The scene on the Bus, when CG sat down next to the Lady with a couple of Birds in a cage, He had a quizzical look on His face, and Hitchcock was sitting to His left. I thought it might be some sort of reference to Hitch's other well known Film, "The Birds", but, wasn't that one done after this? I didn't see the joke.
shareYes, it was . . . they're love birds . . .
shareThe caged birds were a prison gag. He had just escaped the police. Had he been caught he would have shared their fate (behind bars). Your right "The Birds" movie came out after this film (8 years later) so the joke doesn't have anything to do with the film "The Birds". There have been threads about this in the past. Apparently, the majority of people who watch this movie just assume it's a birds reference, which it isn't, and miss the actual joke.
shareThanks for the clarification.
shareGood point although it's fair to say that The Birds reference could have been intended too. Hitchcock had the rights to the novella already after all, didn't he? A lot of his movies reference each other.
shareAgree. There might have been a second allusion as well, in that Robie had been known as "The Cat" (this is referenced also in the shots of a black cat immediately before and after the thefts early in the film). Cats, of course, prey on birds.
shareI wasn't too sure of the joke either. But another visual joke in this film that was repeated in 'The Birds' somewhat is the swaying of the passengers from side to side in the car chase. When Grace Kelly takes those bends at high speed. In 'The Birds,' the lovebirds sway from side to side in the car on the twisty road to Bodega Bay. That scene really is funny.
shareI love that scene. Both films feature a gorgeous gal driving like a bat (or bird) out of hell.
shareI am formerly known as HillieBoliday....Member since May 2006.
Definitely not a precursor to "The Birds,"....but what an unforgettable coincidence!
"OOhhhooo....I'M GON' TELL MAMA!"