The Birds (1963)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Starring Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette, Ethel Griffies, Charles McGraw, Veronica Cartwright, Lonny Chapman, Karl Swenson, Ruth McDevitt. [PG-13]

Prim socialite Hedren doesn’t know about the strategy of playing hard to get, and follows well-proportioned dullard Taylor up the California coast to the small town of Bodega Bay to gift him some lovebirds, but before they get a chance to become lovebirds themselves, vicious flocks of wild birds start attacking the townsfolk without warning or explanation. Daphne du Maurier’s short story has been expanded into a full story to its detriment—neither Hedren nor Taylor rate much as performers here, and it’s much ado about nothing on the romance side since those scenes are so uninteresting and ultimately inessential. Hitchcock was wise to dish out the danger in slow increments, but trite soap operatics makes for unfulfilling fodder; the second half, however, is frequently tense and exciting, wavering gleefully between sheer terror and macabre humor (the diner waitress’ interjections are especially amusing—“Sam, three southern-fried chicken!”). Not first-rate Hitch, but well-worth watching, festooned with memorably eerie images of the growing threat, and the attack scenes are still gripping today. A made-for-television sequel was released in 1994 (considering that the director was credited as “Alan Smithee,” it’s almost guaranteed to be junk).

78/100