Trick of the Eye

Trick of the Eye (also known as Primal Secrets) is a 1994 American made-for-television psychological thriller film starring Ellen Burstyn and Meg Tilly. 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 as a presentation of CBS Sunday Afternoon Showcase on October 23, 1994.

Trick of the Eye
Genre	Mystery Thriller
Based on	Trick of the Eye by Jane Stanton Hitchcock
Written by	John Gay Ken and Jim Wheat
Directed by	Ed Kaplan
Starring	Ellen Burstyn Meg Tilly Barnard Hughes Paxton Whitehead Alastair Duncan
Music by	Allyn Ferguson
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producer	Richard Welsh
Producers	David A. Rosemont Brent Shields
Production location	Pasadena, California
Cinematography	Shelly Johnson
Editor	Sabrina Plisco-Morris
Running time	95 minutes
Production companies	Signboard Hill Productions Hallmark Entertainment
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	October 23, 1994 (1994-10-23)

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

• Ellen Burstyn as Frances Griffin
• Meg Tilly as Faith Crowell
• Barnard Hughes as Harry Pitt
• Paxton Whitehead as Deane
• Alastair Duncan as Simon
• Romy Rosemont as Cathy Newman

Production

Trick of the Eye was shot from August 8 to August 31, 1994 at Huntington Library in Pasadena, California.

Home video releases

In July 1995, the film was released under the alternative title Primal Secrets on VHS and LaserDisc by Hallmark Home Entertainment and Image Entertainment.

On January 25, 2010, it was released as Primal Secrets on DVD by Echo Bridge Home Entertainment.

References

1. Trick of the Eye: Miscellaneous Notes at TCM (1994).
2. Picks and Pans Review: Trick of the Eye by People magazine (October 24, 1994).
3. Trick of the Eye/Primal Secrets at LaserDisc Database (1995)
4. Trick of the Eye/Primal Secrets at Amazon

External links

• Trick of the Eye at IMDb
• Trick of the Eye at the TCM Movie Database
• Trick of the Eye at AllMovie