Hurdy-gurdy Hungarian lowlands, but was the normal term for the instrument on Csepel island directly south of Budapest. The equivalent names "ninera" and "niněra" are used in Slovakia and the Czech Republic respectively. In Russian and Ukrainian the instrument is called "wheel lyre" ("колёсная лира", "колісна ліра"). In Poland it is called "cranked lyre" (lira korbowa). "Leier", "lant", and related terms today are generally used to refer to members of the lute or lyre family, but historically had a broader range of meaning and were used for many types of stringed instruments. In her overview of the instrument's history, Palmer recorded
The Actor's Children Picture Arts and Sciences film archives. The back story in the published synopsis differs from the actual production in a few aspects. When the organ grinder takes the children back to his hovel, the inter-title states they are forced to dance. In the synopsis, it states the children are instructed to dance to the hurdy-gurdy. The organ grinder does not play a hurdy-gurdy. In the published synopsis the parents are named Eugenie Freeman and Paul Temple. However, the letter the father receives is addressed to Paul Tilden. The letter informs him of Joseph Tilden's death and of the $100,000 inheritance.