The Blue Bird (1940 film)
| The Blue Bird | |
|---|---|
.jpg)
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by | Walter Lang |
| Produced by | Darryl F. Zanuck |
| Written by |
Screenplay: Ernest Pascal Walter Bullock Play:The Blue Bird (1908) Maurice Maeterlinck |
| Starring |
Shirley Temple Spring Byington Nigel Bruce |
| Music by | Alfred Newman |
| Cinematography |
Arthur C. Miller Ray Rennahan |
| Edited by | Robert Bischoff |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
|
Release date
|
January 19, 1940 |
|
Running time
|
88 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Blue Bird is a 1940 B&W and Technicolor American fantasy film directed by Walter Lang. The screenplay by Walter Bullock was adapted from the 1908 play of the same name by Maurice Maeterlinck. Intended as 20th Century Fox's answer to MGM's The Wizard of Oz, which had been released the previous year, it was filmed in Technicolor and tells the story of a disagreeable little girl (played by Shirley Temple) and her search for happiness.
Despite being a box office flop and losing money, the film was later nominated for two Academy Awards. It is available on both VHS and DVD.
The setting is Germany in the late 18th century. Mytyl (Shirley Temple), the bratty and ungrateful daughter of a woodcutter (Russell Hicks), finds a unique bird in the Royal Forest and selfishly refuses to give it to her sick friend. Mother (Spring Byington) and Father are mortified at Mytyl's behavior. That evening, Father is called on to report for duty the next morning in an unspecified war. That same night, Mytyl is visited in a dream by a fairy named Berylune (Jessie Ralph) who sends her and her brother Tyltyl (Johnny Russell) to search for the Blue Bird of Happiness. To accompany them, the fairy magically transforms their dog Tylo (Eddie Collins), cat Tylette (Gale Sondergaard), and lantern ("Light") into human form. The children have a number of adventures: they visit the past (meeting their dead grandparents who come to life because they are being remembered), have a scary adventure in the forest, experience the life of luxury, and see the future, a land of yet-to-be born children. The dream journey makes Mytyl awake as a kinder and gentler girl who has learned to appreciate all the comforts and joys of her home and family. In the morning, Father receives word that a truce has been called and he does not have to go to war.
...
Wikipedia