Alfred Hitchcock, the legendary director known for his films like Psycho, The Birds, and Rear Window, has had quite some controversies surrounding him. There have been some accusations regarding the director’s behavior and his working style.
One of the more prominent cases from Hitchcock’s life was actress Tippi Hedren who accused the director twice. From misbehaving on sets to allegedly touching her inappropriately, the story is quite shocking.
When Alfred Hitchcock Misbehaved With Tippi Hedren
Alfred Hitchcock’s movies were crazy. From psycho killers to birds that attack humans, the movies were well received at the time. The director is also responsible for making several actors famous in Hollywood.
One of these actresses was Tippi Hedren. Working alongside the director in The Birds and Marnie, Hedren decided to simply never work with him again. At that time, no reason was given for her discontinued relationship.
In 2016, the actress revealed in her memoir (via USA Today) that Alfred Hitchcock made some unsolicited advances towards her. It was quite a horrifying experience in a Limousine as Tippi Hedren recalls it.
With no warning, he threw himself on top of me and tried to kiss me.
Well, the actress further continued that Hitchcock had told her that the birds used in the filming of The Birds were mechanical. Much to her horror, they were real birds and she suffered quite a lot during the filming of that movie.
In her memoir, the actress recalled the cuts and bruises that she suffered were also real. Despite the pain and trouble, the actress worked once again with the director and suffered for it again.
Tippi Hedren Was Allegedly Assaulted By Hitchcock Again
In 1964, Tippi Hedren worked again with Alfred Hitchcock for a film titled Marnie. Although they had their animosity from previous encounters, Hedren and Hitchcock worked for one final time in the 1964 film.
However, Hedren revealed in her memoir that during the shooting of this film, Alfred Hitchcock misbehaved with the actress again. The actress had some very harsh words for Hitchcock when describing the incident.
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.
She further continued,
The harder I fought him, the more aggressive he became.
After that incident, Hedren maintained her distance from the director and the two never spoke again. Although they finished the film, Tippi Hedren and Alfred Hitchcock parted their ways for good.
Being a psychological thriller film, Marnie received a rating of 7.1/10 on IMDB and a whopping 81% on Rotten Tomatoes. The 1964 film is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.
