Starring: Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Ethel Barrymore, Lillian Gish, Cecil Kellaway Directed By: William Dieterle Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: DVD Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC Label: MGM (Video & DVD) Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: October 19, 2004 Running Time: 86 minutes Theatrical Release Date: April 22, 1949
Product Description: One of the most unusual romances ever filmed Portrait of Jennie is the picture of sumptuous perfection. Starring Joseph Cotten (Citizen Kane) and Oscar® winner* Jennifer Jones (A Farewell to Arms) in a sensitive appealing performance (The Hollywood Reporter) this tender [and] poetic (Variety) tale is enthralling from its touching beginning to its haunting conclusion.When struggling artist Eben Adams (Cotten) meets the beautiful and mysterious Jennie (Jones) he is instantly captivated. Before long Jennie has become his great muse and he is enjoying success and bliss beyond his dreams. But there is a price to pay for such elation and soon Eben must face the truth about who Jennie really is.System Requirements: Running Time 86 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 027616903846 Manufacturer No: 1006182
Movie - Portrait of Jennie The Portrait of Jennie is a great movie. I would consider it a classic. Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten are superb! Movies that involve time travel are fascinating and this particular movie is very well done. It's a beautiful story.
Recommended purchase I love this movie. Thank you for making it possible to purchse this movie. The dvd is in excellent condition. Fast delivery. Very excited about this purchase. Thanks for the great service.
a stunning classic selznick stopped trying to storm the gates of film success with this lyrical and thought-provoking film starring jennifer jones and joseph cotten.
as a screen presence, jones possessed two qualities, one of which was a dewy girlishness that stood her well in this role. no other actress could have portrayed jennie appleton with the light touch she had. cotten is equally well suited to the role of troubled and struggling artist eben adams. together, they are an equally passionate and loving screen team.
they are so well supported by david wayne, albert sharpe, lillian gish and host of hollywood's finest character actors such as felix bressart, cecil kellaway and anne francis in the tiniest of roles as well.
two particular performances that stand out in the supporting cast are ethel barrymore as the art dealer miss spinney and maude simmons as clara morgan, a woman that befriended jennie as a child. buth women are lovingly photographed and directed to sensitive and feeling performances by william dieterle. it is almost like a homage to the consideration given to mature film actors by d.w. griffith.
in fact, the film's beauty is a throwback to the silent film. there are many shots that are matted to give the effect of looking at a painting. it is all part of the subtlety with which the material is treated. when this result is enhanced with the adaptation of debussy's music by dmitri tiomkin, timeless costuming by the gifted lucinda ballard and a well thought (though probably quite tinkered with) screenplay by paul osborn, you have an enduring classic tale of romance!
'portrati of jennie' would serve as leitmotif in the 1970s for one of the best made for tv films called 'message to my daughter' starring martin sheen, bonnie bedelia and kitty winn, giving it yet another life. just like jennie appleton.
A Portrait of Love! "Portrait of Jennie" is a fascinating exercise of a most inimitable romance between the mysterious Junoesque like Jennie and struggling artist Eben Adams. Hollywood A-Lister's Joseph Cotten and the beautiful Jennifer Jones provide captivating performances in a tale of an artist and his poetic inspiration.
In a unique cinematic exhibition, the movie, filmed mostly in B&W changes to a green tint during a stormy scene, changing to sepia for an adjacent scene and ending up in full Technicolor as the camera zooms in to the completed "Portrait of Jennie".
Dimitri Tiomkin's celestial musical score is another delightful aspect of this movie. All thru the film you will hear Claude Debussy's Arabesque #1 and other Debussy works.
A most delightful 86 minutes of entertainment.
Fans of Ghost and Mrs. Muir and Somewhere in Time will adore Portrait of Jennie Jennifer Jones (The Song of Bernadette) and Joseph Cotten star in Portrait of Jennie, a 1948 film that revolved around a painter's obsession with a beautiful, mysterious girl who seems to live more in the past than the present. Eben Adams (Cotten) is a washed-up painter on hard times and lacks inspiration until he meets Jennie (Jones) in a New York park. Jennie has an unusual way of speaking about past events as though they are current (referring to Germany's kaiser, and to theaters that had been demolished). Her fresh-faced beauty appeals to Adams, and Jennie makes the wish that he wait for her to grow up so that they can be together.
Jennie's sporadic appearances allow time for Eben to work on other commissions, and to research Jennie more carefully by interviewing people who had worked with her parents (famous high-wire circus performers). Inevitably, dark truths are uncovered that disturb Eben's "painting-perfect" romance with the soft-spoken, beautiful Jennie. His portrait of her is a testament to his love and brings him artistic fame. Eben is also introduced to Miss Spinney (Ethel Barrymore), a headstrong old maid who deals in paintings and who wants to see Eben produce something more spiritual. Other notable names include Lillian Gish as Mother Mary of Mercy, Cecil Kellaway as Matthews, and a young Nancy Davis Reagan in the art gallery.
Joseph Cotten is an engaging narrator, and his growing dependence on Jennie and his depression over Jennie's long absences is utterly believable (if a bit melodramatic). Jennifer Jones has more to work with here than in her first Oscar-winning role as Bernadette, although seeing a well-proportioned twentysomething trying to portray prepubescent innocence was a little bit creepy (see: Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz (Two-Disc Special Edition)). Her character ages rapidly both physically and psychologically, so Jones was able to display a range of emotions, from a childhood crush to deeper musings on the nature of love and faith. Some of the secondary characters suffer from disappearing Irish accents; others shamelessly (sometimes woodenly) overact.
The film follows several conventions of its time, and appears dated. The "special effects" are pretty standard; several scale models are used and a green tint is used for the final scenes. There are some beautifully dreamy shots of New York City, and the fabulous effect of having shots appear as though they were painted on canvas. The DVD transfer features some artifacts and print flaws. There are no extras to speak of. However, fans of time-travel romances The Ghost and Mrs. Muirand Somewhere in Time (Collector's Edition) will enjoy Portrait of Jennie, although the strongest film of this genre is undoubtedly The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. Despite its shortcomings, Portrait of Jennie is a pretty decent love story.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
