Alfred Hitchcock described this 1963 horror shocker as “the most terrifying movie I have ever made.” Previous Plaza Classic Film Festival guest Tippi Hedren plays Melanie, a wealthy socialite who follows Mitch (Rod Taylor) to the small town of Bodega Bay. Suddenly and without provocation, birds of all types begin attacking the townspeople. For years since its release, no one has been able to figure out why the birds became so vicious. Some say they ate poisoned algae, others that it was revenge for man’s treatment of nature. One New Yorker writer recalled: “My parents dropped us off at a matinee, we had no idea what was coming – years later I was still having nightmares about being chased and pecked by flocks of birds. I knew if I stayed inside my house they could not get me.” The Birds was nominated for an Oscar for Best Special Effects. Hedren won the Golden Globe for Best New Star of the Year. Like many of Hitchcock’s films, it received mixed reviews when it was released, but is now considered a classic, ranked No. 7 on AFI’s list of Greatest Thrillers in American Cinema.
The Three Stooges’ comedy short A Plumbing We Will Go (1940) will open the show.
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