Portrait of Jennie

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Portrait of Jennie is a 1948 fantasy film based on the novella by Robert Nathan. It tells the story of a painter who falls in love with a mysterious young woman who seems to age every time he meets her. It stars Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Ethel Barrymore, Cecil Kellaway and Lillian Gish. It was directed by William Dieterle and produced by David O. Selznick. The music was adapted by Dimitri Tiomkin from themes by Claude Debussy.

The book on which the film was based first attracted the attention of David O. Selznick who immediately purchased it as a vehicle for rising star Jennifer Jones. Filming began in early 1947 in New York City and Boston, Massachusetts but Selznick was unhappy with the results and scheduled re-shoots as well as hiring and firing five different writers before the film was completed in October of 1948. The film's major overhaul came when Selznick added a tinted color sequence for the final scenes. The final shot of the painting, appearing just before the credits, is in full Technicolor.

The movie is also unusual in that it may be the first sound film with actors not to have any opening credits at all, except for the Selznick logo. All of the other credits appear at the end.

When it was released in December of 1948, it was not a success but today it is considered a classic in the genre.

The portrait of Jennie (Jennifer Jones) was painted by artist Robert Brackman. The painting became one of Selznick's prized possessions and he displayed it in his home after he and Jones married in 1949.

The song, "A Portrait of Jennie", became a hit for Nat King Cole, but that song is never heard in the film.

A half-hour radio adaptation of the novel was presented in 1946 on CBS radio's misleadingly titled Academy Award Theater with Joan Fontaine and John Lund, two years before it was filmed. ^[1]

[edit] References

• 1. ^ Terrace, Vincent [1999]. Radio Programs, 1924-1984:A Catalog of Over 1800 Shows. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0351-9.