Portrait of Jennie

1948
Approved
1h 26m

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

7.9K

YOUR RATING

Joseph Cotten and Jennifer Jones in 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.

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Drama Fantasy Mystery Romance

In Depression-era New York, an impoverished painter has a chance encounter with an enigmatic, old-fashioned little girl in Central Park who inspires him and changes his destiny.In Depression-era New York, an impoverished painter has a chance encounter with an enigmatic, old-fashioned little girl in Central Park who inspires him and changes his destiny.In Depression-era New York, an impoverished painter has a chance encounter with an enigmatic, old-fashioned little girl in Central Park who inspires him and changes his destiny.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

7.9K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Won 1 Oscar
- 2 wins & 2 nominations total

Videos1

Trailer 1:44

Trailer

Photos27

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Storyline

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Did you know

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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 reviews148

Review

Featured 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.