Portrait of Jennie (1948)

A mysterious girl inspires a struggling artist.

Director:

William Dieterle

Writers:

Robert Nathan (from the book by), Paul Osborn (screen play)

Stars:

Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Ethel Barrymore

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jennifer Jones	...	Jennie Appleton
Joseph Cotten	...	Eben Adams
Ethel Barrymore	...	Miss Spinney
Lillian Gish	...	Mother Mary of Mercy
Cecil Kellaway	...	Matthews
David Wayne	...	Gus O'Toole
Albert Sharpe	...	Moore
Henry Hull	...	Eke
Florence Bates	...	Mrs. Jekes (landlady)
Felix Bressart	...	Pete
Clem Bevans	...	Capt. Cobb
Maude Simmons	...	Clara Morgan

Storyline

Eben Adams is a talented but struggling artist in Depression era New York who has never been able to find inspiration for a painting. One day, after he finally finds someone to buy a painting from him, a pretty but odd young girl named Jennie Appleton appears and strikes up an unusual friendship with Eben.

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Plot Keywords:

artist | reference to will rogers | reference to sarah bernhardt | cape cod massachusetts | death of parents | 

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Taglines:

ARE YOU IN LOVE THIS WEEK? If you are - you'll get a double thrill from this most romantic of all love stories about a man who was in love with a girl who lived twenty years before his time. If you aren't - it may change your ideas on the subject for the rest of your life.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Fantasy | Mystery

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 April 1949 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tidal Wave

Filming Locations:

Graves Light, Boston Harbor, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,041,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Selznick Studio,Vanguard Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

3 Channel Stereo (1956) (5.0) (L-R) Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White (green tint and sepia tone for final reel, excluding last shot) Color (Technicolor) (final shot)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film essentially marked the end of David O. Selznick's career as a powerhouse Hollywood producer, and he often regretted having embarked on the project (although it received many good reviews and has always been popular on television). The film went steeply over budget and its schedule became extremely elongated. Location shooting in New York proved immensely difficult, and Selznick kept insisting on script rewrites, mostly undertaken by himself. He quarreled with many key crew members, even firing his long-time editor and assistant Hal Kern - this was a movie he regretted immediately and ever after. Bernard Herrmann resigned as composer for the film because he had to move on to other projects, whilst the cameraman Joe August actually died on the set in September of 1947. There were also many re-takes after the end of the main shooting period and the last shot was taken over a year after August's death in October of 1948, just a couple of months before the film's opening. It had actually cost more than Selznick's most famous film, "Gone With The Wind", despite being much smaller in scale and less than half the length. It flopped at the box-office, following another expensive Selznick failure, "The Paradine Case"; he was forced to wind up his production company and made only one more film in his life, almost a decade later. This was the remake of "A Farewell To Arms" - another flop.

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Goofs

Whilst talking to Eke, Eben is standing on the left of the screen. After a close-up shot of Eke, Eben is on the right.

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Quotes

Jennie Appleton: I wish that you would wait for me to grow up so that we could always be together.

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Crazy Credits

The film opens with a book entitled THE PAINTINGS OF EBEN ADAMS with the inside page headed PORTRAIT OF JENNIE

Dated 1934

H · 30: W · 25 INCHES

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Connections

References Thunder Rock (1942)

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Soundtracks

Arabesque No. 1 in E
(uncredited)
Music by Claude Debussy
Adapted by Dimitri Tiomkin
Heard as background music and during closing credits

User Reviews

Portrait Of Jennie

I had only seen this film only the once,until recently and I recall it was on a rainy Sunday afternoon. I only started watching this film has there was not much else on, however when it had finished, i wanted to watch it again,and stayed up late so that i could watch the repeat showing.what make this stand out was the other world feeling of it,the photography,the feel of New York in a bygone era, and the music,Debussey, which is haunting adds to the overall ambiance,It is in essence a love story which transcends time and , is told with tenderness and beauty. It's mood lingers in the heart and its planes challenge the mind. It always leaves a void when the film ends and i can truly feel Ebans pain at losing Jennie. You can read into a lot of metaphorical stuff in the film and the book - cleverly done. The ending is both heartening yet crucifying,emotionally a story of two star crossed lovers, The overall realisation that through the barrier of time love is enduring and never ending, a wonderful film which is a must for all romantics out there. Highly recommended.