Portrait of Jennie

David O’Selznick’s self indulgent 1948 star vehicle wrapped around his infatuation for his stunningly attractive engenue Jennifer Jones was a beautifully photographed (by Joseph August who tragically died before filming was completed) though not entirely successful ghost story of sorts which cost a fortune and sank at the box office. The timeless notion of pathological romantic obsession is one that many have tackled, with Alfred Hitchcock’s hitting pay dirt with VERTIGO being one prominent and popular example. PORTRAIT OF JENNIE was one of several purpose made vehicles Selznick tailored, almost obsessively, for Jones around that period such as DUEL IN THE SUN. The William Dieterle directed film is entertaining enough, despite it’s obvious heavy handed meddling by producer Selznick – a trait all of Selznick’s directors would be forced to clench their teeth and put up with as David insisted on being involved in ALL aspects of pre, shoot and post production – no more so than where his precious love, Jennifer Jones was involved. David was a prodigious memo writer and dictator of lengthy notes to all key members of the creative team with endless critiques of each and every shot with Jones in it…

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A Tribute to Golden Era Special FX

This blog is intended as a tribute to the ingenuity of the traditional matte painter where movie magic was created entirely by hand. Some of the shots will amaze in their grandeur and epic quality while others will surprise in their ‘invisibility’ to even the sophisticated viewer. I hope this collection will serve as an appreciation of the artform and both casual visitors and those with a specialist interest may benefit, enjoy and be amazed at skills largely unknown today

NZPete

This site is over 15 years old and I have gone further back into the archives of Matte Shot – A Tribute to Golden Era Special FX to feature even more articles from this great site, so please, like me, I hope you enjoy this wonderful journey.

PJ Max