The Birds (Universal Pictures) (1963)

OK Mr. Hitchcock, Try And Scare Us! The Master weaves his spell on birds. Alfred Hitchcock utilizes the (2-A) rare talents of some amazingly trained birds who don’t like People. The picture is an adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s classic thriller, “The Birds.”’ Besides frightened people, there are thousands in the all birds! cast... (Still No. 6590-P.21) Alfred Hitchcock admits he is in constant conflict with his audience. “When a new Hitchcock film appears,’ bd says the director, “the public and critics sit back at the start and say to themselves, ‘Let’s see him scare me.’ My job is to get them up on the edge of their seats, and to keep them there. “T don’t consider myself strictly a suspense director. After all, ‘To Catch a Thief’ was really a comedy, ‘North by Northwest’ an adventure story, ‘Shadow of a Doubt’ a character study, and so on. “Yet suspense is expected of Hitchcock, and I suppose I am fated to go on making thrillers. It gets more difficult all the time because one must always find new ways to surprise an audience. Any time a viewer of one of my films can say to himself, ‘I knew that was coming,’ I’ve lost him. In making successful thrillers one must particularly avoid what I call the ‘cliches’ of movie-making.” In his newest suspense drama, “The Birds,” a Universal release, scheduled to open at the...............Theatre, Hitchcock has gone far out to avoid those ‘“‘cliches.’’ His Technicolor film version of Daphne du Maurier’s novella, scripted by Evan Hunter, will show thousands of birds making organized attacks on mankind. “These are not birds of prey,” says Hitchcock. ‘“‘We haven’t a falcon, a buzzard, an eagle or even a hawk in the film. That would be the cliche. Ours are ordinary birds —seagulls, crows, ravens, finches. When these familiar, harmless creatures start tearing people apart, the terror potential becomes much greater. An eagle would be expected to attack a man and there’s no surprise for the audience in that.” His production of “The Birds” is not science fiction, Hitchcock insists. “What the audience will see is actually happening to the persons on the screen,” he says. “It will also be a personal emotional experience for the people in the theatre. And even the most extraordinary events in our story have a basis of fact. “In one of our scenes 2,000 finches come down a chimney and fill a room occupied by Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy and “Tippi’ Hedren. This actually took place in La Jolla, California, in 1961. In another sequence 300 crows attack Suzanne Pleshette and 30 children as they run down a street. It is a recorded fact that such a thing once happened near Santa Rosa, in Northern California.” Beyond these hints Hitchcock is keeping most of the surprises in “The Birds” to himself. “We guarantee only that our audiences will be surprised and scared,” says the man who has made a career of frightening folk. ‘‘People do enjoy being scared, you know—as long as they know they will be safe at the end of the experience. With “The Birds” we will fulfill their enjoyment. But it will all be up there on the screen. We promise not to turn a single bird loose in any theatre.” Distinguished Actress Jessica Tandy Scores In The Birds” (Advance) Jessica Tandy stood next to the living room fireplace as the Technicolor cameras began to roll. Alfred Hitchcock gave a signal and a moment later 2,000 finches came flying down the fireplace into the room. It was a typical scene in Hitchcock’s “The Birds,” a Universal release booked for the.................... Theatre, an eerie epic starring Miss Tandy with Rod Taylor, Suzanne Pleshette, and introducing “Tippi” Hedren. Before extricating herself, Jessica had been overwhelmed by clouds of finches. They had pinned her to the wall, tangled her hair and mussed her clothes. Yet, when the scene ended, she smiled as if she had just finished a love scene. Had she not been even a little disturbed by the experience ? “A little bit,” she admitted. “After all, it’s the first time I’ve ever been upstaged by 2,000 actors at once.” During her distinguished acting career, Miss Tandy has had almost every other experience her profession can offer. She created the Blanche Dubois-role in “A Streetcar Named Desire” and the role of Agnes in “The Fourposter.” In 1948 she won the Antoinette Perry Award and the Twelfth Night Club Award for her performance in “Streetcar.” In 1952 she and her husband, Hume Cronyn, won the Comoedia Matinee Club’s Bronze Medallion for their performances in “The Fourposter.” She has enacted dozens of Shakespearian roles, including Ophelia in John Gielgud’s “Hamlet.”” But her adventure with “The Birds” is, she admits, her most astonishing experience. The Hitchcock film is adapted by Evan Hunter from the Daphne du Maurier story of the same name, in which birds declare war on people. Ravens, gulls and other kinds of birds stage mass “attacks” on the town of Bodega Bay in northern California. As one of the story’s main characters, Jessica is the victim of her share of these ‘‘attacks,”’ yet she ended the picture with a surprisingly friendly attitude toward her feathered “enemies.” “SE Sob used toe-tnem=-tarner quickly,” she explained, “simply by looking upon them as other actors. Although I must say I was beginning to wonder in some of those scenes toward the end. I’ve never had another actor bite me before,” How did she manage to remain so calm about her job, even in spite of two or three bird bites? Award Winner du Maurier Is Author Of ‘The Birds” (Advance) Two best-selling contemporary authors, Daphne du Maurier and Evan Hunter, provided the story material for Alfred Hitchcock’s latest Technicolor movie thriller, “The Birds’, Universal release OPCMIN Gere ea abe these k es Theatre. The original story, an eerie and exciting tale of massed bird attacks on people, was written by Miss du Maurier. Among her many works was “Rebecca,” Academy Award film which Hitchcock