Socialite, Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren), is shopping in a pet store when she meets handsome Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), who is looking to buy a pair of Lovebirds for his younger sister’s birthday. He recognizes Melanie but jokingly pretends to mistake her for an assistant. Melanie gets even with a joke of her own. She buys the birds and delivers them herself to the quiet coastal town of Bodega Bay, where Mitch spends weekends with his sister and mother. Shortly after she arrives, she is attacked by a gull. Soon begins a series of bizarre and shocking attacks by a growing number of birds in the small town.

The Birds (1963), loosely based on the 1952 story of the same name by Daphne du Maurier, is another entry into the canon of classic films directed by the master, Alfred Hitchcock. Join us as we discuss the origins of the production, its top-notch cast, state-of-the-art (for the time) special effects, and the inspiration it’s been on other giants in the genre. Listen as Johnny Has the Keys visits the sleepy little Haven of Bodega Bay, where everyone knows their neighbor and people are turning up dead with ever-increasing shadows in the sky.
SHOW LINKS
- The Birds (1963)
- Original trailer
- Alfred Hitchcock
- Daphne Du Maurier
- Evan Hunter
- Tippi Hedren
- Rod Taylor
- Veronica Cartwright
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955-1962)
- Rebecca (1940)
- Psycho (1960)
- Food of the Gods (1976)
- Willard (1971)
- Kingdom of the Spiders (1977)
- Alien (1979)
- The X-Files (1993-2018)
- Night of the Living Dead (1968)
- The Mist (2007)
- 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Get Tim’s Book THE DEAD NEXT DOOR
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