The Blue Bird (1918)

Director:

Maurice Tourneur

Writers:

Maurice Maeterlinck (play) and
Charles Maigne (writer)

Release Date:

31 March 1918 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy

Plot:

Two peasant children, Mytyl and Tyltyl, are led by Berylune, a fairy, to search for the Blue Bird of Happiness...

Plot Keywords:

Happiness | Bird | Diamond | Bread | Fairy

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Tula Belle	...	Mytyl
Robin Macdougall	...	Tyltyl
Edwin E. Reed	...	Daddy Tyl
Emma Lowry	...	Mummy Tyl
William J. Gross	...	Grandpa Gaffer Tyl
Florence Anderson	...	Granny Tyl
Edward Elkas	...	Widow Berlingot
Katherine Bianchi	...	Her daughter
Lillian Cook	...	Fairy Berylune
Gertrude McCoy	...	Light
Lyn Donelson	...	Night
Charles Ascot	...	Dog
Tom Corless	...	Cat
Mary Kennedy	...	Water
Eleanor Masters	...	Milk

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Filming Locations:

Fort Lee, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Famous Players-Lasky Corporation

Movie Connections:

Remade as Sinyaya ptitsa (1970)

Overcoming Age

There seem to be only a few directors of cinéma's infancy whose films are worth attention; Maurice Tourneur is one of them. His films may not always be the most entertaining, but most of his films that I've seen contain something that interests me. 'Alias Jimmy Valentine,' for example, has major story problems, but the heist scene is outstandingly filmed for 1915. Here, too, the allegorical messages (the bluebird is happiness and such) are too sappy at times, but then there's an inspired shot or something else innovative.

The dark, flickering transfer of a deteriorated, bleeding print surely takes away from much of the visual qualities of this picture, but some of the photography and the colour tinting shines through. Tourneur had some preparation for the dreamland journey of this film with the dream climax in 'The Poor Little Rich Girl' of the previous year. The wonder and imagination of a child are well affected. Despite its age, the film's best element is still apparent; I think that is its awareness. Perhaps, most obviously, this film is comparable to 'The Wizard of Oz' (1939), but more so to the 1914 trilogy, which Baum produced. The animal costumes are especially reminiscent, as are the cheap, but nice-looking backdrops and sets. Showing even more awareness are the trick shots in the way of a Méliès fantasy and the final shot where the boy turns to the camera and directly addresses the audience concerning the film's parable. So, to an extent, Tourneur overcomes the wear of age and the kiddy bluntness of the allegory.