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Hitchcock Chronology: 1961

Overview

Image Gallery

Images from the Hitchcock Gallery (click to view larger versions or search for all relevant images)...

Month by Month

January

  • Sensing that it had cinematic possibilities, Hitchcock instructs Paramount to try and secure the rights to Daphne du Maurier's short story The Birds. After nearly six month of negotiations, the rights are secured for $25,000.[1]

February

March

April

May

June

  • The Hitchcocks spend the end of June in New York City with Alfred's sister Nellie and his cousin Teresa. They take in the latest shows and make a trip to Washington D.C.[2]
  • 25th - After months of negotiations, Hitchcock finally secures the film rights to Daphne du Maurier's short story The Birds for $25,000. [3]

July

August

  • 18th - In the early hours of the morning, residents of Santa Cruz are awoken by the sounds of a large sooty shearwater flock flying into their homes, disoriented by a heavy sea fog. The front page of the Santa Cruz Sentinel newspaper reports "Seabird Invasion Hits Coastal Town". Hitchcock contacts the newspaper and requests more details, eager to incorporate them into The Birds.[5][6][7]

September

  • 16th - After a series of telephone conversations about developing a film from Daphne du Maurier's short story The Birds, novelist Evan Hunter flies from New York to Los Angeles to meet with Hitchcock.[8]
  • 18th - Evan Hunter officially begins working on the screenplay for The Birds, signing an initial seven-week contract for a salary for $5,000 per week. His family soon flies out to join him.[9]

October

November

December

  • Hitchcock turns down the offer of a CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in the Queen's New Year Honour's List for 1962.[19]
  • 14th - Evan Hunter sends Hitchcock 52 revised pages for the second draft of The Birds screenplay.[20]
  • 21th - Hitchcock sends Evan Hunter 4 further pages of notes based on the second draft of The Birds screenplay. He signs off by saying "I pray I'm not giving you too much to think about over the Christmas holidays... P.S. People are still asking, 'Why did the birds do it?'"[21]
  • The Hitchcocks spend Christmas in St. Moritz. Hitchcock invites Evan Hunter and his wife to join them, but they decline.[22]
  • 27th - Having included a scene in which school children sing a song, Evan Hunter writes to Peggy Robertson to confirm the song's title ("Risseldy Rosseldy") and asks her to check that the song is in the public domain. After timing the song and finding it too short, Robertson telephones Hunter and asks him to come up with extra lyrics. Hunter obliges but finds he must join the American Society of Composers and Publishers before the extra lyrics can be used in the final film. Much to his amusement, the Society then begins to send him regular royalty payments.[23][24]

See Also...

Notes & References

  1. The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, pages 26-27
  2. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan
  3. The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, pages 26-27
  4. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan
  5. The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, page 29
  6. Santa Cruz Sentinel (18/Aug/1961) - Seabird Invasion Hits Coastal Homes
  7. Santa Cruz Sentinel (21/Aug/1961) - Alfred Hitchcock Using Sentinel's Seabird Story
  8. The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, pages 36-37
  9. The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, pages 37-38
  10. The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, page 215
  11. The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, page 215
  12. The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, page 62
  13. The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, page 62
  14. The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, page 45
  15. The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, page 182
  16. The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, page 63
  17. The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, pages 45-46
  18. Sight and Sound (1997) - Me and Hitch
  19. The Guardian: Some who turned the offer down
  20. The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, page 46
  21. The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, pages 46-48
  22. The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, page 48
  23. The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, pages 48-49
  24. Documentary: All About The Birds - transcript

Hitchcock Chronology
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