Bovie Movie

1963’s The Sword in the Stone is Disney’s animated take on Arthurian legend. In the midst of the Dark Ages, when England has no rightful ruler, a sword imbedded in a stone mysteriously appears in a London churchyard, bearing the inscription “Whoso pulleth out the sword of this stone and anvil is rightwise king born of England.” Scores of would-be kings travel to London to attempt the feat and thereby claim the throne. They all fail. Years later, in the English countryside, an 11-year-old squire nicknamed Wart (Rickie Sorensen) is devotedly helping his incompetent foster brother, Kay (Norman Alden), train to become a knight, when he meets the great magician Merlin (Karl Swenson). The well meaning, but absentminded, wizard declares himself Wart’s mentor and claims that he will lead the boy to his destiny. Spirited and full of spunk, Wart (whose real name is Arthur) approaches Merlin’s lessons with the same determination that he applies to Kay’s hopeless training and to the monotonous chores he is assigned by his guardian. He soon finds himself accompanying Kay to London for a jousting tournament that will determine England’s new king. There, Wart forgets to bring Kay’s weapon to the joust, but finds an abandoned sword in a nearby churchyard — which he effortlessly pulls out of a stone.

The story begins as an innocuous romantic triangle involving wealthy, spoiled Tippi Hedren, handsome Rod Taylor, and schoolteacher Suzanne Pleshette. The human story begins in a San Francisco pet shop and culminates at the home of Taylor’s mother (Jessica Tandy) at Bodega Bay, where the characters’ sense of security is slowly eroded by the curious behavior of the birds in the area. At first, it’s no more than a sea gull swooping down and pecking at Tippi’s head. Things take a truly ugly turn when hundreds of birds converge on a children’s party. There is never an explanation as to why the birds have run amok, but once the onslaught begins, there’s virtually no letup.