Studio: 20th Century Fox
Running time: 100 minutes
The Blue Bird (1976)
Tyltyl and Mytyl, the children of a humble woodcutter and his wife, are sent to bed without supper after disobeying their mother. They awaken in the night and are lured outdoors by the sight of fireworks—a lavish festive party where wealthy children ice-skate and devour cakes is in full swing. They return home, dissatisfied with their lot, to find an old crone, looking for a blue bird, sitting by their fireside. The witch entrusts them with an enchanted pink diamond that illuminates the souls of people and things, and joined by a motley crew, they embark on a quest to find the elusive blue bird of happiness.
Elizabeth portrays four characters in this big-screen adaptation of Maurice Maeterlinck’s 1908 play: the Mother, Maternal Love, the Witch, and Light.
Cast
Mother/Maternal Love/Witch/Light: Elizabeth Taylor
Night: Jane Fonda
Luxury: Ava Gardner
Cat: Cicely Tyson
Father Time: Robert Morley
Oak: Harry Andrews
Tyltyl: Todd Lookinland
Mytyl: Patsy Kensit
Grandfather: Will Greer
Grandmother: Mona Washbourne
Dog: George Cole
Bread: Richard Pearson
The Blue Bird: Nadejda Pavlova
Sugar: George Vitzin
Milk: Margareta Terechova
Fat Laughter: Oleg Popov
Father: Leonid Nevedomsky
Water: Valentina Ganilaee Ganibalova
Fire: Yevgeny Schernbakov
Sick Girl: Pheona McLellan
Crew
Director: George Cukor
Executive Producer: Edward Lewis
Producer: Paul Maslansky
Screenwriters: High Whitemore, Alfred Hayes and Alexei Kapler
Based on the novel by: Maurice Maeterlinck
Cinematographers: Freddie Young and Ionas Gritzus
Production Designer: Brian Wildsmith
Art Director: Valery Urkevich
Set Decorators: Yevgeny Starikovtch, Edward Isaev and Tamara Polyanskaya
Music composed and conducted by: Irwin Kostal
Lyrics by Tony Harrison
Ballet music composed by Andrei Petrov
Editors: Ernest Walter, Tatyana Shapiro and Stanford C. Allen
Did You Know?
The Blue Bird, which was heralded as the first Soviet-American co-production, was plagued with problems, including “the language barrier, different moviemaking techniques, less sophisticated Russian equipment”. James Coco, who was originally cast as Tylo the dog, was forced to drop out of the film after suffering a gall bladder attack. (He was replaced by George Cole, who had appeared as Flavius in Cleopatra. Elizabeth would eventually work with Coco in the 1986 TV film There Must Be a Pony.) Elizabeth, suffering from amoebic dysentery and back problems, was hospitalized in London. “Elizabeth Taylor has been very ill, but a darling,” explained director George Cukor.
“I don’t know how I got into this mess in the first place,” Elizabeth told film critic and journalist Rex Reed after returning to the production. “I was told Shirley MacLaine and Jane Fonda were doing it. Meanwhile, they were being told I was doing it. So I was the first sucker to sign . . . The days of getting a million dollars a film are over. If this film isn’t a big success, I've wasted a year of my life and spent my own money instead of the usual expense money I get when I’m working. That’s why it’s in my interest to see that it’s made, so maybe I’ll see some money out of it.”
Elizabeth and legendary photographer Milton Greene were granted permission to take photographs of Elizabeth in one of her Blue Bird costumes before the imperial throne of Peter the Great in the Small Throne Room of the iconic Winter Palace. No sooner had the KGB left the room than Greene, in conspiratorial tones, whispered in Elizabeth’s ear, “Go sit on the throne.” Elizabeth happily complied, but Greene quickly realized there wasn’t adequate light. Greene hit on the idea of modifying a portable strobe with a napkin to diffuse the light source, but not quickly enough for Elizabeth’s liking, who was growing anxious. “Milti, for Christ’s sake, take the fucking picture,” she said. Greene was bathed in sweat by the time he finished snapping the photos he wanted.
Although no photographs have surfaced of Elizabeth actually sitting on the throne, one beautiful shot was used on the May 19, 1975 issue of People magazine.
The Premiere
The premiere of The Blue Bird was held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, on May 4, 1976.
