Movie review: ‘The Birds’

I don’t usually review films considered as a classic, but today I’ll take a look at legendary director Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic “natural” horror film “The Birds.” I write “natural” because the villain(s) is(are) bird(s), not some psychotic maniac or reanimated creature or a supernatural being such as a werewolf or vampire. Although you might not consider a bird or birds as a real threat, Hitchcock makes this all too real and not much of a stretch of your imagination. “The Birds” is available on streaming platforms, so find it and watch it … for the acting, tension, but not all that much gore.

‘The Birds’
(1963; 119 minutes; rated PG-13; directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren and Suzanne Phleshette)

REAL TERROR FROM THE SKY; NOT A MANIAC IN SIGHT

A “horror” flick doesn’t have to be just mindless violence with a river of blood; a wheelborrow full of flesh; or special effects so gory it can make a medical examiner vomit. While there are solid examples of horror flicks with some depth (say the original “Scream” – click here to read my review – or “Terror Train” with Scream Queen Jamie Lee Curtis – click here to read my review), you won’t find any more solid in storytelling or anxiety than Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds.”

• CLICK here … for all my reviews of movies
• CLICK here … for a chronological list of my reviews
• CLICK here … for all my reviews of ‘007’ movies
• CLICK here … for all my reviews of sports movies
• CLICK here … for all my reviews of war movies
• CLICK here … for all my reviews of Christmas movies
• CLICK here … for all my reviews of horror movies

Of course, “The Birds” isn’t titled for obscene gestures in traffic today or an animation something “angry,” but it’s about the villain(s) that attack first from nowhere and then slowly gathering in a non-fictional small town in coastal northern California. The anxiety ratchets up seemingly with each passing minute after the first third of “The Birds” and has its denouement in eerie quiet.

With “The Birds,” you get stellar performances from just about everyone in the very thin cast, from Tippi Hendren in her first movie; to Jessica Tandy as an older woman worried about her adult son; to Suzanne Phleshette in a role much different than you probably remember her in her career on tee-vee; and a young Veronica Cartwright who would go on to bigger things in television drama. Only Rod Taylor, as the headlining star, get a grade of just “solid” for his effort when compared to the others’ work.

“The Birds” opens in San Francisco with Hedren, as socialite “Melanie Daniels,” in a pet shop specializing in birds, where she crosses paths with Taylor as attorney “Mitch Brenner.” Taylor recognizes Hedren because of a case in court involving the somewhat wild socialite and the two wind up in a somewhat sideways “meet cute” about birds and what birds Taylor was looking to acquire as a gift for his sister.

Well, one thing leads to another and Hedren buys lovebirds (which are actually a species of parrot) and finds out that Taylor has left town and was headed to his family’s farm in Bodega Bay (an actual city). She follows him to give him the lovebirds and she is the first victim when a single seagull attacks her while she’s in a boat having left from Taylor’s dock.

Along the way, she meets Phleshette, who plays “Annie Hayworth,” and you almost instantly realize she’s a former lover of Taylor. Phleshette gives an simply wonderful subdued effort that jumps out at you only after the movie has ended.

Of course, Hedren and Taylor hook up (no, not that way; it is a film in 1963, after all) and she meets both Taylor’s mother (Tandy as “Lydia Brenner”) and 11-year-old sister (Cartwright as “Cathy Brenner”)

Of course, the bird attacks become more and more frequent – from a children’s birthday party to a swarm that devastates Bodega Bay – and some begin to believe that it is the lovebirds that Hedren brought to town that has sparked the insanity and violence into seagulls, crows and other species of birds that make ominous lineups on telephone wires, buildings’ roofs and even children’s playground equipment.

The use of birds as both villain as well as symbolism was a brilliant form of cinema by Hitchcock. There is some blood; a lot of pecking; and one grisly scene where Tandy finds a farmer dead in his house with gruesome facial wounds.

OK, then! Let me take a look at some of the cast …

• 

  It’s unfortunate that Taylor’s solid performance doesn’t lead the effort by the cast. He’s good in a solid way, but doesn’t manage to elevate his character. In contrast, it is high praise today to even see a “solid” performance in cinema. Taylor offers a stolid exterior and does an adequate job of showing “Mitch’s” inner strength. A different actor might have brought something different to the role. I also liked Taylor in rom-com romp “The Glass Bottom Boat” with Doris Day (click here to read my review) and he was also in “Do Not Disturb” with Doris and is best remembered for 1960’s sci-fi classic “The Time Machine.” He was also in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” and the original 1961 “One Hundred and One Dalmatians.” A native of Australia, Taylor died at 74 of a heart attack in 2015, just four days shy of his 75^th

• 

  Hedren was in her first credited acting role in this one, which came 13 years after an uncredited part as “Ice Box Pretty Girl.” I’m not sure why the lapse and “starting” a career at age 33 with “The Birds,” but Hedren is simply marvelous as the socialite who was blamed for jumping naked into a fountain in Italy the year before. Hedren smoothly conveys the energy of a socialite, while projecting both intelligence and strength. She blends well in every scene with each set of actors from the pet shop to the town and into the homes of both Taylor and Pleschette. She would go on to a career that included the title role in Hitchcock’s “Marnie” with Sean Connery the year after this one, as well as “Roar” and a variety of tee-vee shows including an episode of “The Bionic Woman” in 1976.

