As 'The Birds' turns 60, a Hitchcock granddaughter reminisces
SCOTTS VALLEY -- On its 60th anniversary, Hitchcock's The Birds takes flight at the Stanford Theatre in Palo Alto Sunday Sept. 3 at 7:30 p.m.
Much of the classic thriller was photographed in the Bay Area, principally in and around Bodega Bay which attracts thousands of movie-location visitors every year.
One memorable scene in the picture cuts two of those locations together. That can sometimes confuse an "in-the-steps-of" tourist.
As the set piece begins, the character Melanie, played by Tippi Hedren, waits outside a school building, oblivious to a gathering conspiracy of ravens behind her. When the birds take flight they chase the students, their teacher and Melanie down Bodega Lane in the village of Bodega. Cut to: the waterfront in the town of Bodega Bay. In reality that's close to a seven-mile trip.
Tere Carruba is Alfred Hitchcock's granddaughter and she spoke about her grandfather and the making of The Birds with KPIX anchor and science editor Brian Hackney at what once was Hitchcock's mansion in Scotts Valley in the Santa Cruz mountains.
She remembered standing with her sister outside the old Potter School House in Bodega when Hitch was filming the bird-attack scene.
"The birds were attached to the kids' hands," she recalled. "Most of (the birds) were fake and so, when (the children) ran, they would go like this (swats at head) and so the birds looked like they were attacking their heads."
Leah Taylor's family has owned the Potter School House since the early 1960s and she thinks she knows why Hitch selected it for the film.
"The building is what they call a 'classic haunt,'" she says. "It's got paranormal events that happen in it and Alfred Hitchcock was a man who believed in ghosts. And I think he maybe even knew when they were around. That's why he picked this as the schoolhouse."
The schoolhouse is still in great condition, more than 60 years after Hitch and crew bundled up their lights and camera. But the action continues. It's estimated these Sonoma County film locations get about 10,000 visitors annually. Even Tippi Hedren, now 93, has shown up frequently over the years to sign autographs.
THE 'GOOD' BIRDS IN THE BIRDS
If you've seen The Birds, you may recall that, early in the film, Melanie (Tippi Hedren) purchases a pair of lovebirds at a San Francisco pet store then drives to Bodega Bay to give them to Mitch Brenner ( played by Rod Taylor). As she pushes her Aston Martin DB2/4 Mk I Drophead Coupe along Bay Hill Road, the lovebirds in the footwell of the passenger seat comically sway in unison as the sports car negotiates the S-curves.
Where, you may wonder, did the actual lovebirds end up after the shoot?
"(Hitchcock) gave those as a gift to both of us after the filming," Tere Carruba said, referring to her sister.
HITCHCOCK'S RETREAT
Carruba says that Hitchcock occupied the estate in Scotts Valley from 1942 until the early 1970s. He apparently discovered the property through Joan Fontaine (whom he directed in Rebecca), who spent much of her childhood in Saratoga and attended Los Gatos High.
"(The Hitchcocks) really loved coming up here on weekends. It was private and it was away from Hollywood," Carruba said.
Visitors included James Stewart, Princess Grace and Ingrid Bergman.
"One year, in fact, when we were up here for Christmas, he dressed up as Santa Claus. Perfect! He just needed the beard and he was good with the rest of it."
As for The Birds and choosing the Bay Area for its location?
"I think it's because it's a lot like Europe and I think that's what he liked about it," Carruba said.