<Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $11.4 million </Td> </Tr> <P> The Birds is a 1963 American horror - thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on the 1952 story of the same name by Daphne du Maurier . It focuses on a series of sudden, unexplained violent bird attacks on the people of Bodega Bay, California over the course of a few days . </P> <P> The film stars Rod Taylor and Tippi Hedren, in her screen debut, supported by Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette and Veronica Cartwright . The screenplay is by Evan Hunter, who was told by Hitchcock to develop new characters and a more elaborate plot while keeping du Maurier's title and concept of unexplained bird attacks . </P> <P> In 2016, The Birds was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress, and selected for preservation in its National Film Registry . </P>

Who did alfred hitchcock originally want to cast as melanie daniels in the birds