''Trick of the Eye'' (also known as ''Primal Secrets'') is a 1994 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

psychological thriller film thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting. In terms of context and convention, it ...

starring

Ellen Burstyn Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Emmy A ...

and

Meg Tilly Meg Tilly (born Margaret Elizabeth Chan on February 14, 1960) is an American-Canadian actress and writer. For her role in the 1985 film '' Agnes of God'', she won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting A ...

. Directed by Ed Kaplan, it is based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Jane Stanton Hitchcock. The film originally premiered on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

as a presentation of ''CBS Sunday Afternoon Showcase'' on October 23, 1994.

Plot

Faith Crowell (Meg Tilly) is a struggling bohemian artist who is commissioned to paint a mural for wealthy, reclusive socialite widow Frances Griffin (Ellen Burstyn). Frances wants Faith to paint murals all over the ornate walls of the abandoned ballroom of her ostentatious 211-acre estate. The theme of the mural is to be the grand entrance of Frances' daughter Cassandra at her debutante ball, which also happens to be the night Cassandra mysteriously died. Faith soon begins receiving expensive gifts from Frances, which she enjoys but doesn't understand why. Before long, Faith starts picking up on several uncanny resemblances between herself and the dead Cassandra. Eventually, she is invited to live in Frances' mansion until the mural is complete, and she discovers a painting of Cassandra and sees the haunting resemblance.

Cast

as Frances Griffin *

as Faith Crowell *

Barnard Hughes Bernard “Barnard” Aloysius Kiernan Hughes (July 16, 1915 – July 11, 2006) was an American TV, theater, and film actor. Hughes became famous for a variety of roles: his most notable came after middle age, and he was often cast as a dith ...

as Harry Pitt *

Paxton Whitehead Francis Edward Paxton Whitehead (17 October 1937 – 16 June 2023) was an English actor and theatre director. He was nominated for a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for his performance as Pellinore in the 1980 revival of '' Camelot''. Whiteh ...

as Deane * Alastair Duncan as Simon *

Romy Rosemont Romy Rosemont (born October 28, 1964) is an American actress, who has appeared in multiple television series, including ''Shark'', ''Grey's Anatomy'', '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', ''Prison Break'', and '' Private Practice''. She got her br ...

as Cathy Newman

Production

''Trick of the Eye'' was shot from August 8 to August 31, 1994 at

Huntington Library The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington and Arabella Huntington in San Marino, California, United State ...

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

Home video releases

In July 1995, the film was released under the alternative title ''Primal Secrets'' on

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

and

LaserDisc LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA Inc., MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United State ...

by Hallmark Home Entertainment and

Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 34 ...

. On January 25, 2010, it was released as ''Primal Secrets'' on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

Echo Bridge Home Entertainment Echo Bridge Entertainment was an American independent distribution company. It acquired and distributed feature films, scripted and non-scripted series, documentaries, and children's programming for home video, digital and television in the Unit ...

References

''Trick of the Eye'': Miscellaneous Notes
at TCM (1994).
Picks and Pans Review: Trick of the Eye
by ''

People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

'' magazine (October 24, 1994).
''Trick of the Eye/Primal Secrets''
at LaserDisc Database (1995)
''Trick of the Eye/Primal Secrets''
at

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

External links

* * 1994 films 1994 television films 1994 psychological thriller films 1990s mystery thriller films American psychological thriller films American mystery thriller films CBS films Films set on Long Island Films shot in California Films with screenplays by John Gay (screenwriter) 1990s American films American mystery television films {{US-tv-drama-film-stub