Bill and Coo (1948)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Dean Riesner

Writers:

Royal Foster (screenplay)
Dean Riesner (screenplay)

Release Date:

28 March 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Musical | Family | Fantasy

Plot:

The feathered residents of Chirpendale are terrorized by an evil black crow by the name of "The Black Menace". But to the citizen's rescue comes a brave young taxi puller named Bill!

Plot Keywords:

Bird | Damsel In Distress | Circus | Raven | Fire

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Ken Murray	...	Ken Murray, in prologue
George Burton	...	George Burton, in prologue
Elizabeth Walters	...	Elizabeth Walters, in Prologue
Burton's Birds	...	Bill
Coo	...	Coo (as Burton's Birds)
Jimmy the Crow	...	The Black Menace (as Curley Twiford's Jimmy the Crow)

Runtime:

61 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Trucolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Certification:

Canada:G (Ontario) | Finland:S

Company:

Republic Pictures (I)

Trivia:

The players are real birds dressed like humans.

Movie Connections:

References Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)

Soundtrack:

An der schönen, blauen Donau, Op. 314 (On the Beautiful Blue Danube)

Don't make'um like this anymore--in fact, save for this one, they never did!

I first saw this in a theater when I was small. I remembered it always, and when I taught a "movie sleepers" class, I finally acquired it in 16 mm. It stars mostly birds, but other animals as well, all trained for "Bill and Coo", a unique love story. You must still retain a very young soul to really get into this. "Charming" is often a sticky, say-nothing word, but not in the case of "Bill and Coo". It charms the viewer, and astounds--how DID they get all those birds to do those things?! A person must see this to believe it, but children beware: Adults should not be allowed to view this unless in the presence of children.