10 Ways Horror Movies Got Scarier By Accident
9. The Phone Booth Glass Wasn't Supposed To Shatter - The Birds
Late in Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 suspense classic The Birds, protagonist Melanie (Tippi Hedren) ends up seeking refuge in a phone booth during the birds' attack, but her sanctuary is quickly disrupted once the birds attack the booth and smash one of the windows, prompting Mitch (Rod Taylor) to rescue her.
While there are disputed accounts of exactly how the scene was shot, there is a consensus that the booth was actually supposed to be fitted with shatterproof glass, ensuring that it wouldn't crack when the mechanical birds slammed into it.
But due to the prop department having no shatterproof glass available, regular glass was fitted without Tippi Hedren's knowledge, resulting in her legitimately terrified reaction as the shards of glass flew at her face and caused superficial cuts.
Hedren continues to insist to this day that Hitchcock had the glass swapped out to "punish" her for rejecting his romantic advances, though the claim has been disputed by several of those who worked on the film.
Either way, the shot of the bird flying into the glass and Hedren's subsequent, genuinely scared reaction only ramps up the scene's already pronounced sense of terror.