Hitchcock experts rush to defend director over Tippi Hedren’s claims of sexual harassment

Actress says she repelled advances on The Birds set but film crew dispute story

Cinema historians, former cast and crew and Alfred Hitchcock’s official biographer have rushed to the defence of the director after claims that he sexually harassed and bullied actress Tippi Hedren during the filming of The Birds in the 1960s.

In her new book, Tippi: A Memoir, published on 17 November, Hedren alleges that the director made sexual approaches to her and regarded her as his personal property. In one passage she also describes her genuine horror during the filming of the attic scene in The Birds when she was attacked by real birds. “It was ugly, brutal and relentless,” she writes, adding that Cary Grant, visiting the set that week, had told her how brave she was.

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