Why Its ALWAYS The Story
What Writers Can Learn from Hitchcock's "The Birds"
Make No Mistake, It Is ALWAYS The Story
I never change the channel when the Alfred Hitchcock’s movie, The Birds is on TV. No more work gets done and dinner plans change immediately, ie. I don't make dinner. I MUST watch The Birds. Just last week the horror/suspense movie, starring Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor and Jessica Tandy was on and once again, my productivity came to a screeching halt.
As I watched the gorgeous and impeccably put together Tippi Hendrin (for you folks of my generation, Melanie Griffith's mom...for you folks of this generation, Dakota Johnson's grandmother) it occurred to me why I love the movie so much.
Yes, The Birds IS a scary movie, and I love scary movies, but there is also a quite poignant backstory to the story. Here is this rich, young, beautiful playgirl, not as sure of herself as she lets on, named Melanie. She has a fleeting flirtation with a handsome, witty lawyer in the city, Mitch, and she follows him out to his hometown in order to continue the flirtation to see where it might go. You could think that this part of the story is simply the "romance" part of the movie and you might even be satisfied with that but no, there is a second backstory.
The Tippi Hendren character, Melanie, has a weakness. He mother left her when she was little. She is quite sad about that for all the bravado she exudes. Melanie reveals this weakness to Mitch for a split second and then it is gone. Quickly, Melanie returns to her confident, tough self. The Birds does not stop there, however, for there is yet a third backstory. Mitch's father died a few years back and his mother, Lydia, is not so happy about the prospect of having to share Mitch with any other woman. It's not that Lydia wants her son to herself like a jealous, controlling mother, she simply does not want to be left alone.
Lydia recognizes that Mitch is challenged as well as attracted to Melanie and she feels threatened. When all the birds come flying around and viciously attack the residents of Bodega Bay, the characters are thrust together to survive. It seems that Melanie is the pillar of strength but when she (spoiler alert) inexplicably goes up to an attic alone and gets attacked by hundreds of birds, it is Lydia who is able to abandon her own jealous feelings and care for Melanie as a mother would. Hitchcock shows this transformation in one beautiful cinematic shot... Melanie looks up at Lydia with the most vulnerable look on her face and Lydia gentles nestles her. The audience knows by that one shot that Melanie has a true caregiver back in her life and Lydia has shed her selfishness to give herself to this vulnerable young woman.
I love The Birds for the horror of it and the great stories buried within in. I desperately wish there were more movies like it made today.
As always, it’s the stories (the content) that make for a fabulous story or movie or book. When you start and end with a great story you will always be successful in your writing.
Weird Sidenotes about The Birds:
The inspiration for Hitchcock’s movie, The Birds, was, you guessed it, a book. A short story to be exact. It was authored by none other than Daphne du Murier (Rebecca). Daphne du Murier’s short story, “The Birds” was part of a collection she published titled “The Apple Tree.”
My family and I lived in the Bay Area for a couple of years and spent an afternoon in Bodega Bay for a wine festival. Ms Tippi Hendrin was there signing autographs to benefit an animal advocacy group...tigers, I think. I cherish the wine glass that came with the price of admission to the festival.
Every adult actress in the movie seems to have the exact same color lipstick on. It’s a light orange… beautiful, no doubt, but on EVERY actress. It was either the style or a way to save money.
I dragged my husband to our local theater a year ago when they replayed The Birds on the big screen. Horrifically, the audience laughed at certain scenes that should have been terrifying. I will never again watch The Birds in a theater - a little respect, people!
Let me know your thoughts on The Birds or post a movie where you uncovered a few levels of “stories in the story.”