BIRDS, THE

(March 1963, U.S.)

Ah, finally! We begin with the first film in my collection by one of the greatest directors of all time! The man known as the "master of suspense", the great Alfred Hitchcock!

When I was a kid in the '70's, the annual airing (sometimes more than once) of THE BIRDS on WPIX-Channel 11 was a movie event to look forward to as much as THE TEN COMMANDMENTS on ABC-TV or THE WIZARD OF OZ on CBS-TV. As a kid, I knew very little about Alfred Hitchcock. I knew THE BIRDS and I'd already heard of the famous shower scene in PSYCHO. So naturally my first presumption about the man was that he was a maker of horror movies. I would discover later in life how wrong I was.

One of the key elements that makes a film like THE BIRDS frightening is that we are given absolutely no explanation whatsoever as to why the birds of Bodega Bay, California are suddenly attacking people. It starts with very little warning and it shows no signs of resolution even when the film is coming to an end. There is also no musical soundtrack to the film. There is only sound effects of the high-pitched wailing noises of crows, blackbirds and sea gulls when they strike at our fear of them. Keep in mind also that is not some cheap monster movie, either. Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren (Melanie Griffith's mother), Jessica Tandy and the rest of the supporting case are outstanding in their roles.

Now there are a couple of moments I'd like to focus on. The first one is a very visually frightening scene when Melanie Daniels (Hedren) is waiting outside the school and unbeknowst to her, the birds are slowly accumulating on the playground jungle gym behind her. She sees nothing, but the viewer does. You cringe and find yourself wanting to shout at her, "Look behind you, for God sakes!" Take a look...



(To make matters worse, you're forced to listen to an incredibly obnoxious song the children are singing inside the school.)

The second one is a scene at the end of the film when Melanie is being bandaged up by her new love interest (and hero of the film), Mitch Brennen (Taylor). As he helps her to sip some brandy, there is a look in her eyes that I cannot forget. They've only known each other two days, but as she stares into his eyes, you can tell that she has decided right there and then that she will love and honor this man forever. Like I said, it's only been two days but it's real nice to imagine love and devotion like that.

Some of my favorite scary films have taken place in quiet seaside communities; THE BIRDS, JAWS (1975) and THE FOG (1980) being three examples. For me, there is something extra frightening about the tranquility of that sort of community being threatened by a menacing force. You know, back in 2008, something like this actually happened to me. For about one hour a swarm of small birds mysteriously decided to encircle my house in the Hamptons. I was forced to go inside and wait until they left. Weird, huh?

Finally, since I'm not going to be getting up to another scary movie in the 'Bs' anytime soon, let me wish all my readers a very Happy Halloween to come!

Favorite line or dialogue:

Mother in Diner (to Melanie Daniels): "Why are they doing this? Why are they doing this? They said when you got here, the whole thing started. Who are you? What are you? Where did you come from? I think you're the cause of all this. I think you're evil! EVIL!!!"