Boiled to death: The odd fear of Alfred Hitchcock
One of the first directors to become a household name the world over, Alfred Hitchcock’s habit of crafting a litany of the greatest thrillers ever made is only part of the reason why he became such a well-known celebrity during his career behind the camera.
Being the mastermind behind The 39 Steps, The Lady Vanishes, Suspicion, Rear Window, Psycho, Vertigo, North by Northwest, and countless others certainly helped, but his constant presence in the public eye as a master of self-promotion, his pioneering marketing tactics, fondness for a background cameo, and popular role as host of anthology series Alfred Hitchcock Presents helped make him one of the most recognizable figures in Hollywood regardless of profession.
Nerve-shredding tension, frantically-paced narratives, jolts of spine-tingling terror, and a willingness to push his performers to the physical brink all became intrinsic aspects of his on-screen oeuvre, which makes it all the more curious that Hitchcock was constantly haunted by the mere prospect of an egg.
Ovaphobia is something that a lot of people suffer from, but hearing the purveyor of silver screen thrills and game-changing slashers describing the abject horror he felt whenever he was even in proximity to the humble egg is undeniably fascinating, and he even spelt it out in typically loquacious fashion.
Speaking to Oriana Fallaci, Hitchock couldn’t have made his stance any clearer: “I’m frightened of eggs. Worse than frightened – they revolt me,” he said. “That white round thing without any holes, and when you break it, inside there’s that yellow thing, round, without any holes… Brr!”
Continuing to rail against the innocent organic vessels, Hitchcock asked: “Have you ever seen anything more revolting than an egg yolk breaking and spilling its yellow liquid?” Strangely, even though he had no issues with blood because it was “jolly, red,” eggs were deemed “yellow, revolting.”
Claiming that he’d never so much as tasted one on account of its gooey innards it makes The Birds all the more impressive in hindsight. Hitchcock wrangled thousands of them at various points during production in addition to using trained birds and mechanical creations, but he somehow managed to escape without being confronted by his greatest fear.
Given Tippi Hendren’s recollections of being harassed and put in harm’s way when shooting the 1963 classic, evidently, she wasn’t armed with the knowledge that a simple egg would have been enough to put Hitchcock in his place.
There’s no shame in having a phobia, but that doesn’t make it any less bizarre that somebody who gained a place in cinema folklore for delivering some of the most unforgettable thrills the medium has ever seen – and directed a feature quite literally titled The Birds – was so petrified of eggs that he swore off them for his entire life.
