''The Spectacle Maker'' is a 1934 short film directed by
John Farrow
John Villiers Farrow, KGCHS (10 February 190427 January 1963) was an Australian film director, producer, and screenwriter. Spending a considerable amount of his career in the United States, in 1942 he was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...
and starring
Nora Cecil
Nora Cecil (September 26, 1878 – May 1, 1951) was an English-born American actress whose 30-year career spanned both the silent and sound film eras.
Career
Stage
Cecil's career began on the stage, when she debuted in London at age 19 ...
. It was Farrow's directorial debut.
It was filmed in full
three-strip Technicolor
Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades.
Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...
.
Plot Summary
Once upon a time, Peter, a lame boy who requires a crutch to walk, dreams of being able to dance like all the other children. His grandfather, Hans Schmidt, the village's spectacle maker, is presented with an opportunity by a mysterious man who walks into his shop: make a lens that when looked through makes everything and everyone appear beautiful, in return for his shop being filled with gold. Hans wants to oblige if only to be able to fix Peter's leg, but first Hans has to learn what beauty actually is. In consulting with the wisest source he knows, Hans is able to produce such a lens which makes everything and everyone on the surface appear beautiful on the surface, and in return he is showered with gold. Another mysterious man comes forth explaining to Hans that the spectacle is deceitful in hiding the ugliness that hides underneath, and that he should produce a lens that should bring forth the truth to the surface. Hans, once again going through the process, does produce such a lens, however at the possible expense to his life as it does expose the ugliness of the souls of some important people, namely the Duke and Duchess. In the end, the truth, in its power, may set them all free.
Cast
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Nora Cecil
Nora Cecil (September 26, 1878 – May 1, 1951) was an English-born American actress whose 30-year career spanned both the silent and sound film eras.
Career
Stage
Cecil's career began on the stage, when she debuted in London at age 19 ...
as Duchess
*
Harvey Clark as The Grand Duke
*
Cora Sue Collins
Cora Susan Collins (born April 19, 1927) is an American former child actress who appeared in numerous films during the Golden Years of Hollywood.
Early life and career
Cora Susan Collins was born on April 19, 1927, in Beckley, West Virginia. S ...
as The Little Princess
*
Nigel De Brulier
Nigel De Brulier (born Francis George Packer; 8 August 1877 – 30 January 1948) was an English stage and film actor who began his career in the United Kingdom before relocating to the United States.
Biography
De Brulier was born in Frenchay, a ...
as The Man in Black
*
Sumner Getchell
Sumner Getchell (October 20, 1906 – September 21, 1990) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1926 and 1953. He was born in Oakland, California, and died in Sebastopol, California.
Partial filmography
* ' ...
as Lens Buyer
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Angelo Rossitto
Angelo Salvatore Rossitto (February 18, 1908 – September 21, 1991) was an American actor and voice artist. He had dwarfism and was 2'11" (89 cm) tall, and was often billed as Little Angie or Moe. Angelo first appeared in silent films oppo ...
as Court Jester (uncredited)
*
Robert Taylor as The Duchess's Paramour
References
External links
''The Spectacle Maker''at
IMDb
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, p ...
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1934 films
American short films
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer short films
American fantasy films
1930s fantasy films
Films directed by John Farrow
1930s American films
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