"The Blue Bird" 1940 - starring Shirley Temple, Twentieth Century Fox

I was a very little girl when I first saw this film. 

Shirley Temple was one of my Heroes. A tiny little girl who worked so hard, from the age of a babe to save her family during The Great Depression in the 1930's.

This adorable, brave, stoic, clever little girl acted, danced, sang and joked her way into the hearts of America and The World during the most terrible times. Shirley Temple certainly got into my heart and has always been an inspiration. Even when she transformed into Senator Shirley Black.

 I have always loved Blue Birds and they are a sign of good fortune. I think I saved my Blue Bird necklace given to me by my mummy when I was a tiny girl. I still love it, treasure it and wear it as an adult. I hope that I still have it to enjoy.

When my niece was four I gave her a set of blue bird earrings and necklace to treasure. She loves them. I didn't like them in the gold and we all have sterling silver pieces which we love.

This movie wasn't a hit, a flop actually and if I remember correctly was one of Shirley Temple's last films.

In a way this film and story changed my life. The idea that our souls chose our family was mind-blowing. From that moment I have always paid attention to the people who come into my life and I wonder why they have found me.

I love the idea that we each choose the Souls we have in our life, some of the most important ones, at least, before we are born. 

This movie holds a special place in my heart.

I hope that you enjoy this story and this Film as much as I did and always will,

 

 

The Blue Bird (1940 film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

 

The Blue Bird
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Walter Lang
Written by	Ernest Pascal Walter Bullock
Based on	The Blue Bird by Maurice Maeterlinck
Produced by	Darryl F. Zanuck
Starring	Shirley Temple Spring Byington Nigel Bruce
Cinematography	Arthur C. Miller Ray Rennahan
Edited by	Robert Bischoff
Music by	Alfred Newman
Distributed by	Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Release date	January 15, 1940
Running time	88 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$2 million

Johnny Russell (foreground), Eddie Collins, and Shirley Temple in a publicity photo for the film

The Blue Bird is a 1940 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 young 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.

Plot

The setting is Germany during the Napoleonic Wars. 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, Angela (Sybil Jason). Mother (Spring Byington) and Father are mortified at Mytyl's behavior. That evening, Father is called on to report for military duty the next morning. 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), escape a scary fire in the forest (caused by Tylette's lies to the trees in a treacherous attempt to make the children quit their journey), 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. The following morning, Father receives word that a truce has been called and he does not have to go to war, and Mytyl is inspired to give the unique bird (now discovered to be the eponymous Blue Bird she had sought throughout her journey) to Angela.