Miss
Spinney (Barrymore), an art gallery owner, tells enniless
artist Eben Adams (Cotten) that he needs to find inspiration
to make his paintings really great. While strolling through
Central Park on a cold winter day, he meets an enchanting
young girl named Jennie who is dressed in clothing from
an earlier time. Subsequent meetings with Jennie reveal
that she has grown older and Eben finds himself falling
in love with her. He paints a beautiful portrait of her
which reveals to Miss Spinney that he has found his inspiration.
But as Eben discovers the secret of Jennie's past, he must
race against time to keep tragic events from happening again.
It
is a miracle that Portrait of Jennie turned out to
be the beautiful classic that it is considering its' turbulent
production history. The story was based on a novella by
Robert Nathan and Selznick had been intrigued by the book
for several years. He had already selected it as Jennifer's
next project following Duel In
The Sun. However, censorship problems with that
film as well as other projects delayed the production.
Jennifer was loaned out for Cluny
Brown and by early 1947,
Selznick was ready to begin Portrait.
The
film was to be shot on location in New York and Boston,
Massachusetts. Selznick hired David Hempstead to oversee
the film production and report back to him in Hollywood.
Filming began in February of 1947 but Selznick was very
unhappy with the film results that were being flown out
to him. He disliked the photography and felt that
the story was coming across as vague and dense. The
script itself went through four or five writers (including
Selznick) before the project was completed. Fantasies
are not the easiest stories to film and this one was proving
to be a nightmare. Through various stops and starts,
the film was not completed until October of 1948.
The
film was already way over budget when Selznick decided that
the ending was weak and he re-filmed the entire final sequence
using a specially tinted film stock which gave the scene
an odd greenish tint. It proved to be yet another
overkill tactic to a hopelessly overblown production.
The film was released briefly in December of 1948 to scathing
reviews and empty theaters. It was re-released nationwide
in May of 1949. It was Jennifer's first film to bomb at
the box office.
Portrait
of Jennie, however, was a film ahead of its' time.
Today it is loved by film fans everywhere and is considered
one of Jennifer's best films. It is certainly one
of her best acting performances and it is a mystery why
she was not nominated for an Academy Award (she was much
better here than in Duel In The Sun).
Her transformation from a young girl into a mature young
woman is entirely believable. She is as enchanting
in the film as in the specially painted portrait commissioned
to artist Robert Brackman. The portrait became one of Selznick's
prize possessions and he proudly displayed in their home
after they married.
There
are many wonderful elements in Portrait of Jennie.
The movie has a magical look to it and projects an atmosphere
of otherworldliness. The opening of some scenes look
like a matte canvas which slowly dissolves into live action.
The music was adapted by the works of Claude DeBussey and
works perfectly to evoke the mood of the film. The entire
cast does an excellent job. Ethel Barrymore is particularly
memorable as Miss Spinney. The chemistry between Joseph
Cotten and Jennifer Jones is exceptional. This was
their fourth film together but would sadly be their last.
But overall, in addition to the technical perfection of
the film, it succeeds in being a beautiful love story and
an example of Hollywood fantasy at its' best.
