Hello August! This month we’re celebrating Alfred Hitchcock’s birth month by giving our readers some great ways to celebrate. His actual birthday is the 13th, but why only celebrate on one day when we can celebrate all month long.
Our first
post is from our craft wizard Lorraine Masonheimer. Lorraine will show us how
to host an Alfred Hitchcock dinner and movie night for The Birds, a Hitchcock
classic. Come on back this Thursday when Lorraine will start her series on Hitchcock inspired greeting cards that you can make at home.
THE MOVIE
The spark for the critically acclaimed Hitchcock movie The
Birds began late in 1961 when Capitola, California reported birds slamming into
their rooftops and found their streets littered with dead birds. Hitchcock began reworking Daphne du Maurier’s
1952 novella, The Birds, into the 1963 horror-thriller classic it is
today. Hitchcock created new characters,
expanded the plot and left the birds' behavior unexplained. The book is set in Britain with a man
protecting his wife and two children in an isolated home. The film centers on socialite Melanie Daniels
(Tippi Hedren) who drives to Bodega Bay, California for an ongoing flirtation
with lawyer Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) when birds begin attacking the residents
of the town. Considered one of
Hitchcock’s most challenging films, The Birds was nominated for many awards
including an Oscar nomination for special effects. Today, the film is listed as the seventh
greatest thriller by the American Film Institute and critics consider it to be
Hitchcock’s “last unflawed film.”
The birds, real and animated, were attached to the
character’s clothes by elastic bands so they couldn’t fly away. Tippi Hedren suffered cuts on her face during
filming, a number of children fell when running from the school and it took
days to film. Tippi’s bedroom attack
scene at the end of the film took seven days to shoot and left Hedren in a hospital
due to emotional and physical exhaustion. It was one of Hitchcock’s most
difficult shoots. Nearly 3,200 birds
were trained for the movie and Hitchcock found that ravens were the cleverest and seagulls the most vicious.
The film continues to fascinate audiences worldwide. I selected this film because of its lasting
impact on a young girl. Today, when I
see large flocks of black birds, I immediately think of this movie and the
possibility of “what if”—quite a statement for a 1952 book and a 1963
movie. I also enjoy Hitchcock’s flair
for enhancing the audience’s experience. At the London premiere, after watching the film, the audience left the
theater with sounds of screeching and flapping birds hidden in the trees. Hence, the inspiration for Dinner and a Movie
Watch Party!
INVITATION
Create and USPS mail a bird-themed invitation sure to catch the
attention of family and friends. I used
Tim Holtz’s Bird Crazy stamp with charcoal ink to give the card impact and
personality. I centered it on a 4 ¼” x 5
½” cardstock, glued it to corrugated paper on top of a rust-like textured paper. Shred a book page to create a nest.
SETTING THE MOOD
Grab your guests from the moment they approach your
door. If you have a gate, tape the
several birds along the top or use a square tomato cage placed by the sidewalk
closest to the door. Craft stores may
have cardboard birds for purchase or download free bird art from the internet
and cut them out. Place a sign “Welcome
to the Town of Bodega Bay” on your front
gate. Draw and cut out a large outline
of Hitchcock and glue to your front door.
Include a few bird claw prints and strips of paper to represent the
birds attacking the door. Lastly, place
birds around the TV so they lurk throughout the movie.
THE MENU
Start the evening off with a movie-themed dinner that’s easy
to eat around the TV. Pop open a bottle
of wine, perhaps from the Little Raven Vineyards, a RavenBeer Lager or create
your own label and glue to the bottle.
The menu starts with Deviled Eggs as an appetizer, moves into It’s for
The Birds Pot Pie and wraps up with bird topped Lemon Buttermilk Cupcakes (see
recipes below). Sprinkle a few black
feathers around the food and drink table for effect.
COCKTAIL HOUR ICEBREAKERS
Using table place card
holders or inexpensive flower frogs, place The Birds and other trivia
questions, printed on card stock, at a table near each guest’s chair. Have a blast getting to know each other
better as well as test one’s knowledge of the movie (you can type answers to
the movie trivia questions on the back of the card). Swap cards around the room. Here are a few examples to get started:
#1 WHICH IS BETTER: COOKIE DOUGH OR BAKED COOKIES?
