Eben is a talented but struggling artist in Depression era NY. One day, after he finally finds someone to buy a painting from him, a pretty but odd young girl named Jennie Appleton appears a... Read allEben is a talented but struggling artist in Depression era NY. 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.Eben is a talented but struggling artist in Depression era NY. 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.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 2 wins & 2 nominations total
- Woman
- (uncredited)
- Another Old Mariner
- (uncredited)
- Policeman
- (uncredited)
- Teenager in Art Gallery
- (uncredited)
- Ice-Skating Extra
- (uncredited)
- Teenager in Art Gallery
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaProducer David O. Selznick initially considered filming this movie over a period of several years, casting a young actress in the role of Jennie and shooting portions of the film over time as the actress grew older in real life. (Shirley Temple, then under contract to Selznick, was reportedly intended for the role, had the movie been filmed that way.) In the end, however, Selznick abandoned the idea as too risky and difficult to film properly.
- GoofsDuring Eben's conversation with Pete, it becomes clear that Pete's moustache is fake when it starts to come away from his face.
- Quotes
Jennie Appleton: There is no life, my darling, until you love and have been loved. And then there is no death.
- Crazy creditsNo credits at all are shown at the beginning except for the studio logo, not even the title of the film. Instead, we hear a narrator speaking the prologue, and then announcing, "And now, 'Portrait of Jennie'". The credits are saved for the end of the picture.
- Alternate versionsOriginally, all television prints were completely in black-and-white, but by the 1980s the shot of the portrait at the very end was again shown in color. More recently, though, the greenish tint used in the storm scene (lasting about ten minutes) was also restored. Numerous sources, most notably "Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide," have stated that the final reel, save for that color shot, was green, but it was the storm sequence alone, regardless of where it falls on the reels. While the 1990 CBS/Fox VHS release returned to black-and-white for the two scenes between the storm sequence and the painting-shot, the version currently shown on Turner Classic Movies has them in sepia tint. Which accurately reflects the original theatrical prints is undetermined, but both have the end titles in sepia.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Hollywood: The Selznick Years (1969)
By film's end we have the final encounter between Adams, who has gone to great lengths to determine if Jennie's past is as she says it is, and Jennie on a rocky seashore during a violent storm. I will not divulge the ending. I'll say Adams survives the storm and, with new found emotion and compassion, becomes a highly successful artist. The very last scene shows the portrait, classified a masterpeiece, hanging in a museum. There are excellent location shots of 1940's New York City and it's various areas of interest. The Portait of Jennie, which we see in all it's glory at film's end, could well be a masterpiece in itself as a painting of the beautiful Jennifer Jones. As the saying goes, they don't make em like this anymore but, in this case, `they' don't have to. We have our Portrait of Jennie, a film which transcends time and has withstood the test of time very, very well.
- Tommy-5
- Nov 2, 2003
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Tidal Wave
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $4,041,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 26 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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