Her chromium nerves and her platinum brain were chastely encased in cellophane…

Hans Richter, Dreams That Money Can Buy, 1947

Dreams That Money Can Buy
The Story
Joe, a young poet in a desperate mood, determines to capitalize on his unique gift for interpreting one’s inmost dreams. He settles down in a fancy office, selling to his clients whatever he molds from the material of their unconscious…

Fernand Léger suggested a film on “American Folklore.” The outcome is this heartbreaking love story between two dummies in a mechanized world. John Latouche interpreted it in terms of our popular songs.

Second dream: THE GIRL WITH THE PREFABRICATED HEART.
This episode is a playful satire on mechanical love-making. Mannequins of the type common in Grand Street shop windows embark on a sentimental affair. which so badly ruins the bride’s beautiful wedding gown that her amorous feelings are also spoiled. Libby Holman and Josh White accompany this ill-fated flirtation with a song by John Latouche which comments ironically in ballad fashion on “The Girl With the Prefabricated Heart.” The whole has the character of a ballet mechanique unfolding in the atmosphere of American folklore.

Oh Venus was born out of sea foam
Oh Venus was born out of brine
But a goddess today if she is grade A
Is assembled upon the assembly line

Her chromium nerves and her platinum brain
Were chastely encased in cellophane
And to top off this daughter of science and art
She was equipped with a prefabricated heart.

Arnold Eagle, Hans Richter on the film “Dreams That Money Can Buy” Set. With the Girl with the Prefabricated Heart Dummy, 1944

Arnold Eagle, Fernand Léger on Hans Richter’s “Dreams That Money Can Buy” Set, 1944

(The entire film can be seen here and here.)

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