remember learning in high school. All in the time it takes to enjoy a cup of coffee. 

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Hey everyone, welcome back. 

Halloween is just around the corner and if you are anything like me, you may have been enjoying a few scary movies in preparation. I, for one, love rewatching some of my favorite horror movies and including a few classics in my rotation each year.

When it comes to movie masterpieces, I think everyone can agree that Alfred Hitchcock is a master of suspense. While many know his incredible suspense-thriller, Psycho, he also explored the terror of wildlife with 1963’s The Birds. 

So this week, I am diving into the making of The Birds. How did they capture all of those birds? Why did they choose to film in Bodega Bay? And what is the film’s connection with Walt Disney?

Grab your cup of coffee, peeps. Let’s do this. 

Before we dive into the film itself, I want to spend a little time on the man behind the camera, the film’s director Alfred Hitchcock. The master of suspense was born in Leytonstone on August 13, 1899, and was the youngest of three children. Hitchcock had an early interest in photography, which eventually brought him into contact with London’s movie business. In his early film career, Hitchcock worked as a layout artist in the advertising department before applying in 1920 to become a title designer with an American studio opening offices in London. 

Hitchcock spent his early film career learning all he could about the industry. He quickly rose through the ranks, becoming an Assistant Director only three years after starting with the studio, and made his directorial debut by 1925. Hitchcock met film editor and screenwriter Alma Reville and the two wed in 1926. Together, the couple had a daughter, Patricia, in 1928 and would remain together until Hitchcock died in 1980. While Reville had established a career for himself within the industry before her relationship with the famed director, once the two were married, Reville focused her energy and talents on ensuring Hitchcock’s success. 

The young filmmaker quickly made a name for himself in Britain, focusing on telling stories with a dark undertone filled with twists and turns. After releasing several films in his home country, Hitchcock crossed the pond, landing in America in 1939. His first American film was 1940’s Rebecca, which won an Academy Award for Best Picture and was based on Daphne Du Maurier’s short story. In a strange twist of fate, it would be another of Du Maurier’s tales that served as the inspiration for the 1963 iconic Hitchcock film. 

In the summer of 1961, still enjoying the commercial success of Psycho, Hitchcock discovered his next great story: Daphne Du Maurier’s The Birds. Written in 1952, the original story takes place in a small, seaside town in Cornwall after World War II. The tale follows Nat Hocken as he and his family try to fortify their home against coordinated attacks from hostile birds. As a director comfortable exploring gothic themes, Hitchcock asked novelist Evan Hunter to develop the story into a script. 

Hitchcock knew he did not want the story to take place in Cornwall and set about finding the right location for his film in the United States, eventually landing on the small, California coastal town of Bodega Bay. Hitchcock was first introduced to the community while filming Shadow of a Doubt, in nearby Santa Rosa, California. Additionally, Hitchcock wanted the film to have a specific look, later saying quote: “to get the photography of the birds in the air, we needed an area with low land, not high mountains or a lot of trees. In a pictorial sense, it was vital to have nothing on the ground but sand so that we had the entire sky to play with. Bodega Bay had all of that,” end quote. While Bodega Bay had the qualities Hitchcock was looking for, it was also much brighter than he wanted and many of the scenes were altered in post to get the look Hitchcock wanted. 

While the cozy coastal community proved the idyllic backdrop Hitchcock wanted, the production team still had to find structures and homes that could be used as appropriate locations for the film. Those who worked on the movie later said finding the right location for the Brenner family home proved especially challenging since they needed a house that had both an entrance road and could be accessed by boat. Producers were successful and found a property they felt met the criteria. There was just one problem: it was owned by Rose Gaffney. 

Northern California residents may recognize the Gaffney name as she was the one who took PG&E to task over their proposed nuclear plant on her property. When a limo arrived at her house and someone explained that Mr. Hitchcock was looking to use her home in his movie, her apparent response was confusion, as she asked who Hitchcock was. Given her battles with PG&E, Gaffney was initially hesitant to rent her property to Universal Studios, but she eventually relented, permitting the use of her property in the film. Unfortunately, production crews discovered that Gaffney had not been maintaining the home very well and they had to build a structure over her property for it to be ready for filming. 

Another location was secured under the guarantee that the proprietor Mitch Zankich would get a speaking role in the film. The use of the Tides Restaurant, which was remade as a gas station in the movie, was only permitted if producers agreed to three conditions: the name of the town in the film had to remain Bodega Bay, one of the characters in the film had to be named Mitch, and that the owner himself got a speaking part. In the years after the film was released and played on television, Zankich scheduled extra waitstaff, anticipating some curious moviegoers may trek up to the coastal town and take a look at cinematic history. While scouting locations proved a challenge, it was nothing compared to the chaos and frustration that came with trying to figure out exactly what to do about one of the key components of the film: the birds. 

Making a film featuring a coordinated attack by thousands of birds was no simple feat. Initially, Hitchcock and the studio explored the idea of using mechanical birds in the film. Nearly 200,000 dollars went into developing them, however, when it came time to screen-test them, they did not meet Hitchcock’s expectations. They did not move naturally and looked too fake in the screen test. The failure of the mechanical birds left filmmakers with quite the challenge; their answer? Real birds. 

