Portrait of Jennie
Film
Portrait of Jennie
1949United States
Vanguard Films, Inc.
Production company
Selznick Releasing Organization
Distribution company
Vanguard Films, Inc.
Production company
Selznick Releasing Organization
Distribution company
35mm nitrate master positive
Gift of Selznick Properties, Ltd.
2001.1018.0001
TextPortrait of Jennie would be the last film made by legendary producer David O. Selznick in Hollywood. Selznick, a romantic by nature, was drawn to the story of an uninspired artist finding his muse in the guise of a young girl he meets in Central Park. The film is sensitively directed, and the actors give wonderfully restrained performances. Director William Dieterle worked closely with cameraman Joseph August to heighten the mood of fantasy photographically. Their use of textured overlays, filtered effects, and impressionistic lighting gave the film a poetic pictorialism that blended the grim reality of the Great Depression with the romanticism of the love story.
Because New York City was so integral to the story, Selznick felt that it needed to be shot on location. Filming began in Central Park in February 1947. Selznick, feeling the leads were not being photographed well and that the script was long-winded and abstruse, shut down the production. After a five week hiatus, shooting resumed in New York and New England. Eventually the cast and crew were recalled to California to do interior work at the Selznick Studio. The production was plagued with problems, necessitating multiple script rewrites and each scene being reshot numerous times. Joseph August died of a heart attack while trying to line up a complicated tracking shot and was replaced by Paul Eagler. Selznick felt that the climatic storm sequence lacked punch and demanded retakes. Ultimately, printing the sequence on green tinted stock, toning the aftermath in sepia, and using Technicolor for the portrait’s reveal gave the last reel visual impact. During the premiere engagements, this reel was shown on an enlarged screen with multichannel sound. Portrait of Jennie wrapped on October 9, 1948—more than a year and half after the production began. The final cost was over $4 million, making it one of the most expensive films of the 1940s. Although critically well received, the public did not take to the film. Eventually, Portrait of Jennie found its audience, and it is now considered among the best fantasy films from Hollywood’s golden years.
This master positive was David O. Selznick’s personal print and was donated to the George Eastman Museum in 2001. With shrinkage at 0.75%, it is in very good condition and was last projected in the Dryden in 2016.
Anthony Labbate, Preservation Manager
Nitrate Picture Show
June 2022
Because New York City was so integral to the story, Selznick felt that it needed to be shot on location. Filming began in Central Park in February 1947. Selznick, feeling the leads were not being photographed well and that the script was long-winded and abstruse, shut down the production. After a five week hiatus, shooting resumed in New York and New England. Eventually the cast and crew were recalled to California to do interior work at the Selznick Studio. The production was plagued with problems, necessitating multiple script rewrites and each scene being reshot numerous times. Joseph August died of a heart attack while trying to line up a complicated tracking shot and was replaced by Paul Eagler. Selznick felt that the climatic storm sequence lacked punch and demanded retakes. Ultimately, printing the sequence on green tinted stock, toning the aftermath in sepia, and using Technicolor for the portrait’s reveal gave the last reel visual impact. During the premiere engagements, this reel was shown on an enlarged screen with multichannel sound. Portrait of Jennie wrapped on October 9, 1948—more than a year and half after the production began. The final cost was over $4 million, making it one of the most expensive films of the 1940s. Although critically well received, the public did not take to the film. Eventually, Portrait of Jennie found its audience, and it is now considered among the best fantasy films from Hollywood’s golden years.
This master positive was David O. Selznick’s personal print and was donated to the George Eastman Museum in 2001. With shrinkage at 0.75%, it is in very good condition and was last projected in the Dryden in 2016.
Anthony Labbate, Preservation Manager
Nitrate Picture Show
June 2022
