News

“The Birds” Star Tippi Hedren Claims Alfred Hitchcock Abused and Sexually Assaulted Her During Filming

Published

8 years ago

November 2, 2016

Written by Patti Pauley

Alfred Hitchcock is undoubtedly a pioneer when it came to horror and macabre. However, according to one of his most stunning leading ladies Tippi Hedren (The Birds, Marnie) who opened up in an exclusive interview with The Daily Mail, revealed how the master of suspense who green-lit her career to super-stardom with 1963’s The Birds, had her living a real-life horror movie filled with brutal abuse and an ongoing victim of sexual assault.

Photo by REX/Shutterstock

Hedren now 86, talks about her horrific experiences with the horror directer regarding his obsessive and possessive nature over her, which would lead to unwanted advances towards the young actress. Hedren touches on this subject ever so delicately in her new memoir entitled Tippi, claiming Hitchcock would corner her in her dressing room and then threaten to ruin her career as she was under contract with the director.

From Tippi: A Memoir–

“I’ve never gone into detail on this, and I never will. I’ll simply say that he suddenly grabbed me and put his hands on me. It was sexual, it was perverse, and it was ugly, and I couldn’t have been more shocked and repulsed. The harder I fought him, the more aggressive he became. Then he started adding threats, as if he could do anything to me that was worse than what he was trying to do at that moment.”

According to the interview, after a day of filming, Hitchcock and Hedren shared a limousine back to the hotel where they were staying. As the limo reached the destination, the director then suddenly threw himself on top of her, trying to force a kiss. Repulsed by his actions, Hedren threw Hitchcock off of her and immediately exited the vehicle escaping to her hotel room.

Hedren then went on to say how her rejection towards Hitchcock turned ugly for her on set the following day while filming the infamous phone booth bird attack scene when one of the mechanical birds shattered the supposedly shatterproof glass resulting in Hedren’s face on the receiving end of glass shards.

In the climatic attic scene of The Birds where Hendren’s character of Melanie is brutally attacked by a murderous flock, Hitchcock had reassured the actress that mechanical birds were to be used in the now infamous scene. However on the day of the shoot, assistant director James H. Brown told the actress that “the mechanical birds aren’t working, so we’re going to have to use live ones.”

Hedren states “It was brutal and relentless,” as she endured five full days of ravens, pigeons, and doves being hurled at her by the bird handlers. On the final day of shooting the scene, live birds were loosely tied to Hedren’s costume while she laid on the floor. The actress says when “Action!” was called, the birds that were tied to her started pecking her while again, the wranglers threw more birds at her. Even in the midst of this abuse, the actress kept her head straight up until the closing of the day when a live bird that was tied to her shoulder, almost pecked the actresses’ eye out. That is when Hedren threw up her arms and had enough for the day.

The harshness of the environment and grueling scenes took their toll on Hedren and a doctor ordered a week of rest and a break from filming. After the smash hit of The Birds, Hedren says she was held hostage under Hitchcock’s contract for two years. On the pair’s next film Marnie, a film about a man who traps a woman into marriage and rapes her, is believed to be derived from Hitchcock’s own fantasy about Hedren. Tippi’s lavish dressing room was built adjacent to the director’s office giving him the opportunity to come and go as he pleased and when he caught her alone, Tippi reveals in her memoir how he would proclaim his love for the actress.

Once she became free of her contract, studios were hesitant to hire her in fear of antagonizing Hitchcock who repeatedly bashed her acting ability among the studio lots; all in which case pointing back to the resistance of the director’s advances to the actress.

“I’ve made it my mission ever since to see to it that while Hitchcock may have ruined my career, I never gave him the power to ruin my life.”

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Editorial

Yay or Nay: What’s Good and Bad in Horror This Week

Published

1 day ago

May 4, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Welcome to Yay or Nay a weekly mini post about what I think is good and bad news in the horror community written in bite-sized chunks.

Yay:

Mike Flanagan talking about directing the next chapter in the Exorcist trilogy. That might mean he saw the last one and realized there were two left and if he does anything well it’s draw out a story.

Yay:

To the announcement of a new IP-based film Mickey Vs Winnie. It’s fun to read comical hot takes from people who haven’t even seen the movie yet.

