The Birds (1963)

Hitchcock's follow-up to Psycho (1960) was yet another ground-breaking addition to the horror genre and further revealed the master director's darker obsessions, particularly his recurring interest in bird imagery. Loosely based on a Daphne du Maurier short story, the action is set in Bodega Bay and follows bored, spoiled socialite Melanie Daniels (Hedren) as she romantically pursues dashing lawyer Mitch Brenner (Taylor). Tension soon develops among Melanie, schoolteacher Annie Hayworth, Mitch's former flame (Pleshette), and Mitch's domineering mother (Tandy). The emotional interplay is interrupted (and reflected) by the sudden and unexplained attack of thousands of birds on the area.

Hailed as one of Hitchcock's masterpieces by some and despised by others, The Birds is certainly among the director's more complex and fascinating works. Volumes have been written about the film, with each writer picking it apart scene by scene in order to prove his or her particular critical theory--mostly of the psychoanalytic variety. Be that as it may, even those who grow impatient with the slow build-up or occasional dramatic lapses cannot deny the terrifying power of many of the film's haunting images: the bird point-of-view shot of Bodega Bay, the birds slowly gathering on the playground monkey bars, the attack on the children's birthday party, Melanie trapped in the attic, and the final ambiguous shot of the defeated humans leaving Bodega Bay while the thousands of triumphant birds gathered on the ground watch them go.

Cast:

Performer, Character

Rod Taylor, Mitch Brenner

Tippi Hedren, Melanie Daniels

Jessica Tandy, Lydia Brenner

Suzanne Pleshette, Annie Hayworth

Veronica Cartwright, Cathy Brenner

Ethel Griffies, Mrs. Bundy

Charles McGraw, Sebastian Sholes

Ruth McDevitt, Mrs. MacGruder

Joe Mantell, Salesman

Doodles Weaver, Fisherman

Production Credits:

Producer, Alfred Hitchcock

Director, Alfred Hitchcock

Screenwriter, Evan Hunter (based on the story by Daphne du Maurier)

Editor, George Tomasini

Cinematographer, Robert Burks

Composer, Bernard Herrmann