When the world has become tumultuous due to the #metoo movement, “It’s nothing new,” Tippi Hedren said. The actress, who was played by the famous director for the main role in the movie The Birds, had to resist not only the brutal attacks of live gulls and crows, pecking their blood, but also the games of the famous director.
Tippi Hedren remembers her relationship with Alfred Hitchcock with gratitude and disgust at the same time, and decided to talk about it many years after his death. In the age of the #MeToo movement, which has redefined the approach to sexual violence, “Tippi Hedren and Wild Animals” is a very important voice in the fight for women’s self-treatment.
He was obsessed with her
Tippi Hedren is the mother of Melanie Griffith and grandmother of Dakota Johnson in particular. She gained fame in the 1960s thanks to her main roles in the films “Birds” and “Marnie” by Alfred Hitchcock. He had seen her by chance in a TV ad, where he was charmed by her elegance, sense of elegance, confidence, independence and beauty. He invited her to a very expensive audition movie, during which he tested her acting skills and made her into a movie.
Tippi Hedren recalls, “It was hard but wonderful work, which I enjoyed and needed so much. Hitchcock was not only a director, he was an acting teacher, and that was great. There has never been a better teacher.”
Alfred Hitchcock was obsessed with Tippi Hedren
Photo: Press Materials / Arte.tv / Ofeminin
The director not only helped her mold the character of Melanie Daniels, but cast her into the image of a “Hitchcock blond” – the unattainable and desirable, the kind he loved from women. It turned out to be disastrous for her …
Hitchcock soon became obsessed with Tippi Hedren. During this period, he dominated her entire professional and private life. He even asked a fashion designer to design her own clothes for off-screen wear. “I couldn’t notice that he was still staring at me. No matter where he was or what he was doing, even though he was talking to a group of people on the other side of the group, his eyes were staring at me.” – Adds the actress.
The situation became complicated because the director had bad intentions towards her. He played the role of Pygmalion and wanted to make an actress out of an ideal and beautiful woman, whom he could use as an instrument of his desire. In the film, it is suggested that Melanie, played by Tippi, was luring birds to Bodega Bay. She is dangerous, because she is a self-confident woman, full of inner strength, so she must be punished. It was the underlying dynamics of their relationship and the reason why it was such a threat to both of them. “I won’t give you any details, but all of a sudden he grabbed me and started touching me. It was sexual, weird and horrible. I couldn’t be shocked and disgusted.” Tebe says.
She always said no
In addition, on the set, the actress had to patiently endure the brutal attacks of artificial and lively gulls and crows. After the scene where the birds attacked her in the phone booth, the doctor had shards of glass out of her face all afternoon. During the filming of the end of the film, the trainers threw live birds and yelled at them for a week, pecking them for blood. For this role, she received a Golden Globe and another participation in the psychological drama “Marnie” – stories about sexual obsession, domination and control. She played a kleptomaniac in stealing her bosses, and her husband raped her on their wedding night. It was clearly a cryptic fantasy of Alfred Hitchcock…
Tippi Hedren in 1964 decided to stop working with the director, but paid dearly for it.
Photo: Photo: Press Materials / ARTE.tv / Ofeminin
Whenever Hitchcock behaved inappropriately towards her, Tippi would say “no.” In the end, she decided to end her collaboration with him in 1964, but paid dearly for it. She signed a contract according to which she could not play in any movie for 3 years.
The documentary “Tippi Hedren and the Wild Animals” is available on the free streaming platform ARTE.tv. The film is available until October 17 at the following link:
https://www.arte.tv/pl/videos/098864-000-A/tippi-hedren-i-dzikie-zwierzeta/
See also:
“Hegit Polski”, a new book by Maja Stako. Activist exposes every dark side of hate
What’s next for The Crown? After the death of the Queen, the shooting stopped
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