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Film Bulletin (01/Apr/1963) - Them 'Birds' is Causing Quite a Stir in the Land

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Them 'Birds' is Causing Quite a Stir in the Land

The birds is here. Really. At least, 2 pounds, 5 ounces of showmen's promotional material has arrived on every editor's desk. Everybody's beginning to hear the maddening noise of their flapping wings. And someone saw a feather floating through the air the other day.

Universal's boxofficers are cannonading theatremen, the press and all other communications media with tons of "Birds" fodder contained in a kit. Aside from such familiar items as press releases and the slogan "The Birds is coming ", the "Birds" kit contains showmanship suggestions of every stripe and feather. Some of them: a "birds' hairdo by Monsieur Albert; pigeon pageants for local pigeon fanciers; a Hitchcock caricature contest; maze puzzles and crossword puzzles; talking birds trained to cry, "The Birds is coming"; contests of various kinds; bird call records for lobby use; a Hitchcock record for lobby use; a bird mask for the kiddies.

The premiere at New York's RKO Palace and Sutton theatres, features a race of 1,000 homing pigeons. For the past week or so, actor Basil Hoffman has been feeding birds in front of the Palace wearing a "Birds is coming" sweatshirt, while the Sutton is featuring bird sculpture in the lobby. Prominent in pre-release publicity is Ray Berwick, bird trainer and technical adviser to the film, who has been active in press, radio and television appearances.

Meanwhile, national exploitation head Herman Kass announced that 19 fieldmen have been assigned to carry through the intensive "Birds'" campaign in the New York area and 35 other key city openings.