STUFF YOU GOTTA WATCH - Portrait of Jennie

PORTRAIT OF JENNIE

"Yes, Jennie, I'm creepy... but the good kind of creepy."

(1948)
With Joseph Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Ethel Barrymore, Lillian Gish, Cecil Kellaway, David Wayne
Directed by William Dieterle
Black and White
Reviewed by JB

The story of an artist who falls in love with a mysterious young girl who seems to live in the past, PORTRAIT OF JENNIE is much more loved today than it was back in 1948. The plot is slight and predictable, but the direction and cinematography lift the film up from the level of the average episode of The Twilight Zone it often feels like. To create a mood that would fit a love story that transcends time and logic, producer David O. Selznick, director William Dieterle and cinematographer Joseph H. August employ several intriguing effects including shooting some scenes through canvas and tinting some others. To cap things off, the final shot of the film is in full Technicolor. PORTRAIT OF JENNIE may also be the first film to feature the credits only at the end of the film and not at the beginning. Watch it for its other-worldly love story or its style. ½ - JB

Drama The Stuff You Gotta Watch

EVERYTHING WAS A NICKEL BACK THEN

In 1947, my father and his best friend, both in high school, received 5 dollars apiece (which was a lot of money back then) for the use of their skates when it turned out that some extras could not find skates that would fit them in the Central Park scene. According to my father, neither Jennifer Jones nor Joseph Cotten actually did any skating but were pulled along the ice on a wooden wagon.