Famous Players-Lasky Corporation
Starring: Tula Belle, Robin Macdougall, Lillian Cook, Tom Corless, Charles Ascot
Directed by: Maurice Tourneur
Synopsis: A striking, silent film version of the stage play which finds sister and brother Mytyl (Tula Belle) and Tyltyl (Robin Macdougall), the children of a poor but happy woodcutter and his wife, sent upon a mission to find the Bluebird of Happiness by Fairy Berylune (Lillian Cook.) As companions they become acquainted with the souls of the items surrounding them in their everyday life; the cat (Tom Corless), the dog (Charles Ascot), Fire, Water, Bread, Sugar, Milk and Light.
Kitty Cameo: While the cat is a main player in the tale (and, as in all versions of the story, the only one who doesn’t want to help the children succeed in their mission) we only see the cat in its original form for a brief period at the beginning of the movie. The cat is first seen on the kitchen table peeking into a pitcher.
The dog barks at the cat, causing it to hiss and assume a defensive pose.
Finally Tyltyl pulls the cat off the table. Tom Corless does an excellent job of portraying the Cat in human form, and the special effects in this film are very artistically achieved. Well worth watching, especially if you like this story!
Final Mewsings: Cats don’t prefer to accompany children on long, arduous quests. And the world is round.
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