Animal trainer Ray Berwick was tasked with trying to wrangle a sufficient number of trained birds who could be used in the film. Like many animals, birds and crows are exceedingly intelligent creatures and Berwick later said that the best option would have been to get the birds when they were first born and train them in captivity, however, time was not on their side and the production team had little choice but to try to capture adult birds. This proved to be exceedingly difficult as the trainers were only able to capture one or two birds before the rest of the flock caught on and put out a sentry to alert the other birds of an intruder. The situation got so dire that the studio even put out a call for birds, offering $10 each. Alas, not a single bird was turned in. 

Berwick eventually found a large rookery containing tens of thousands of birds in Arizona. Like before, the flock was protected by a sentry bird, who was prepared to squawk at the first sign of trouble. Desperate, the trainers waited until nightfall when the birds had fallen asleep and dressed in all black, including putting dark makeup on their faces, and crawled toward the birds’ nesting location. Berwick captured the sentry and held its beak shut to prevent it from alerting the others and using nets, successfully capturing over twenty-five thousand birds. 

But capturing the birds was only the first step. Next, they had to be transported to the set where they could practice moving under the bright studio lights and within an enclosed environment. Unfortunately, the birds were not interested in being trained and frequently attacked members of the crew, sending many to the hospital. The birds were vicious, focusing their attacks on the eyes. To subdue them, some of the birds were given wheat drenched in whiskey, while others indicated the birds were given tranquilizers. The American Humane Association was on hand to make sure the birds received enough food, air, and water and they either agreed with the treatment or were unaware of what the crew members were doing, as they never cited the studio or otherwise delayed production over mistreatment. 

Still desperate to get the birds to stay in one spot, crew members tied them in place, hoping to prevent the birds from taking off. Of course, all this did was cause the birds to hang upside down as they tried in vain to escape and had to be repositioned by stagehands. Being wild animals, the birds also carried lice, which also spread to members of the crew. Not exactly my idea of a good time. 

And if the birds weren’t enough, the director himself was a challenge all on his own, particularly for new actress Tippi Hedren. Hedren had been working as a New York model when Hitchcock discovered her after seeing her in a television commercial. He offered Hedren a seven-year film contract and Hedren, who initially had no interest in becoming an actress, decided as a divorced mother that the contract was a way to ensure a steady income and agreed. The Birds was Hedren’s first film experience and to say it was a nightmare is a bit of an understatement. 

Hitchcock, who specifically sought to cast blond women because he said audiences found them more sexually attractive, became a bit obsessed with Hedren. He would constantly share dirty jokes in her presence and became cold and distant when Hedren dared to speak with other male members of the crew. Hedren later wrote about the experience in her memoir and shared that the director would frequently stare at her to the point where others took notice and at least one fellow actor shared privately Hitchcock’s odd behavior was not normal. Hitchcock became so obsessed with Hedren that would drive past her home and have her followed. 

The situation between director and actress crossed the line into sexual assault when the two shared a limo. According to Hedren, upon arriving at her hotel, Hitchcock threw himself on top of her and began forcefully kissing her. She fought back, screaming for him to stop, before successfully exiting the car. She felt Hitchcock punished her for refusing his advances, such as during the shoot for the film’s climax scene where birds attacked Hedren in the attic. 

Originally, the plan was to use a few mechanical birds during the shot, but upon her arrival on set, Hedren learned she would have to work with the live, eye-poking, lice-infected birds. The scene called for Hedren’s character to be attacked by a swarm of the vicious flyers and animal handlers released the wild birds who fulfilled their duty by pecking at the star nonstop. The scene, which Hedren later described as a quote “brutal and ugly and relentless” end quote was filmed over a span of five days, lasting eight hours each day. Meaning, that Hedren had to endure the pain and fear of losing her eyes for forty hours. Finally, one of the birds pecked too close to Hedren’s eyes and she called a stop to the production, seeking medical care for exhaustion. 

Her doctor prescribed a week of rest, something Hitchcock tried to deny, claiming her scene was the only one left, but relented when the doctor pushed back. Hedren spent the time away from the set catching up on much-needed sleep, before returning a final time to finish the scene. 

With filming wrapped, the crew went into post-production. The visual effects on the film were incredibly complicated as in addition to the live birds filmed throughout the movie, additional birds would need to be added later. Walt Disney’s studios in Burbank had a sodium vapor special effects system that was under the care and control of Ub Iwerks that could add in the needed effects and maintain the realism the filmmaker was going for. Hitchcock contacted Iwerks personally and asked if he would be willing to take over managing the film’s special visual effects. Iwerks ran the request by Walt Disney who agreed and a connection between Disney and one of the most popular horror movies in history was born. 

The film finally was released on March 28, 1963, in New York City to mixed reviews. Some felt it was a complete failure, while others delighted in the story. Whatever its initial reception, The Birds has since become an iconic chapter in the history of horror cinema. Famed directors Guillermo Del Torro, Eli Roth, and John Carpenter have all listed Hitchcock’s The Birds as having a heavy influence on their style and approach to the macabre. Hedren collaborated with Hitchcock once more, in 1964’s Marnie, before going on to a successful film career on her own. Hitchcock continued to make films, though their frequency diminished with age. He passed away in 1980. 

For me, The Birds will be one of many horror films shot in my backyard. As a northern California native and a big horror fan, I always get a little thrill when I learn about scary movies filmed nearby. If you haven’t given The Birds a chance yet, consider queuing it up this season. It is a whacky, crazy story, but it’s one I think you will enjoy. 

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Thanks, peeps. Have a wonderful Halloween. I’ll see you next week. 

Thanks for tuning and I hope you enjoyed this episode of Civics & Coffee. If you want to hear more small snippets from american history, be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening and I look forward to our next cup of coffee together. 

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