directed in 1940. Writer of the screenplay for “The Birds,’ Hunter is also a novelist, and three of his works have been filmed. They are “The Blackboard Jungle,” “Strangers When We Meet” and “A Matter of Conviction.” Stars of the new Hitchcock movie are Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy and Suzanne Pleshette, and a fascinating newcomer, ‘Tippi’ Hedren, is introduced as the leading lady. It's A Game With Hitchcock! (Current) Alfred Hitchcock makes his usual brief appearance in his own feature, “The Birds,” while his two pet dogs make their movie debuts. The fleeting cameo, long a Hitchcock trademark, in this instance finds the director walking out of a pet shop as leading lady ‘Tippi’ Hedren enters. In his scene, Hitchcock leads two dogs on leashes—his five-yearold miniature Sealyhams, “Stanley” and “Geoffrey.” “The Birds” is a Universal release, now giving the deepfreeze to audiences at the theatre. P.S. See if you can identify Hitchcock on the screen! “Well, look at Veronica Cartwright,” she said with a smile, referring to the little girl who portrays her daughter in the picture. “Veronica is only eleven, you know. If she could bear up under it, I'd look rather silly doing worse.” And that brought her to one last question. Did she ever want to do another picture with birds an OLY vere She glanced mischieviously at Hitchcock, who was standing nearby. “Tl be ready to do another bird picture whenever he is,” she said. And then ,to him, ‘“‘When will that be?” “TI promise never again to make a picture called ‘The Birds,’ said Hitchcock. “But I’m glad I’ve made this one.” “So am I,” said Jessica, “now that it’s over.”’ ROS" (t-8] The lady of footlights, films and TV, the award-winning Jessica Tandy, is one of the stars. in Alfred Hitchcock’s unusual thrill offering, “The Birds.” This revo lutionary departure in mystery movie-making was adapted from the Daphne du Maurier best-seller. (Still No. 6590-P.25) Page 4 Hitchcock’s “The Birds”, based upon the classic suspense thriller by Daphne du Maurier and starring Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette and introducing ‘Tippi’ Hedren. The film is a Universal release. New Hitchcock Find’ Makes Debut In ‘The Birds” (Advance) Movie fans will do well to note the improbable name ‘Tippi’ Hedren as a probable star in the near future. ‘Tippi’ with single quotes, please. She is the virtually unknown leading lady of Alfred Hitchcock’s new Technicolor thriller for Universal release, “The Birds,’ in which thousands of birds make organized attacks on mankind and specifically, on Rod Taylor, Suzanne Pleshette, Jessica Tandy and the aforementioned Miss Hedren. Hitchcock describes “The Birds,” soon to be seen on the Se Sn neta ee eee screen, as the “most difficult” of 50 films he has made, and it surely is one of the costliest. It would seem a huge gamble for Hitchcock to entrust the key female role in such a production to an ex-model totally lacking in professional acting experience. If so, the betting is on Hitch all the way. His films have enhanced the careers of numerous star pras A famed model faces the san he for a new kind of shot. The (Still No. 6590-65) pects from Madeleine Carroll (“The Thirty-Nine Steps’) to Grace Kelly (“Dial M for Murder’). By any name, ‘Tippi’ Hedren obviously enjoys the best available auspices for her new acting career. Where did she get the name ‘Tippi’ ? Her proper name is Nathalie— pronounced with the “th” sound — Miss Hedren reports. “My father named me ‘Tippi’ when I was six pounds, seven ounces,” says the green-eyed blonde who was born in Lafayette, Minnesota, of Scandinavian descent. “It comes from ‘Tupsa,’ an affectionate Swedish term meaning’ ‘little Sire Why the single quotes? That, says ‘Tippi,’ was Mr. Hitchcock’s idea. Hitch has not felt compelled to give any reason for ordering the special punctuation around the name. But he meant it. When “The Birds” started filming one of Hollywood’s daily trade papers listed the leading lady’s name in double quotes, the other omitted quotes altogether. Hitchcock promptly dispatched telegrams to the editors of both journals, pointing out whimsically yet firmly that THE NAME IS NOT “TIPPEE SOR, LLEPr BUSTIER: (2-K trained raven (called ‘‘Nosey’’) is perched on the arm of ‘Tippi’ Hedren in an informal pose from Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘‘The Birds.” Miss Hedren was lured from TV commercials to a leading role and Hollywood stardom in the new Hitchcock picture. “Happy Birthday Dear Veronica, Happy Birthday To You!” (Advance) Eleven-year-old Veronica Cartwright will always remember 1962 as the year she had two birthday parties. The first party was in her role of Cathy Brenner, the character she portrays in Alfred Hitchcock’s Technicolor film for Universal release, “The Birds,’’ scheduled for Ces te Theatre. The second party was the one Hitchcock gave her a few days later on the occasion of her own birthday. The first party was not an altogether pleasant one. In Hitchcock’s latest movie, birds wage war on people. Cathy Brenner’s eleventh birthday party, in the film, is an occasion for a flight of (Still No. 6590-P.43 ) seagulls to swoop down and attack a group of children playing on the lawn, Veronica, as Cathy, was the principal victim of the rampaging birds. But this “party” was a thing of the past a few days later when Hitchcock and the rest of the cast, including Rod Taylor, ‘Tippi’ Hedren and Jessica Tandy, plus the entire crew, surprised Veronica with a huge cake on her actual birthday. After she cut the cake, she was further surprised when Miss Hedren presented her with a pair of love-birds to match another pair belonging to Cathy Brenner in the picture. The second party was, in fact, a virtual duplicate of the first, except that no gulls swooped down to attack. “It’s wonderful,” said Veronica, through happy tears. “It’s so nice. I’m even glad I had to go through that other party now. If it hadn’t been for that one, I wouldn’t be here for this one.”