I'm not sure that keeping crows and ravens as pets is legal in this day and age but I have heard of them being kept and I'm sure it was more common back then. They are considered to be intelligent and long-lived birds, much like parrots, and I guess potentially made good pets.

I always assumed there was an unspecified back story to Uncle Billy's raven - perhaps he rescued it and raised it from a chick - it certainly appeared to be tame and trusting.

That's very interesting, and I agree it appeared fully tame and of good disposition. I noticed that also Uncle Billy has a young (looks small, though quite a bit larger than baby size) squirrel walking around on his desk at one point.

I have seen this film more times than almost any other and don't recall ever spotting a squirrel - I shall look for it on my inevitable Christmas Eve viewing!

The squirrel moment lasts only for something like maybe 10-15 seconds, and is in seems like probably roughly the middle one-third of the movie. Uncle Billy is at or just beyond his desk, and you can see the young squirrel walking on I believe it's the left side of his desktop. I seem to recall that Billy is on his phone at the time, though am not sure about that.

That was no ordinary bird. That was Jimmy the Raven aka Jimmy the Crow. Jimmy's first role was in You can't take it with you then Capra brought him in on IAWl, as well as every film Capra made untill Jimmy passed away in the early fifties. Jimmy landed on the Scarecrows shoulders in The Wizard of Oz and appeared in hundreds of other films. He was one of the smartest movie animals around and could respond to dozens of words.

@genplant29 said:

The squirrel moment lasts only for something like maybe 10-15 seconds, and is in seems like probably roughly the middle one-third of the movie. Uncle Billy is at or just beyond his desk, and you can see the young squirrel walking on I believe it's the left side of his desktop. I seem to recall that Billy is on his phone at the time, though am not sure about that.

The squirrel comforts him, so cute, is like a little hug, because he couldn't find the money... At that moment Billy is at his home with George. George got mad and left. You can see the space is full of different animals, suggesting he loves animals, reflecting his kindness.

Yeah this kind of freaked me out when I sat down & watched the film a few years back. A pet raven.