Alfred Hitchcock Hitchcock had intended to film "Marnie" first, and in March 1962 it was announced that Grace Kelly, Princess Grace of Monaco since 1956, would come out of retirement to star in it. When Kelly asked Hitchcock to postpone "Marnie" until 1963 or 1964, he recruited Evan Hunter, author of "The Blackboard Jungle" (1954), to develop a screenplay based on a Daphne du Maurier short story, "The Birds" (1952), which Hitchcock had republished in his "My Favorites in Suspense" (1959). He hired Tippi Hedren to play the lead role. It was her first role; she had been a model in New
Alfred Hitchcock filmography Code which at the time limited such scenes to three seconds. In 1948, Hitchcock directed "Rope" which starred James Stewart. The film was his first in Technicolor and is remembered for its use of long takes to make the film appear to be a single continuous shot. Three years later he directed "Strangers on a Train" (1951). Hitchcock collaborated with Grace Kelly on three films: "Dial M for Murder" (1954), "Rear Window" (1954) and "To Catch a Thief" (1955). For "Rear Window", Hitchcock received a nomination for Best Director at the Academy Awards. 1955 marked his debut on television as