Tony Lee Moral wrote a very impressive book on the making of Marnie and has followed it up with a look at Hitchcock's earlier, more commercially successful Tippi Hedren opus. It's equally thorough and entertaining although less gripping - that's not the fault of the author, more the subject matter: Marnie had two big dramatic aces in the hole, the film's highly mixed reception (which shook the director's confidence and led him into an artistic spiral), and the end of his relationship with Hedren. The Birds doesn't really have anything to match it except the treatment of Hedren, which probably wasn't as bad as has been spread around.
What we have is very thorough: Daphne du Maurier's story, the journey from short story to screenplay (Evan Hunters book on it, Hitchcock and Me, is also worth a read), the true life inspirations, discovering Hedren, casting other roles, and most of all the considerable technological achievements/difficulties of the film.
This book would be best enjoyed by hard core Hitchcock fans, Tippi Hedren fans, and those interested in 60s filmmaking technologies. It pretty much is the last word, benefiting from extensive analysis of how the movie was made, interviews with people like Evan Hunter and Rod Taylor. It's not completely comprehensive - no real discussion of The Birds 2 or Kaw.
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