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Portrait of Jennie

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7.1/10 • 113

1948-12-251h 26m

DramaRomanceFantasyMystery

The screen's most romantic team!

A mysterious girl inspires a struggling artist.

Directors
William Dieterle
Writters
Ben Hecht

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Jennifer Jones

    Jennifer Jones

    Jennie Appleton

  2. Joseph Cotten

    Joseph Cotten

    Eben Adams

  3. Ethel Barrymore

    Ethel Barrymore

    Miss Spinney

  4. Lillian Gish

    Lillian Gish

    Mother Mary of Mercy

  5. Cecil Kellaway

    Cecil Kellaway

    Matthews

  6. David Wayne

    David Wayne

    Gus O'Toole

  7. Florence Bates

    Florence Bates

    Mrs. Jekes

  8. Albert Sharpe

    Albert Sharpe

    Moore

  9. Henry Hull

    Henry Hull

    Eke

Reviews2

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John Chard Avatar

John Chard

Aug 2, 2019

Eerie, magnetic and just incredibly lovely. Eben Adams is a struggling artist who feels his work has no real substance, but one day as he mopes around Central Park, a beautiful young girl by the name of Jennie Appleton meets his acquaintance. Totally enchanting, Jennie engages Eben in a conversation that doesn't sit quite right with the time, then after singing him a haunting little tune she vanishes as quickly as she had appeared. From this point on, Eben's life will never be the same, both artistically and emotionally. Portrait Of Jennie can be bracketed in the multi genre department, part mystery, part romance and certainly fantastical, it's a wonderfully put together picture that is ready made to lift the gloom on a dark winters night. It's the sort of picture that I personally believe you are better going into without any real sense of plot preparation, there are plenty of great reviews for this picture readily available, and all are justified, I can but merely concur with the many positives this delightful picture has garnered. Directed with a very astute awareness of the theme by William Dieterele, the picture benefits from excellent technical aspects across the board. Joseph Cotten gives perhaps one of his greatest performances as Eben Adams, while the classically beautiful Jennifer Jones (Jennie Appleton) lights up the screen as each scene with her in becomes hauntingly emotional. Wonderful support comes from Ethel Barrymore & Cecil Kellaway, whilst Lillian Gish pops up for a crucial, and impacting piece of work. Joseph August's cinematography is simply brilliant, nominated for an academy award, the way he uses ethereal hues to influence the story is easy on the eye and fully forms the atmosphere. Dimitri Tiomkin takes up scoring duties, appealingly influenced by Claude Debussy, Tiomkin lays down a memorable score that has much to savour. And the final pat on the back goes to the special effects team who picked up the academy award for their excellent efforts. Technically brilliant and with a story to match, Portrait Of Jennie is highly recommended viewing to those who want to be taken far away to some place rather nice, see it with someone you care about and give them a hug as the ending plays out. 8.5/10

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  • Portrait of Jennie poster
  • Portrait of Jennie poster
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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
artistcape codmysterious womanart dealerghost storystruggling artistportrait paintingmysterious girlpainter as artistart gallery owner