#2 WHO WROTE THE BOOK THE BIRDS? Answer: Daphne du Maurier,
in 1952
#3 HOW DOES HITCHCOCK APPEAR IN THE MOVIE FOR HIS FAMOUS
CAMEO? Answer: walking a pair of dogs coming out of a San Francisco pet shop
#4 WHICH GAME OF THRONES CHARACTER WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE?
#5 HITCHCOCK IS KNOWN FOR TWO HORROR FILMS, THE BIRDS AND
WHAT OTHER MOVIE? Answer: Psycho
#6 WHAT HAPPENED TO TIPPI HEDREN AFTER THE SCENE WAS SHOT
WHERE SHE WAS RAVAGED IN A BEDROOM BY THE BIRDS? Answer: She had a mental
breakdown and was hospitalized for a week.
Production was shut down and near the end of the film when Mitch carried
Melanie down the stairs, they used a stand-in as Tippi was still in the
hospital.
#7 WHAT MAJOR GAFFE WAS IN THE MOVIE? Answer: A shopkeeper
had a New England accent and Bodega Bay is in California.
RECIPES
Deviled Eggs
6 Hardboiled eggs (whites cut in half)
6 Yolks (separate
from egg white)
1/8 cup+ Onion, diced
1/8 cup Salad dressing
3 T Mustard (yellow)
Salt & Pepper
Sunflower seeds (optional)
Mix the ingredients together and adjust to taste. Spoon the mixture into the egg white halves
and serve cold. If desired, sprinkle the
top with sunflower seeds—the birds love ‘em!
It’s for The Birds Pot Pie
¼ - ½ stick Butter
1 bulb Fennel, cored & sliced
1 med Onion, chopped
1-2 small Potatoes, cubed
2-3 Carrots, cubed
1 bunch Asparagus, chunky cut
1 c Chicken broth
1T Pernod liqueur
pinch Saffron
1/2t each Salt & pepper
3T Half & Half
1 pkg Pearl onions, frozen
handful Parsley, chopped
2 crusts Pie crust (ready-made)
1 whole Rotisserie Chicken, cubed
Preheat oven to 350
degrees. Cook onion & fennel in
butter for 10 minutes until onion is translucent. Blanch potatoes in boiling water for 2
minutes. Remove potatoes & blanch
carrots & asparagus in potato water for 2 minutes. Remove veggies. Add 1 cup of chicken broth to the
onion/butter mixture. Cook until thick
(not too soupy). Add remaining
ingredients to pan & stir in veggies & chicken. Place mixture into oven safe bowls or
mugs. Cut pie pastry 1” larger than the container. Beat 1 egg & wash the top of the container & press to seal. Wash top
of pastry with egg and sprinkle with salt and pepper. In keeping with the theme, cut a bird claw
print into the pastry top and bake for 1 hour.
Lemon Buttermilk Cupcakes
½ c Butter (softened)
1 c Sugar
1 large Egg (room
temperature)
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
½ tablespoon Lemon zest
Juice of 1 lemon
1 ¼ cups Flour (all purpose)
½ teaspoon Baking soda
½ teaspoon Salt
½ cup Whole buttermilk (room temperature)
Double citrus glaze (see below)
Garnish: Black Raven
Cupcake Toppers
Optional: Gummy worms
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper
liners. In the bowl of a stand mixer,
beat butter and sugar at medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add egg, mixing well. Beat in vanilla, lemon zest, and juice. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour,
baking soda, and salt. Gradually add flour
mixture to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending
with the flour. Beat just until combined
after each addition. Pour batter into
muffin cups about 2/3 full. Bake 18
minutes or until wooden pick comes out clean. Cool, insert gummy worms into each
cupcake and top with the glaze. Allow
glaze to harden for 30 minutes before serving. Optional: Place 3-5 raven cupcake
toppers into each cupcake.
Note: Bird cupcake
toppers are available online or you can make your own using black construction
paper, cut out several bird shapes and glue them to the toothpick with a bird
on each side.
Citrus Glaze
1 ½ cups Confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
Whisk together in a small bowl until combined. Use immediately to frost the cupcakes. Let glaze harden for 30 minutes.
ADDITIONAL IDEAS
If you have space,
rent a projector, string a king-size sheet and show the movie outside while
birds fly overhead. Take a few old
sheets, cut slits in it as if attacked by birds and hang as curtains next to
the sheet/screen. You’ll create a memory
your family and friends will not soon forget.
