Bill and Coo
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Dean Reisner
George Burton's Love Birds
Curly Twiford's Jimmy The Crow
George Burton
Elizabeth Walters
Ken Murray
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In the bird town of Chirpendale, Bill Singer, taxi driver and lovebird, daydreams about the day when he can afford to marry his fiancée, Coo. Coo's father, who owns the town's hotel, the Wrenrest, is one of Chirpendale's wealthiest residents, while Bill's mother lives modestly by doing washing and taking in boarders. At the town schoolhouse, Professor Plato Spoonville teaches his class that the world is shaped like an egg. Later, at a shop, a resident tries to pass a "bum chick," so Jeb Hawkshaw, the town sheriff, arrests him. Although Chirpendale's residents seem serene, in their hearts each harbors a deep fear of a killer crow known as "Black Menace," for whose capture the authorities have offered 500 berries. In the event that the crow attacks Chirpendale, Bill has developed a plan called "Operation Scarecrow," by which he will catch the crow using "Sur-Fyr" crow bait. After the Starling Bros. Circus parades into town, Bill and Coo share a quiet moment together. Suddenly, the Black Menace attacks Good Times Square, and the alarm is sounded. While residents rush into an underground shelter called the "'Fraid Hole," the Black Menace knocks over a streetcar. He then takes a match from Beatrice Fairfinch's match stick fence and lights the Wrenrest on fire. After some minutes, Bill and the fire engines arrive, and he bravely climbs the ladder to rescue Coo from the top floor. When he sees that his evil plan has been foiled, the Menace hastily retreats. The next morning, Bill reads an announcement in the Chirpendale Morning Sun stating that the entire town will gather that evening at the circus to honor him for his bravery. As evening approaches, the crowd is entertained outside the big top by an elaborate sideshow featuring baby monkeys, kittens, squirrels and other small animals in cages. Nearby, a sign warns, "WATCH OUT: Don't feed yourself to the animals." Just before the show, Bill and Coo arrive in a hot-air balloon and take their places inside. The show begins and the audience is thrilled by parakeets riding on the backs of hamsters and other birds performing high-wire acts. After a gymnastic performance by the "Revolving Nutcrackers," a motorcyclist known as "Cannonball Twitchet" attempts to break the 150 mph speed limit. Meanwhile, the Black Menace enters the town and begins stalking the deserted streets. From his position on the sidewalk, Johnny Lu, the town drunk, witnesses the Black Menace attack a movie theater full of patrons. Johnny rushes to the big top to warn Bill, who quietly slips through the crowd. Bill rushes to his trap, sets it and then fires a cannon to attract the crow's attention. After the Black Menace is captured and taken into custody, Bill rushes home to be with his beloved Coo.
Director
Dean Reisner
Cast
George Burton's Love Birds
Curly Twiford's Jimmy The Crow
George Burton
Elizabeth Walters
Ken Murray
Crew
Lew Brown
David Buttolph
David Buttolph
T. A. Carman
Buddy Desylva
Royal Foster
Royal Foster
Ray Henderson
Fred Malatesta
Jack Marta
Harold Minter
Ken Murray
Lionel Newman
Lionel Newman
Dean Riesner
Don Verk
Howard Wilson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
The players are real birds dressed like humans.
Notes
In the onscreen credits, songwriter Buddy DeSylva's surname was incorrectly spelled "DeSilva." The film's story idea came from an act that was included in Ken Murray's "Blackouts," which were popular stage shows in Hollywood. According to a 1954 Daily Variety news item, David W. Siegel co-produced this film with Murray, who provides a running narration. The picture won a "Special" Academy Award in 1947 for "novel and entertaining use of the medium of motion pictures." According to the Daily Variety item, Siegel acquired the distribution rights to the film in 1954 and planned to reissue it at that time. When the picture was shown on television in 1968, it was broadcast with twenty minutes of new introductory material provided by Murray. Aside from the prologue, in which Murray introduces the characters, the film is performed entirely by birds.
