MovieChat Forums > Psycho (1960) Discussion > Martin Balsam and Hitchcock in Tippi Hed...

Martin Balsam and Hitchcock in Tippi Hedren's Screen Test for The Birds

posted 5 years ago by ecarle (14979)
2 replies | jump to latest

Though The Birds is the movie this post is "about," I don't think the screen test of Tippi Hedren for The Birds is OT from Psycho. For Martin Balsam acts with Tippi in her screen test, and he carries with him the power OF Psycho -- its memory, its success, its "weight."

I looked at some scenes from The Birds on DVD to discuss it compared to Psycho here, and I remembered that the "special features" section had a good section(but not the entirety) of Tippi Hedren's 1962 screen test for The Birds. It was an interesting "re-visit."

How Tippi Hedren ended up testing for a major lead in a major movie from a major director(right after his biggest success) is one of those Hollywood mysteries. Was Hitchcock in a melgomaniac mood -- out to "make a new star" as part of new "power"? Or was the issue a practical one -- Melanie Daniels would be getting smacked by some real birds, you better cast an unknown. Hitchcock made the comment that he "created" Tippi Hedren because "there are so few star actresses today," but he also looked at film on Yvette Mimeux and even Sandra Dee for The Birds(though I dunno, maybe that makes the point about so few.)

So anyway, Hitchcock (and the US) saw Tippi Hedren on a near-daily basis in a commercial on the Today show(she is "wolf whistled" by what turns out to be her little son), and next thing you know, there she is in a typical Universal Studios "drawing room set," with Balsam(specially flown in from New York, even though Universal was within just a few miles of TONS of actors), sitting on a couch and tossing improv one liners at this beautiful woman.

I'll cut to the chase and say that, in this "Me Too" era, the screen test creates a sense of discomfort. Its Balsam, not the offscreen Hitchcock, who comes off as an "oppressive male," even though he is really just trying to improv(and not too well, he struggles) and he probably thinks he is being funny. The tone of the interaction between Balsam and Hedren is that he is bullying her around, making fun of her intelligence, asserting his possession of her.

Meanwhile, Hitchcock is just a voice, but its a "new" Hitchcock to me. Gone is the witty, funny (scripted) fellow of the TV series; gone is the thoughtful interviewee of countless articles and film. In their place, we hear a fairly tough man -- telling Tippi to "come this way," "move that way," "turn your head -- no, no, to the RIGHT" and generally coming off pretty cold and commanding. Its a revelation. Though at one point, when Balsam makes fun of Tippi's "source name"("Tupska"), Hitch can be heard saying, "Its a female anatomical term."

Speaking of "Tupska," we get this strained improv between Balsam and Hedren:

Balsam: What's this name -- "Tippi"? -- where's that come from?
Hedren: From its Swedish origin -- "Tupska"
Balsam: WHAT?
Hedren: Tupska.
Balsam: Say that again.
Hedren: Tupska.

At another juncture, Hitchcock says to Balsam "OK, take over, Marty" and Balsam turns himself into the rich husband of the beautiful Hedren, sharply saying to her, ' OK, show me what you've been buying with MY money." Whereupon Hedren -- trained as a model -- walks and struts and shows off the dress she is wearing. This goes on for a bit before Hitchcock barks at Hedren to stop -- you can see her nervousness, and a little fear, even as for the most part, she is smiling and smiling beautifully.

That's another thing about this screen test. Compared to her high-tension work in The Birds and especially in Marnie, Tippi Hedren in this screen test is very natural, much more pretty than in the two movies(something about more modern hair and make-up, and much, MUCH happier looking. Its too bad Hitchcock needed her for such dark roles -- you can see the beauty she was and the more light roles she could have had -- Shirley Jones roles.

And yet it feels that as much as Tippi Hedren tries to seem natural and happy and smiling...Hitchcock and Balsam keep her off guard, reduce her to silence, nervousness. It just has to be seen to get the "vibe" -- its not a good one, these two middle-aged men ordering this young beauty around and occasionally making the snide sexual remark.

And then comes the moment when Hedren is directed to walk to the couch, put her head close to Balsam's...and kiss him. Martin Balsam was handsome enough then(as Arbogast attests), but he wasn't John Gavin or Rod Taylor or Sean Connery, and it looks quite a bit wrong for Hitchocck to "force' Hedren to kiss Balsam.

The TV movie "The Girl" staged this screen test with a man as Balsam who was older and more ugly; its not THAT bad, in real life but it still feels wrong. And though the footage isn't on The Birds DVD, I've seen other screen test footage in which Hitchcock has Hedren and Balsam recreate the kissing scenes from Notorious and To Catch a Thief and again -- it looks wrong with Balsam in for Cary Grant. Balsam looks a little embarrassed, too -- but it must have been a fun gig to kiss Hedren.

[–] ecarle (14979) 5 years ago

Hitchcock's flying in of Martin Balsam all the way from New York to do this screen test tells us that Hitchcock must have been impressed with Balsam's work on Psycho, must have found him to be a true professional with some of the new-found "Method tricks of the trade" at his command(he was Actor's Studio) and certain improv skills -- which work in Psycho(because he and Perkins have lines to play with) but rather fail Balsam in this screen test where he has to make it all up as he goes along.

But it is still weird when Hitchcock has Balsam re-enact the intimate kissing scenes with Hedren...you would think that Hitchcock would have wanted to provide Hedren with a younger, more handsome man just to get the chemistry right. But HItchocck evidently was never very comfortable with his handsome younger leading men(after Cary Grant's generation, at least.)

On a positive note, it is rather fun to see "Arbogast back from the dead" in the person of 1962 Balsam, to see the rappoir between Hitchcock and Balsam ("OK, take over, Marty") and best of all, to see Balsam insult Hitchcock just a little in putting Hedren on the spot, "So what do you think of Hitch, Tippi?" "Oh, he's very nice." "No, he isn't...c'mon, you can be honest. Everybody already knows" (Hedren gets nervous.) "Everybody knows the truth about Hitch..he's not a nice man at all." This is BALSAM , saying these things. Hitchcock eventually shuts this discussion down and asks Hedren to do something else. Still, fun to watch: Balsam is kidding around -- or is he?

[–] ecarle (14979) 5 years ago

I've always felt that, yes, Hitchcock probably SAID things to Hedren that were way out of line, and yes, worked against her having a movie career. (Of course, he's the one who GAVE her a movie career.) But there is the other group of actresses who said he was great, fine, lovable. I won't even say "who knows" I'll say, yes, it was probably bad for Tippi. This screen test footage suggests just HOW bad it was -- but on the other hand, these were the hoops a beautiful unknown had to jump to get a lead in a big movie, and Balsam (in his own way) is just as much on the spot as Hedren(he has to "deliver" acting talent in accord with Hitchcock's requests.)

By the way, I've never seen it, but the records show that a couple of years later, Hitchcock tested ANOTHER pretty actress, Claire Griswold, the same way -- and used Simon Oakland(the psychiatrist from Psycho) as the man in the test. Yet again, a reliance on a Psycho cast member who had shown skill; yet again, a middle-aged, not terribly handsome man assigned to intimately kiss a beautiful young woman. Weird -- I'm guessing Hitchcock just didn't want to direct handsome young men kissing HIS women (Claire Griswold married "Alfred Hitchcock Hour" director Sydney Pollack, who became one of the most successful movie directors in Hollywood; Claire stayed his wife to his death.)

Anyway, this screen test (again its on The Birds DVD) is worth a look at "real Hollywood." And as a "Psycho matter," it is: Arbogast -- the Sequel.