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Portrait of Jennie

  • 19481948
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 26m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
6.8K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Portrait of Jennie (1948)
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.
Play trailer1:44
1 Video
30 Photos
  • Drama
  • Fantasy
  • Mystery

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.

IMDb RATING
7.6/10
6.8K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • William Dieterle
  • Writers
    • Robert Nathan(from the book by)
    • Paul Osborn(screen play)
    • Peter Berneis(screen play)
  • Stars
    • Jennifer Jones
    • Joseph Cotten
    • Ethel Barrymore
Top credits
  • Director
    • William Dieterle
  • Writers
    • Robert Nathan(from the book by)
    • Paul Osborn(screen play)
    • Peter Berneis(screen play)
  • Stars
    • Jennifer Jones
    • Joseph Cotten
    • Ethel Barrymore
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 133User reviews
    • 51Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Oscar
      • 4 nominations total

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:44
    Trailer

    Photos30

    Joseph Cotten and Jennifer Jones in Portrait of Jennie (1948)
    Joseph Cotten and Jennifer Jones in Portrait of Jennie (1948)
    Joseph Cotten and Jennifer Jones in Portrait of Jennie (1948)
    Joseph Cotten and Jennifer Jones in Portrait of Jennie (1948)
    Joseph Cotten and Jennifer Jones in Portrait of Jennie (1948)
    Joseph Cotten and Jennifer Jones in Portrait of Jennie (1948)
    Joseph Cotten and Jennifer Jones in Portrait of Jennie (1948)
    Joseph Cotten and Jennifer Jones in Portrait of Jennie (1948)
    Portrait of Jennie (1948)
    Joseph Cotten and Jennifer Jones in Portrait of Jennie (1948)
    Jennifer Jones in Portrait of Jennie (1948)
    Joseph Cotten in Portrait of Jennie (1948)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jennifer Jones
    Jennifer Jones
    • Jennie Appletonas Jennie Appleton
    Joseph Cotten
    Joseph Cotten
    • Eben Adamsas Eben Adams
    Ethel Barrymore
    Ethel Barrymore
    • Miss Spinneyas Miss Spinney
    Lillian Gish
    Lillian Gish
    • Mother Mary of Mercyas Mother Mary of Mercy
    Cecil Kellaway
    Cecil Kellaway
    • Matthewsas Matthews
    David Wayne
    David Wayne
    • Gus O'Tooleas Gus O'Toole
    Albert Sharpe
    Albert Sharpe
    • Mooreas Moore
    Henry Hull
    Henry Hull
    • Ekeas Eke
    Florence Bates
    Florence Bates
    • Mrs. Jekes (landlady)as Mrs. Jekes (landlady)
    Felix Bressart
    Felix Bressart
    • Peteas Pete
    Clem Bevans
    Clem Bevans
    • Capt. Cobbas Capt. Cobb
    Maude Simmons
    • Clara Morganas Clara Morgan
    Robin Bryant
    • Womanas Woman
    • (uncredited)
    Robert Dudley
    Robert Dudley
    • Another Old Marineras Another Old Mariner
    • (uncredited)
    John Farrell
    • Policemanas Policeman
    • (uncredited)
    Anne Francis
    Anne Francis
    • Teenager in Art Galleryas Teenager in Art Gallery
    • (uncredited)
    Brian Keith
    Brian Keith
    • Ice-Skating Extraas Ice-Skating Extra
    • (uncredited)
    Nancy Olson
    Nancy Olson
    • Teenager in Art Galleryas Teenager in Art Gallery
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • William Dieterle
    • Writers
      • Robert Nathan(from the book by)
      • Paul Osborn(screen play)
      • Peter Berneis(screen play)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    Winter of 1934, New York City. With his work lacking depth, struggling artist Eben Adams is in dire need of inspiration. However, in snow-covered Central Park, Manhattan, Eben has a chance encounter with his romantic, godsent muse: Jennie Appleton. Once, someone encouraged talented Eben to find new meaningful subjects to escape poverty. Now, this rendezvous with fate is beyond his expectations. Excited, Eben starts preparing a canvas to draw Jennie's portrait, the first and only thing he's ever been sure of in his life, and a beautiful, platonic relationship that defies time gradually blooms. But an unfathomable mystery lies behind Jennie's big, doleful eyes. Can love alter destiny? Will Eben complete his magnum opus? —Nick Riganas
    • portrait painting
    • supernatural power
    • film blanc
    • urban fantasy
    • literature on screen
    • 36 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • 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.
    • Genres
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Mystery
      • Romance
    • Certificate
      • Approved
    • Parents guide
      • Add content advisory

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Producer 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.
    • Goofs
      During 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 credits
      No 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 versions
      Originally, 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.
    • Connections
      Featured in Hollywood: The Selznick Years (1969)
    • Soundtracks
      Nuages
      (uncredited)

      Music by Claude Debussy

      Adapted by Dimitri Tiomkin

      Heard over opening narration

    User reviews133

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    The Enchanting Spirit of Central Park
    It's the middle of the Depression, 1934, and struggling artist Joseph Cotten can't seem to find his muse. But one day he meets a strange, but enchanting girl while in Central Park. He resolves right then and there to paint a Portrait of Jennie.

    Allowing for the fact that this is a fantasy, a whole lot of the story makes absolutely no sense. But you really don't care because Joseph Cotten and Jennifer Jones have an almost spiritual like chemistry. As Cotten investigates he finds there's real good reason for the girl's spirituality. Every time he meets her she seems to take some quantum leaps in her maturity.

    The stars of Finian's Rainbow, Albert Sharpe and David Wayne, both appear in this film. This was David Wayne's big screen debut and I certainly did love the scene where he bamboozles Sharpe into commissioning Cotten to paint a mural of Michael Collins for his Irish pub. Cotten catches on and kind of goes with the flow.

    Being this is a Jennifer Jones film by her husband David O. Selznick, this is still another vehicle for Selznick to exhibit the beauty that was Jennifer Jones. Every film she did, because Selznick interfered with all of them even if he wasn't directly producing, is a testament to his vision of her. Even when she's playing bad girls like Pearl Chavez or Ruby Gentry, you get a good idea what stirred David O. Selznick to devote the rest of his life to her career.

    Ethel Barrymore as the society dowager and Lillian Gish as a Mother Superior are also well cast. Too bad those two had no scenes together, that would have been something.

    Portrait of Jennie is an enchanting film about an enchanting girl played by one enchanting actress. What else can you say, but enchanting.
    helpful•32
    6
    • bkoganbing
    • Mar 22, 2007

    FAQ10

    • What is 'Portrait of Jennie' about?
    • Is 'Portrait of Jennie' based on a book?
    • In what year is the movie set?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 22, 1949 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Tidal Wave
    • Filming locations
      • The Cloisters Museum, West 193rd Street, Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
    • Production companies
      • The Selznick Studio
      • Vanguard Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $4,041,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 26 minutes
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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