Deliberate mistake: The fake dried blood on Melanie's forehead comes off too quickly and totally with the dry Kleenex that she uses. (00:27:10)
Deliberate mistake: When Melanie first walks into the classroom she sees five rows of students. Later when the students are about to leave there are only four rows of students, now ending with the boy in the plaid shirt (closest to the camera), in the front. The row on the left has been removed so the camera can pan from left to right in the side shot. (01:08:50 - 01:13:00)
Deliberate mistake: Some of the children that are running in front of the superimposed background were never in the classroom. For example the blonde girl in the blue and white sweater in the middle of the second shot and the girl in the green sweater in the center of the third shot were not there. (01:13:40)
Deliberate mistake: The dummy consumed in the fireball is much shorter than the actor it doubles for. (01:25:30)
Deliberate mistake: Mitch carries Annie's body into her house through the front door, which he doesn't close behind him. In the next shot as he leaves the house it's been closed and he has to open it before he walks out. (01:32:20)
Deliberate mistake: It's supposed to be a moonlit night when Melanie walks into the bedroom. But when we see the opening where the birds got in there's a blue sky much brighter than it would actually be on such a night. (01:48:35)
Deliberate mistake: The closing scene contains one of the most famous deliberate omissions. As Mitch, his mother, and Melanie approach the front door to leave the house, there is no front door; it was removed so the camera can see them. Mitch mimes reaching for the door and pulling the handle. As he does this, a light is panned onto the actors' faces to help sell the illusion that a real door was opened. Victoria Cartwright later reported that she asked Hitchcock why people wouldn't see there was no door there. He replied that it was the magic of movies - no one would notice. And no one ever does! Read more in the transcript of the documentary "All About the Birds."
Answer: "The bird attacks have subsided for the time being. Bodega Bay seems to be the centre, though there are reports of minor attacks on Sebastopol and a few on Santa Rosa. Bodega Bay has been cordoned off by roadblocks. Most of the townspeople have managed to get out, but there are still some isolated pockets of people. No decision has been arrived at yet as to what the next step will be, but there's been some discussion as to whether the military should go in. It appears that the bird attacks come in waves, with long intervals between. The reason for this does not seem clear as yet."
Hamster ★