Bill and Coo

19481948
ApprovedApproved
1h 1m

IMDb RATING

5.5/10

286

YOUR RATING

Musical Family Fantasy

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!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!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!

IMDb RATING

5.5/10

286

YOUR RATING

- Dean Riesner
- Royal Foster(screenplay)
- Dean Riesner(screenplay)
- Ken Murray(idea)
Stars

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Awards
- 1 win

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Top cast

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Burton's Birds

Bill
(as George Burton's Love Birds)
…

Jimmy the Crow

The Black Menace
(as Curley Twiford's Jimmy the Crow)

George Burton

George Burton (Prologue)

Elizabeth Walters

Elizabeth Walters (Prologue)

Ken Murray

Ken Murray (Prologue)

Pinto Colvig

Singer
(uncredited)

- Dean Riesner
- Royal Foster(screenplay)
- Dean Riesner(screenplay)
- Ken Murray(idea)
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The players are real birds dressed like humans.

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

Soundtracks
Hum a Little Tune
Music by David Buttolph and Lionel Newman
Lyrics by Royal Foster
Sung by a chorus during the opening credits
Also sung when night falls on Chirpendale

User reviews16

Review

Featured review

9/10

Worthy Oscar Winner

This film received a special Oscar for "patience and persistence." Not so remarkable in these days of CGI, but astonishing back then. There must have been bushels of outtakes, but the final story works fine with its many avian actors. The town of Chirpendale is rife with puns (such as a burlesque theater that features "beautiful gulls"), and some of the action seems a bit strange, but the story flows. The reason to see the film is to behold the "acting" of the incredibly trained birds.

Later animal films, such as "The Adventures of Milo and Otis" are more realistic, but the fantasy world of Chirpendale is internally consistent, and a lot of fun to visit.

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