Which 1963 Hitchcock film is set mainly around Bodega Bay, California? The Birds. This natural-horror film follows unexplained bird attacks that escalate around the Northern California communities of Bodega and Bodega Bay.
Tippi Hedren makes her screen debut as Melanie Daniels, a San Francisco socialite who visits Bodega Bay after meeting lawyer Mitch Brenner, played by Rod Taylor. Jessica Tandy plays Mitch's anxious mother, Lydia, and Suzanne Pleshette plays Annie Hayworth, Mitch's former partner.
The film was loosely based on Daphne du Maurier's 1952 story “The Birds,” but Hitchcock and screenwriter Evan Hunter substantially changed the setting, characters, and plot. The film's unexplained attacks create an intentionally unresolved threat: it never gives a definitive scientific or supernatural explanation for the birds' behavior.
Many exterior scenes were filmed around Bodega and Bodega Bay, although the opening sequence takes place in San Francisco. The production combined trained and mechanical birds with extensive optical effects, making the attack scenes one of Hitchcock's most technically demanding projects.