Oscar History
Film Bitch History
Welcome

The Film Experience™ was created by Nathaniel R. All material herein is written by our team. (This site is not for profit but for an expression of love for cinema & adjacent artforms.)

Follow TFE on Substackd

Powered by Squarespace
Keep TFE Strong

We're looking for 500... no 390 SubscribersIf you read us daily, please be one.  

I ♥ The Film Experience

THANKS IN ADVANCE

What'cha Looking For?
Subscribe
« Best Actress Happenings at TIFF | Main | TIFF: Bullied Girls and Violent Boys in Sweden »
Monday
Sep142015

Beauty vs Beast: Worth Two In The Bush

Jason from MNPP here swooping down from the sky with this week's "Beauty vs Beast" -- I am aware that this series has been heavy on the Hitchcock so far (we've previously covered Psycho and Marnie and Vertigo and Rebecca, oh my) but when I heard TFE was celebrating 1963 all month I could hardly let the chance go by to celebrate one of my fave Hitch flicks, The Birds, which has up til now slipped thru the cracks. (Flown the coop?)

The Birds also features one of the hardest choices we've asked of you so far, if you ask me - I can't be the only one who was rooting for Suzanne Pleshette's sad seaside school-teacher Annie, right? In fact I think it's why she had to [spoiler] go [end spoiler], before the "happy couple" of Melanie & Mitch could head off into the sunset. (A sunset covered with murderous birds, natch.) Although, truer truth be told -- we were all just rooting for Melanie & Annie to ditch Mitch and take off together. Admit it! Well unfortunately that's not your choice today...

PREVIOUSLY Last week marked the 30th anniversary of Smooth Talk, with Laura Dern and Treat Williams playing out Joyce Carol Oates' sexual psychodrama, and y'all came down on the side of Dern, Dern, determinedly Dern, with a full 65% of your vote. We'll give today's quote to Nathaniel cuz why not:

"I saw it years and years ago in my first flush of Laura Dern obsession (so it must have been around Wild at Heart time frame. She's soooo good in it."

PrintView Printer Friendly Version

EmailEmail Article to Friend

Reader Comments (14)

If nothing else, I'd listen to Suzanne's sultry cigarette voice over Tippi's flat tinny tones any day.

September 14, 2015 | Unregistered Commenterrick gould

I always get this lesbian vibe from the Annie character and always forget that she had dated Mitch earlier. I guess she's just forlorn but she seems tough throughout the film. The actor Mario Cantone has a funny bit on THE BIRDS where he blames the school attack on that anoying song the kids are singing. "Fuckity Suckity Lickity Clittity Now Now Now"

September 14, 2015 | Unregistered Commentersissyinhwd

Pleshette was smoking hot in that movie- she really should have been a bigger movie star

September 14, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterJaragon

I voted for Annie. Poor Tippi. She played two of the most unsympathetic Hitchcock 'heroines.'

September 14, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterRobMiles

I always felt bad for poor Melanie Daniels who really didn't do anything yet gets blamed for bringing the bird attacks by crazy luncheonette lady but Annie Hayworth is the obvious pick. She's just wonderful across the board.

September 14, 2015 | Unregistered Commenterjoel6

Has anyone seen Pleshette in Rome Adventure? The movie is more of a travelogue than anything else but she was such a delight to behold...that voice, the face, etc.

September 14, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterJans

Always Pleshette.

September 14, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterPaul Outlaw

You've gotta wonder just how good in bed Rod Taylor is that you would uproot your life to become a schoolteacher in a small seaside town just to be near him.

At least, I know I wonder how Rod Taylor was in bed. Not much of an actor, but a whole lot of beefcake there.

Oh, uh, topic: Team Annie. Unrequited love is the hardest one of all.

September 15, 2015 | Unregistered Commenterforever1267

Annie all the way.

September 15, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterTroy H.

I must confess that I don't really 'get' the love for Pleshette in this film. She's fine, looks great, delivers a salty line or two. But does she make me feel anything?

Team Melanie - a bit aloof and she's the movie's villain all of a sudden!

Would everyone who voted Pleshette have picked her over Tandy?

September 15, 2015 | Unregistered Commenterkermit_the_frog

I voted for Tippi last time, so team Annie all the way. But yes Kermit the Frog, I would have pick Tandy if the choice was given.

September 15, 2015 | Unregistered Commentertom

Pleshette plays my favorite character in this film. With everyone else teetering on the edge of hysteria, she conveys a calm, measured presence that is a consequence of a crushing sadness. Almost as if not even a force of nature--a flurry of birds--can lift away.

September 15, 2015 | Unregistered Commenterbrookesboy

kermit_the_frog - If I had the choice, I'd pick the birds.

September 16, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterRobMiles

Wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

December 26, 2021 | Unregistered Commenteradviser
Member Account Required
You must have a member account to comment. It's free so register here.. IF YOU ARE ALREADY REGISTERED, JUST LOGIN.