Nay:

The new Faces of Death reboot gets an R rating. It’s not really fair — Gen-Z should get an unrated version like past generations so they can question their mortality the same as the rest of us did.

Yay:

Russell Crowe is doing another possession movie. He’s quickly becoming another Nic Cage by saying yes to every script, bringing the magic back to B-movies, and more money into VOD.

Nay:

Putting The Crow back in theaters for its 30th anniversary. Re-releasing classic movies at the cinema to celebrate a milestone is perfectly fine, but doing so when the lead actor in that film was killed on set due to neglect is a cash grab of the worst kind.

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Lists

The Top-Searched Free Horror/Action Movies on Tubi This Week

Published

2 days ago

May 3, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The free streaming service Tubi is a great place to scroll when you’re unsure what to watch. They are not sponsored or affiliated with iHorror. Still, we really appreciate their library because it’s so robust and has many obscure horror movies so rare you can’t find them anywhere in the wild except, if you’re lucky, in a moist cardboard box at a yard sale. Other than Tubi, where else are you going to find Nightwish (1990), Spookies (1986), or The Power (1984)?

We take a look at the most searched horror titles on the platform this week, hopefully, to save you some time in your endeavor to find something free to watch on Tubi.

Interestingly at the top of the list is one of the most polarizing sequels ever made, the female-led Ghostbusters reboot from 2016. Perhaps viewers have seen the latest sequel Frozen Empire and are curious about this franchise anomaly. They will be happy to know it’s not as bad as some think and is genuinely funny in spots.

So take a look at the list below and tell us if you are interested in any of them this weekend.

1. Ghostbusters (2016)

Ghostbusters (2016)

An otherworldly invasion of New York City assembles a pair of proton-packed paranormal enthusiasts, a nuclear engineer and a subway worker for battle.An otherworldly invasion of New York City assembles a pair of proton-packed paranormal enthusiasts, a nuclear engineer and a subway worker for battle.

2. Rampage

When a group of animals becomes vicious after a genetic experiment goes awry, a primatologist must find an antidote to avert a global catastrophe.

3. The Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do It

Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren uncover an occult conspiracy as they help a defendant argue that a demon forced him to commit murder.

4. Terrifier 2

After being resurrected by a sinister entity, Art the Clown returns to Miles County, where his next victims, a teenage girl and her brother, await.

5. Don’t Breathe

A group of teens breaks into a blind man’s home, thinking they’ll get away with the perfect crime but get more than they bargained for once inside.

6. The Conjuring 2

In one of their most terrifying paranormal investigations, Lorraine and Ed Warren help a single mother of four in a house plagued by sinister spirits.

7. Child’s Play (1988)

A dying serial killer uses voodoo to transfer his soul into a Chucky doll which winds up in the hands of a boy who may be the doll’s next victim.

8. Jeepers Creepers 2

When their bus breaks down on a deserted road, a team of high school athletes discovers an opponent they cannot defeat and may not survive.

9. Jeepers Creepers

After making a horrific discovery in the basement of an old church, a pair of siblings find themselves the chosen prey of an indestructible force.

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News

Morticia & Wednesday Addams Join Monster High Skullector Series

Published

2 days ago

May 3, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Believe it or not, Mattel’s Monster High doll brand has an immense following with both young and not-so-young collectors.

In that same vein, the fan base for The Addams Family is also very large. Now, the two are collaborating to create a line of collectible dolls that celebrate both worlds and what they have created is a combination of fashion dolls and goth fantasy. Forget Barbie, these ladies know who they are.

The dolls are based on Morticia and Wednesday Addams from the 2019 Addams Family animated movie.

As with any niche collectibles these aren’t cheap they bring with them a $90 price tag, but it’s an investment as a lot of these toys become more valuable over time.

“There goes the neighborhood. Meet the Addams Family’s ghoulishly glamorous mother-daughter duo with a Monster High twist. Inspired by the animated movie and clad in spiderweb lace and skull prints, the Morticia and Wednesday Addams Skullector doll two-pack makes for a gift that’s so macabre, it’s downright pathological.”

If you want to pre-purchase this set check out The Monster High website.