The Spectacle Maker

The Spectacle Maker
The Spectacle Maker
	Film Poster
Directed by	John Farrow
Screenplay by	John Farrow
Based on	The Magic Glasses; 1913 story; by Frank Harris
Starring	Nora Cecil
Cinematography	Ray Rennahan
Music by	Herbert Stothart
Production; company	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	1934;
Running time	21 mins
Country	United States
Language	English

The Spectacle Maker is a 1934 short film directed by John Farrow and starring Nora Cecil. It was Farrow's directorial debut.^[1] It was filmed in full three-strip Technicolor.

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

Nora Cecil as Duchess
Harvey Clark as The Grand Duke
Cora Sue Collins as The Little Princess
Nigel De Brulier as The Man in Black
Sumner Getchell as Lens Buyer
Angelo Rossitto as Court Jester (uncredited)
Robert Taylor as The Duchess's Paramour

References

^ King, Susan (15 October 2006). "Movies; ON DVD; A 'Treasure Island' that's well worth digging up". Los Angeles Times. p. E.10. ProQuest 422104502.

External links

The Spectacle Maker at IMDb
The Spectacle Maker at the TCM Movie Database

This short film–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] King, Susan (15 October 2006). "Movies; ON DVD; A 'Treasure Island' that's well worth digging up". Los Angeles Times. p. E.10. ProQuest 422104502.

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