You can watch this with ads on the free streaming service tubi right here:
https://tubitv.com/movies/611065/the-blue-bird
It's certainly an interesting piece of film history. A response to The Wizard of Oz that failed and turned Shirley Temple into a has-been at eleven. Worth seeing at least once.
Who the hell would WANT to?
A MASSIVE flop and ended Temple's box office career.
Embarrassingly cheap attempt to recreate the success MGM had with The Wizard Of Oz the year before.
And I mean cheap in every way. The ONLY thing they spent money on was the color film stock.
Have you seen it or just read about it?
The scene with the grandparents was worth the price of admission.
I saw it (reluctantly) in the late 70's on a PBS station and I will never forget how disappointed I was.
The backdrops were TERRIBLE, the music even worst and Temple, at 11yrs old, did not have the talent to convey being a much younger child. (Unlike Garland who pulled it off despite having a full bust.) I found this in the trivia comments which explains my biggest disappointment.
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"Although this is widely considered to be Fox's attempt to replicate the success of M-G-M's big 1939 hit "The Wizard of Oz", the makers of the film make wrong choices at almost every turn, starting with the look of the film. Where "Oz" had colorful, fantastical sets and costumes, and was so vibrant looking as to be arguably over-lit, this film features drab, muted colors, low key lighting and an overall palette that looks depressing by comparison."
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Also I find is interesting that at this time the Nazi's were controlling much of Europe and banning most foreign films. I would gamble the execs. at FOX were hoping it would be selected to play because of it's Arian association. This was not uncommon at the time.
Well that's the nice thing about movies, everyone can watch them and make their own opinion.