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The Spectacle Maker (1934)
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Overview
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Release Date:
20 September 1934 (USA)
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Plot:
A parable about magic glasses involving on the nature of beauty, truth, good, and evil set in 17th Century Germany with music and Glorious Technicolor. Full summary » | Add synopsis »
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User Reviews:
schmaltzy and poorly acted but also pretty amazing for its Technicolor.
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Cast
(in alphabetical order) | Nora Cecil | ... | Duchess (uncredited) |
| Harvey Clark | ... | The Grand Duke (uncredited) |
| Cora Sue Collins | ... | The Little Princess (uncredited) |
| Nigel De Brulier | ... | The Man in Black (uncredited) |
| Sumner Getchell | ... | Lens Buyer (uncredited) |
| Angelo Rossitto | ... | Court Jester (uncredited) |
| Christian Rub | ... | Hans Schmidt (uncredited) |
| Douglas Scott | ... | Peter (uncredited) |
| William Tannen | ... | The Grand Duke as Seen thru the Magic Spectacle (uncredited) |
 | Robert Taylor | ... | The Duchess's Paramour (uncredited) |
Directed by | |||
| John Farrow | (as John Villiers Farrow) | ||
Writing credits | ||
| Frank Harris | (story "The Magic Glasses") | |
| John Farrow | (as John Villiers Farrow) | |
Original Music by | |||
| Herbert Stothart | (uncredited) | ||
Cinematography by | |||
| Ray Rennahan | |||
Art Direction by | |||
| Harry McAfee | |||
Art Department | |||
| Natalie Kalmus | .... | color art director: Technicolor | |
Music Department | |||
| Herbert Stothart | .... | music accompanist | |
| Herbert Stothart | .... | music arranger | |
| Wayne Allen | .... | orchestrator (uncredited) | |
Production CompaniesDistributors
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1934) (USA) (theatrical)
- Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
Additional Details
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Runtime:
21 min
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Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
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Company:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
Christian Rub's make-up and playing of Hans Schmidt in this film may have served as a model for Disney's depiction of Geppetto in PINOCCHIO. Rub also dubbed the character's voice in the 1940 animated feature.See more »
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | IMDb Drama section |
| IMDb USA section |
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An 
company.
This is one of several shorts from 1934 and produced by MGM that accompany the DVD for "Treasure Island". Turner Entertainment has been packaging their classic Warner Brothers and MGM films this way--making them nice values for the home viewers.
This is a film you watch less for the content and acting than for the amazing advancement it demonstrates--true full-color. Unlike the earlier Two-Color Technicolor and the competing Cinecolor, this early Technicolor film has a fuller spectrum of colors--making it REALISTIC compared to previous color films (which tended to look very green and orange). In fact, this DVD has a Cinecolor short as well--and the difference is staggering. The Technicolor is a bazillion times nicer! As for the story, it's a schmaltzy tale about a spectacle maker who is given assignments to make magical lenses that show only beauty and later one that shows only truth. The acting is at times god-awful and the story comes off almost like a nicely produced high school pageant! the only thing I will add is that the summary on IMDb is not quite correct (the initial person to come to the spectacle maker was NOT the man in black but one dressed in gold). But, considering it's all pretty dull, who really cares?! This film is best seen by cinephiles and serious film historians. Others will no doubt find it all pretty tedious.