Portrait of Jennie
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| Portrait of Jennie | |
|---|---|
 Movie poster. |
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| Directed by | William Dieterle |
| Produced by | David O. Selznick David Hempstead |
| Written by | Paul Osborn Peter Berneis (screenplay) Leonardo Bercovici (adaptation) Robert Nathan (novel) |
| Starring | Jennifer Jones Joseph Cotten |
| Music by | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| Cinematography | Joseph H. August |
| Editing by | William Morgan |
| Distributed by | Selznick Releasing/MGM |
| Release date(s) | December 25, 1948 |
| Running time | 86 min. |
| Country | US |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Portrait of Jennie is a 1948 fantasy film based on the novella by Robert Nathan.
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[edit] Synopsis
The film tells the story of an impoverished painter in New York City, who meets a fey little girl in Central Park wearing old-fashioned clothing. He makes a lovely sketch of her from memory which involves him with an art dealer who is impressed with his work. This inspires him to paint a portrait of her - the "Portrait Of Jennie." He later falls in love with her, when she soon transforms into a mysterious young woman, as she has seemed to age a few years each time he meets her. It was directed by William Dieterle and produced by David O. Selznick.
[edit] Cast
- Jennifer Jones as Jennie Appleton
- Joseph Cotten as Eben Adams
- Ethel Barrymore as Miss Spinney
- Lillian Gish as Mother Mary of Mercy
- Cecil Kellaway as Matthews
- David Wayne as Gus O'Toole
- Albert Sharpe as Moore
- Henry Hull as Eke
- Florence Bates as Mrs. Jekes
- Clem Bevans as Capt. Cobb
[edit] Production
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 New York shooting enabled Selznick to use Albert Sharpe and David Wayne who were both appearing on stage in Finian's Rainbow, giving an Irish flair to characters and the painting in the bar that wasn't in Nathan's novel.
As Portrait of Jennie was a fantasy, Selznick insisted on filming on actual Massachusettes (The Graves Light) and New York City locations such as Central Park, The Cloisters, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art as opposed to studio sets that dramatically increased the films production costs.[1] 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, except for the Selznick logo. All of the other credits appear at the end. Before the film proper begins, the title is announced by the narrator (after delivering a spoken prologue, he says, "And now, 'Portrait of Jennie'").
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 film is notable for Joseph August's remarkably atmospheric cinematography, capturing the lead character's almost drugged obsession with Jennie, amongst the environs of a wintry New York. August shoots many of the scenes through a canvas making the scenes look like actual paintings. August, who used many lenses from silent film days[2] shortly died after completing the film.
Also remarkable is Dimitri Tiomkin's masterful uses of themes by Claude Debussy, including Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, Arabesque No 1, Arabesque No. 2, Nocturnes Nuages and Sirenes, and La fille aux cheveux de lin with the addition of Bernard Herrmann's "Jennie's Theme" to a song featured in Nathan's book ("Where I came from, nobody knows, and where I am going everyone goes"), utilizing an electronic musical instrument called a theremin, driving the film along. August's and Tiomkin's contributions add greatly to the film's ethereal quality. Herrmann was the assigned the original composing duties to the film but left during its extended shooting schedule.
A scene that features in the original screenplay of Jennie and Adams having a picnic after witnessing the ceremony in the convent was filmed but deleted when it looked as if Jennie's hair was blending into a tree she was photographed in front of. The scene that featured Jennie doing a dance choreographed by Jerome Robbins took over 10 days to film.[3]
[edit] Differences between the novel and the screenplay
Though closely following Nathan's novella but set in 1934, there are several differences. In the novella, all the characters can see Jennie; in the film only Adams can. The character of Arne, a friend and fellow artist of Adams who appeared in both Nathan's work and an original draft of the screenplay is left out of the completed film.[4] The characters of Gus and the publican were made Irish to accommodate David Wayne and Albert Sharpe from the play of Finian's Rainbow. The mural that Adams painted in the book was one of a riverside picnic with someone noticing that Adams had subconsciously painted what looked like a drowned woman on the bank. The film provides a more thrilling climax where Adams attempts to save Jennie from the storm and tidal wave whilst the book has Jennie and Adams living simultaneously with Jennie being washed off an ocean liner as she returns from a trip to Europe.
[edit] Reception
When it was released in December of 1948, it was not a success, but today it is considered a classic in the genre.
The song, "A Portrait of Jennie", became a hit for Nat King Cole, though that song is never heard in the film.
Joseph Cotten's performance as Eben Adams won the International Prize for Best Actor at the 1949 Venice International Film Festival.
[edit] Radio program
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. [5]
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Cotton, Joseph Vanity Will Get You Somewhere iUniverse 2000
- ^ Thomson, David Showman: The Life of David O. Selznik Knopf 1992
- ^ Thomson
- ^ http://www.weeklyscript.com/Portrait%20Of%20Jennie%20(1948).txt
- ^ Terrace, Vincent [1999]. Radio Programs, 1924-1984:A Catalog of Over 1800 Shows. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0351-9.
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