''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 or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

psychological thriller film Psychological 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 co ...

starring

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

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 ...

. Directed by Ed Kaplan, it is based on the 1992 novel of the same name by

Jane Stanton Hitchcock Jane Stanton Hitchcock (born November 24, 1946) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. She has written several plays but is known mostly for her mystery novels ''Trick of the Eye'', ''The Witches' Hammer'', ''Social Crimes'', '' ...

. The film originally premiered on

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

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 Aloysius Kiernan Hughes (July 16, 1915 – July 11, 2006), known professionally as Barnard Hughes, was an American actor of television, theater and film. Hughes became famous for a variety of roles; his most notable roles came after mid ...

as Harry Pitt *

Paxton Whitehead Francis Edward Paxton Whitehead (born 17 October 1937) is an English actor, theatre director and playwright. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Acto ...

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 brea ...

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 (1850–1927) and Arabella Huntington (c.1851–1924) in San Mar ...

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, 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 commercial district. I ...

Home video releases

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

LaserDisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...

Hallmark Home Entertainment Hallmark Media (formerly Crown Media Holdings) is an American media production company with corporate headquarters located in Studio City, California, and is a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. Hallmark Media consists of Crown Media Productions and ...

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 340 ...

. 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 kin ...

Echo Bridge Home Entertainment Echo Bridge Entertainment is an American independent distribution company. It acquires and distributes feature films, scripted and non-scripted series, documentaries, and children’s programming for home video, digital and television in the United ...

References

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

People A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...

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

External links

* * * 1994 films 1994 television films 1990s psychological thriller films 1990s mystery thriller films American psychological thriller films American mystery thriller films CBS network films Films set in 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