Birds Do It
Encyclopedia
Birds Do It is a 1966 comedy
movie that was made by Columbia Pictures
and filmed at the Ivan Tors
Studios in Miami. It stars Soupy Sales
in his film debut as a leading man, Tab Hunter
, Arthur O'Connell
, Edward Andrews
and Beverly Adams
. Although shown very rarely on television
, the movie is now available for online order in bare-bones DVD format through Sony's Columbia Classics line.
laboratory headed by Major General Smithburn (Andrews) with his security officer the bumbling Lt. Porter (Hunter) who is captured and impersonated by an enemy double from the same organisation attempting to kill Byrd.
The head scientist Professor Waid (O'Connell) has employed Byrd due to his excellent janitorial skills as Waid blames American space program failures on dust that caused disasters. Byrd parodies the Ajax "stronger than dirt" white knight commercial when cleaning the base.
Waid's secret project is developing an ionisation process initially to be tested on a chimpanzee
(Daktari
s Judy the Chimp) that would make the subject capable of anti-gravity
with a side effect that not only gives him the ability to fly, but makes him "the most attractive man" on earth! When General Smithburn leads a Congressional delegation who are in Florida due to European junkets being cancelled, Byrd hides in the ionisation machine leading him to be ionised. In addition to the being unable to stay in the ground Byrd must fight off the attentions of a Congresswoman (Doris Dowling
) and Waid's daughter Claudine (Adams) as well as the assassins.
), Flipper, director Andrew Marton
as himself and a Cary Grant
impersonator played by Ray Anthony
.
Star Soupy Sales
has been vocal in his dislike for this particular film.
The special effects of Byrd flying are in the style of the Hertz rent a car adverts of the time with one sequence features Byrd being attacked by sky divers in a sequence reminiscent of the pre credits sequence of Moonraker
with Byrd's stunt double wearing a parachute under his sport coat.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
movie that was made by Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
and filmed at the Ivan Tors
Ivan Tors
Ivan Tors was a Hungarian playwright, film director, screenwriter, and film and television producer with an emphasis on non-violent but exciting science fiction, underwater filmed television and films, and films about animals...
Studios in Miami. It stars Soupy Sales
Soupy Sales
Soupy Sales was an American comedian, actor, radio-TV personality and host, and jazz aficionado. He was best known for his local and network children's television show, Lunch with Soupy Sales; a series of comedy sketches frequently ending with Sales receiving a pie in the face, which became his...
in his film debut as a leading man, Tab Hunter
Tab Hunter
Tab Hunter is an American actor, singer, former teen idol and author who has starred in over forty major films.-Background:...
, Arthur O'Connell
Arthur O'Connell
Arthur O'Connell was an American stage and film actor. He appeared in films in 1941 and television programs...
, Edward Andrews
Edward Andrews
Edward Andrews was an American actor, one of the most recognizable character actors on television and films between the 1950s and the 1980s...
and Beverly Adams
Beverly Adams
Beverly Adams is a Canadian-born actress and author.-Early life and career:Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Adams moved to Burbank, California as a child. As a teen, she competed in and won beauty contests before becoming an actress. During her career, Adams appeared in various guest roles in television...
. Although shown very rarely on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, the movie is now available for online order in bare-bones DVD format through Sony's Columbia Classics line.
Plot
The films opens with a series of unsuccessful assassination attempts by an unknown organisation with their target being Melvin Byrd (Sales). Byrd is a janitor in a NASANASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
laboratory headed by Major General Smithburn (Andrews) with his security officer the bumbling Lt. Porter (Hunter) who is captured and impersonated by an enemy double from the same organisation attempting to kill Byrd.
The head scientist Professor Waid (O'Connell) has employed Byrd due to his excellent janitorial skills as Waid blames American space program failures on dust that caused disasters. Byrd parodies the Ajax "stronger than dirt" white knight commercial when cleaning the base.
Waid's secret project is developing an ionisation process initially to be tested on a chimpanzee
Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
(Daktari
Daktari
Daktari is an American children's drama series that aired on CBS between 1966 and 1969. The series, an Ivan Tors Films Production in association with MGM Television, stars Marshall Thompson as Dr. Marsh Tracy, a veterinarian at the fictional Wameru Study Centre for Animal Behaviour in East...
s Judy the Chimp) that would make the subject capable of anti-gravity
Anti-gravity
Anti-gravity is the idea of creating a place or object that is free from the force of gravity. It does not refer to the lack of weight under gravity experienced in free fall or orbit, or to balancing the force of gravity with some other force, such as electromagnetism or aerodynamic lift...
with a side effect that not only gives him the ability to fly, but makes him "the most attractive man" on earth! When General Smithburn leads a Congressional delegation who are in Florida due to European junkets being cancelled, Byrd hides in the ionisation machine leading him to be ionised. In addition to the being unable to stay in the ground Byrd must fight off the attentions of a Congresswoman (Doris Dowling
Doris Dowling
Doris Dowling was an American actress of film, stage and television.After her time as a chorus-girl on Broadway, Detroit-born Doris Dowling followed her elder sister Constance to Hollywood. Her first credited film role was that of Gloria, barfly and drinking companion to fellow alcoholic Ray...
) and Waid's daughter Claudine (Adams) as well as the assassins.
Production
Producer Ivan Tors filmed at his Miami studios with cameos provided by Dean Martin (Columbia's Matt HelmMatt Helm
Matt Helm is a fictional character created by author Donald Hamilton. He is a U.S. government counter-agent—a man whose primary job is to kill or nullify enemy agents—not a spy or secret agent in the ordinary sense of the term as used in spy thrillers.-The character and the series:The...
), Flipper, director Andrew Marton
Andrew Marton
Andrew Marton was a Hungarian-American director, producer and editor...
as himself and a Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
impersonator played by Ray Anthony
Ray Anthony
Ray Anthony is an American bandleader, trumpeter, songwriter and actor.- Biography :...
.
Star Soupy Sales
Soupy Sales
Soupy Sales was an American comedian, actor, radio-TV personality and host, and jazz aficionado. He was best known for his local and network children's television show, Lunch with Soupy Sales; a series of comedy sketches frequently ending with Sales receiving a pie in the face, which became his...
has been vocal in his dislike for this particular film.
The special effects of Byrd flying are in the style of the Hertz rent a car adverts of the time with one sequence features Byrd being attacked by sky divers in a sequence reminiscent of the pre credits sequence of Moonraker
Moonraker (film)
Moonraker is the eleventh spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The third and final film in the series to be directed by Lewis Gilbert, it co-stars Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Corinne Clery, and Richard Kiel...
with Byrd's stunt double wearing a parachute under his sport coat.