The Birds (1963)

Ethel Griffies: Mrs. Bundy

Photos 

Quotes 

• Traveling Salesman at Diner's Bar : Gulls are scavengers, anyway. Most birds are. Get yourselves guns and wipe them off the face of the earth!

  Mrs. Bundy, elderly ornithologist : That would hardly be possible.

  Deke Carter - Diner Owner : Why not, Mrs. Bunty?

  Mrs. Bundy, elderly ornithologist : Because there are 8,650 species of birds in the world today, Mr. Carter. It is estimated that 5,750,000,000 birds live in the United States alone. The five continents of the world...

  Traveling Salesman at Diner's Bar : Kill 'em all. Get rid of the messy animals.

  Mrs. Bundy, elderly ornithologist : ...probably contain more than 100,000,000,000 birds!

• Sebastian Sholes, fisherman in diner : Hell, maybe we're all getting a little carried away with this. Admittedly a few birds did act strange, but that's no reason to...

  Melanie Daniels : I keep telling you, this isn't 'a few birds'! These are gulls, crows, swifts...!

  Mrs. Bundy, elderly ornithologist : I have never known birds of different species to flock together. The very concept is unimaginable. Why, if that happened, we wouldn't stand a chance! How could we possibly hope to fight them?

• Sam the Cook : What's the matter? Is something wrong out here?

  Mrs. Bundy, elderly ornithologist : We're fighting a war, Sam.

  Sam the Cook : A war, against who?

  Sebastian Sholes, fisherman in diner : Against birds!

• Mrs. Bundy, elderly ornithologist : It is mankind, rather, who insists upon making it difficult for life to exist upon this planet.

• Mrs. Bundy, elderly ornithologist : Birds have been on this planet, Miss Daniels, since Archaeopteryx; a hundred and forty million years ago. Doesn't it seem odd that they'd wait all that time to start a - a war against humanity?

• Sam the Cook : Al, why weren't you over at the school where the attack was?

  Deputy Al Malone : Because I just got back from Dan Fawcett's place, that's why.

  Mitch Brenner : He was killed last night by birds!

  Sam the Cook : What?

  Deputy Al Malone : Now, hold it, Mitch. You don't know that for a fact.

  Mrs. Bundy, elderly ornithologist : What are the facts, Mr. Malone?

  Deputy Al Malone : The Santa Rosa Police think it's a felony murder. They think a burglar broke in, killed him.

  Mitch Brenner : How do you explain the dead birds all over the floor?

  Deputy Al Malone : Santa Rosa Police figure they got in after the old man was killed.

  Mother in Diner : Were the Santa Rosa Police at your school today?

• Mrs. Bundy, elderly ornithologist : Birds are not aggressive creatures, Miss. They bring beauty to the world.

• Mitch Brenner : I think we're in trouble. I don't know how this started or why; but, it's here and I we'd be crazy to ignore it.

  Mrs. Bundy, elderly ornithologist : To ignore what? The bird war?

  Mitch Brenner : Yes, the bird war! The bird attack, plague, call it what you like, they're massing out there someplace and they'll be back, you can count on that!

  Mrs. Bundy, elderly ornithologist : Ridiculous!