• 

  A two-time Golden Globe nominee (not for this one) and four-time Primetime Emmy nominee, Pleschette gives the most interesting performance in this one. At one level she’s a school teacher, while at another the former lover of Taylor. She manages to be solid and somewhat implacable, while all the time projecting a smoldering side that bubbles beneath her surface. It is quite an impressive performance. Pleschette is best remembered for her work as “Emily Hartley” on “The Bob Newhart Show” (two nominations) and also earned a nomination for an episode in 1961 on tee-vee’s iconic “ Kildare.” She was also nominated for playing the title role in the tee-vee movie “Leona Helmsely: The Queen of Mean.” Pleschette died at 70 of respiratory failure in 2008.

• 

  An Oscar winner and nominee and a Golden Globe winner and three-time nominee (not for this one), Tandy is pitch-perfect as the controlling mother who is scared of losing her adult son to another woman. Tandy serves up just the correct of emotion in every scene and doesn’t waste a moment of her screen time. Both her Oscar and Globe wins are for playing the title role in “Driving Miss Daisy” with Morgan Freeman and you’ll also remember her work (and Oscar and Globe nominations) for “Fried Green Tomatoes” with Kathy Bates. A native of England, Tandy was also memorable in “Cocoon” and had just 66 acting credits since the first in 1932 before her death at 84 of ovarian cancer in 1994.

• 

  A three-time Primetime Emmy nominee, Veronica Cartwright was just shy of her 14^th birthday when “The Birds” had its premiere in March 1963. She does an excellent job playing the energetic and then scared 11-year-old and gets good screen time as Taylor’s sister. Cartwright is probably better remembered from two other classic horror films: “Alien” and the 1978 version of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” She was also in “The Witches of Eastwick” with Jack Nicholson and had an uncredited part as “bag lady” in the action-thriller “Speed” with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock.

I’m not a professional reviewer, so I can’t say what symbolism or motivations Hitchcock offered with “The Birds.” I’m sure there’s a message about evil rising, etc., but the film doesn’t end with the problem solved. The main characters quietly leave with the birds perched on just about every available surface and just watching them leave – just as modern horror flicks see the maniac or monster believed to be dead, but certainly is not down for the count.

At first, “The Birds” didn’t garner the accolades for Hitchcock or the film it would receive in later years and it is now considered one of the best suspenseful films of all time. “The Birds” was nominated for an Oscar for special effect and Hedren won a Golden Globe as “Most Promising Newcomer” (shared with Ursula Andress for the instant “007” classic “Dr. No” – click here to read my review; and Elke Sommer for “The Prize” with Paul Newman).

A five-time Oscar nominee (not for this one), Hitchcock is better remembered for “Psycho” with Anthony Perkins; “Rear Window” with James Stewart and Grace Kelly; “Spellbound” with Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck; and “Lifeboat” with Tallulah Bankhead (all earned him Oscar nominations). He was born in London in 1899 and died at 80 of renal failure in 1980 in Los Angeles.

“The Birds” was the fourth-ranked film at the U.S. box office in 1963, but online resources vary wildly in reporting the top 10 films of the year with some reporting that B didn’t even make the top 10. However, IMDb.com says “The Birds” was the fourth-ranked film after “Cleopatra” with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton; “How the West Was Won,” which was released internationally in 1962 and in the U.S. in 1963; and “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” with Spencer Tracy and Milton Berle. Here are the other films from 1963 that I’ve reviewed:

• “Beach Party” (iconic Frankie and Annette) – click here for my review
• “ No” (oustanding 007) – click here for my review
• “The Great Escape” (classic WWII flick) – click here for my review

Assorted cast and film notes (via IMDb.com):

• Taylor’s full birth name was Rodney Sturt Taylor (yes, that’s “Sturt”); Hedren’s full birth name is Nathalie Kay Hedren and she is the mother of film star Melanie Griffith; and Tandy’s birth name was Jessie Alice Tandy.
• Directly from IMDb.com: “Rod Taylor claims that the seagulls were fed a mixture of wheat and whiskey. It was the only way to get them to stand around so much.”
• Hitchcock has an uncredited appearance: He was walking a dog out of the pet shop at the beginning of the film.
• Where many films today (2026) have 20 or more producers, co-producers, assistant producers, line producers, etc., “The Birds” has one: Hitchcock was the producer.
• Directly from IMDb.com: “Alfred Hitchcock revealed on The Dick Cavett Show (1968) that 3,200 birds were trained for the movie. He said the ravens were the cleverest, and the seagulls were the most vicious.”
• “The Birds” aired on NBC in 1968 and was the highest rated movie shown on tee-vee until Love Story (1970) received a higher rating in 1972.
• Finally and directly from IMDb.com: “When audiences left the U.K. premiere at the Odeon, Leicester Square, London, they were greeted by the sound of screeching and flapping birds from loudspeakers hidden in the trees to scare them further.”

© Chuck Curry and A Gator in Naples, 2026
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without
express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner
is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that
full and clear credit is given to Chuck Curry and A Gator in Naples
with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.