The Birds II
Following the malevolent attack on Melanie ('Tippi Hedron), Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) resumes his practice in San Francisco. Brenner's mom (Jessica Tandy) enrolls daughter Cathy (Veronica Cartwright) in an all-girls' school for daughters of sexually-repressed mothers. Melanie's rarely seen father (Sir Alfred, again) has the socialite sent to a remote sanitarium for recovery from her ordeal.
After several months of "institutionalization" have passed, Mitch pays Melanie a visit. With the doctor (Leo G. Carroll, a frequent player in Hitchcock films) granting permission, Mitch takes Melanie to the city for a visit.
The couple decides to dine at a Fisherman's Wharf eatery. While sitting patiently in the outside cafe, awaiting their meal, Melanie notices a solitary gull flying ominously in the air. The bird lights on the pier and emits a distinctive cry. Soon, the sky is littered with thousands of gulls, albatrosses, and pelicans, descending malevolently on the unsuspecting diners and other customers of the popular San Francisco landmark.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Brenner has just picked up Cathy from school, when, suddenly, hundreds of pigeons appear in the sky and attack the entire city. Mrs. Brenner and Cathy are trapped in the car but seek refuge in a nearby parking garage. Safe from harm's way, Cathy asks her mother about why Mitch is so much older than she, that the kids in school think that he should be her father, as opposed to her older brother. Thinking that this is the best time to tell the truth, Mrs. Brenner reveals that Mitch is really her younger brother and that Cathy is indeed Mitch's illegitimate daughter from his affair with the now deceased Annie Hayworth (Susan Pleshette).
Back across town, Melanie and Mitch hideout in the kitchen of the restaurant and find the same little old bird lady (Ethel Griffies) that offered her "wisdom" about birds in the original film. This time, however, she's not so sure that the birds don't have an ulterior motive in their attacks. She thinks that this is now a greater initiative, that the birds are tired of us eating them, encroaching on their nesting grounds, making oil spills, polluting the waters, and just being pains in the a****!
Because San Francisco is a major city, it doesn't take long before the military is called in, and it becomes a major offensive to take out these avian attackers. The commanding general (Charles McGraw, the fisherman in the original) uses all his military wiles to combat the adversaries, but to no avail. The birds are too many and have planned their attacks well.
Soon, San Francisco is theirs and becomes The City of the Birds, setting the stage for Beneath the City of the Birds, Escape from The City of the Birds, Conquest of the City of the Birds, and Battle for the City of the Birds.
Vertigo: The Sequel
After Judy (Kim Novak) meets her untimely death from the monastery chapel tower, Scotty (James Stewart) must face another hearing, inasmuch as he was present for a second fall resulting in a woman's death. Because of the testimony of the nun that witnessed the accident, Scotty is exonerated, only to be berated by the presiding judge (Henry Jones) for being "an unlucky charm, a bad omen, for any woman that happens to be in his presence."
Scotty becomes more reclusive, blaming himself again for "Madeleine's" death. Midge (Barbara bel Geddes) who has long held a torch for the detective, is determined to make things right. Now completely aware of Gavin Elster's (Tom Helmore) plan to do away with his wife, Midge crafts a plan to bring the shipping magnate to justice.
Midge has become financially successful, as a result of her invention of Playtex's "cross-your-heart" bra, and uses her wealth to her advantage. She gets a full makeover (boobs, rear, and hair) and becomes the spitting image of Judy/Madeleine.
She also gets voice lessons from an English tutor (Sir Alfred, in his trademark "cameo") and is able to mimic the deceased's voice perfectly.
With the aid of a hotel manager (Ellen Corby), she learns all that she can about "Madelaine". Midge also travels to Kansas where she learns all she can about "Judy".
Midge goes to every public appearance of Elster. She's present when Elster christens a new ship; she is seen in the opera box adjacent to his; she frequents his favorite restaurant, making sure that she is seen in full view by the murderous spouse.
Finally, Ulster "cracks" and decides to finally put an end to his never-dying wife. He follows Midge and boards the streetcar that she's on as she's heading home. Waiting for all the other passengers to depart, he confronts her, after having knocked out the driver. It is Ulter's intent to take Midge back to the terminal and terminate her. Through some twist of fate, the cable breaks, and through a harrowing ride down a steep hill, the two are engaged in a life-and-death struggle.
The streetcar careens down a hill, ultimately crashing into the side of a building, throwing Ulster onto the ground, immediately breaking his neck. Midge suffers only a few cuts and bruises.
She goes back to the sanitarium where Scotty has been for the past few months. When he sees his beloved "Madeleine," he is overjoyed, and as the strains of Bernard Herrmann's love theme play in the background, the pair embraces as the end credits roll.
Just a little over a month ago, I went to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. The collection of aquatic life is impressive and the facility shows the creatures in the most realistic setting possible, allowing visitors an opportunity that they would not get unless they were explorers of the oceans' depths.
