Our Feathered Friends

Rating: 10/10 (30 December 1998)

"THE BIRDS",Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 classic,is my second favorite film by the Master of Suspense ("Psycho" being the best,of course). Spoiled rich girl Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren,looking as beautiful as the radiant Janet Leigh did in "Psycho") follows potential boyfriend Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) to Bodega Bay,California,a small fishing village near San Francisco,where our feathered friends begin to viciously attack the town's denizens. The supporting cast is excellent: Jessica Tandy as Mitch's clinging mother Lydia,Suzanne Pleshette as local schoolteacher Annie Hayworth,and a very young Veronica Cartwright as Mitch's kid sister Cathy (Hitch's screenwriting collaborators always created rich characterizations). The special effects,for the time,were very impressive,and Hitch's direction of the bird attacks is superb. An interesting note: upon viewing the movie again recently (I try to watch it once a year),I noticed that there is no musical score...the sound effects are strictly confined to the birds! The film's only flaw...why did Tippi Hedren have to wear that green dress for most of the film?! Otherwise,a classic! **** A+ (10/10)