Boston Globe (29/Nov/1998) - Camille Paglia takes flight with "The Birds"

Details

• article: Camille Paglia takes flight with "The Birds"
• author(s): Betsy Sherman
• newspaper: Boston Globe (29/Nov/1998)
• keywords: Alfred Hitchcock, Bodega Bay, California, British Film Institute, Camille Paglia, Daphne du Maurier, Evan Hunter, Jessica Tandy, Marnie (1964), Rod Taylor, San Francisco, California, Suzanne Pleshette, The Birds (1963), Tippi Hedren

Article

Camille Paglia takes flight with "The Birds"

Camille Paglia has been giving "The Birds" a great deal of thought. The outspoken cultural critic and professor of humanities at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia has written a volume about the (Alfred) Hitchcock thriller for the British Film Institute's Film Classics series. "The Birds" by Camille Paglia weaves lore about the making of the movie with an author-guided tour from the film's disturbing opening credits to its chilling climax.

Paglia makes a convincing case that the suspense classic's interpersonal drama is as rich as its interspecies warfare angle. An unabashed booster of Hitchcock, the author also breaks with convention by championing star Tippi Hedren, the model whom Hitchcock discovered and cast in "The Birds" and "Marnie." (Hedren, never a critical favorite, left acting and established a lion preserve outside of Los Angeles.)

"The Birds" comes from a story by Daphne du Maurier, which was transformed by Hitchock and screenwriter Evan Hunter. Their adaptation centers on Melanie Daniels (Hedren), a San Francisco socialite who has a tensely flirtatious encounter with lawyer Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) at a pet shop. As a prank/courtship rite, Melanie sets out to surprise Mitch with a present of lovebirds for his kid sister. Mitch spends weekends at Bodega Bay with his sister and widowed mother (Jessica Tandy). Also in the cozy town is teacher Annie Hayworth (Suzanne Pleshette), Mitch's ex-girlfriend who carries a torch for him. Over the course of a weekend, unexplained attacks by birds escalate into a near-apocalyptic spectacle.