Stanley Kubrick's 1980 adaptation of The Shining is renowned for its chilling final scene, featuring a haunting photograph from the Overlook Hotel’s 1921 Fourth of July ball. The image prominently displays Jack Torrance (played by Jack Nicholson), who, in an eerie twist, appears in a photo taken decades before his birth. This iconic shot was created by superimposing Nicholson onto an existing photograph, which had since faded into obscurity—until now. Excitingly, the original 1921 Fourth of July ball photograph has been rediscovered 45 years after the film's release.
Alasdair Spark, a retired academic from the University of Winchester, shared the fascinating journey of uncovering the image on Getty's Instagram. He revealed, “Following the earlier identification by facial recognition software of the unknown man in the photograph at the end of The Shining as Santos Casani, a London ballroom dancer, I can reveal that the photo was one of three taken by the Topical Press Agency at a St. Valentine's Day Ball on February 14, 1921, at the Empress Rooms, the Royal Palace Hotel, Kensington." The post also showcased a new scan from the original glass-plate negative and included supporting handwritten documents.
Spark, along with New York Times staffer Arick Toller and dedicated Redditors, embarked on an extensive search for the image. “It was starting to seem impossible; every cross-reference to Casani failed to match. Other likely places that were suggested didn’t match,” Spark recounted on Getty. “There were some places we could not find images for, and we started to fear that meant the photo might be lost to history, and never be found.”
The historian further explained that he had been informed by on-set photographer Murray Close, who captured the image of Nicholson used in the film, that the original photo was sourced from the BBC Hulton Library. Knowing that Hulton had acquired Topical Press in 1958 and that Getty took over in 1991, Spark decided to search through the agency’s vast archives. This search revealed that the image was licensed to Hawk Films, Kubrick’s production company, on October 10, 1978, for use in The Shining.
“Joan Smith had said the photo dated from 1923. Stanley Kubrick had said 1921, and he was correct,” Spark concluded. “The photo doesn’t show any of the celebrities I had speculated on — the Trix Sisters for instance — nor the bankers, financiers, or presidents others like Rob Ager have imagined there. No devil worshippers either. Nobody was composited into it except Jack Nicholson. It shows a group of ordinary London people on a Monday evening. ‘All the best people,’ as the manager of the Overlook Hotel said."This rediscovery is sure to delight fans of The Shining. Stephen King’s original novel was published in 1977 and has been adapted into two notable versions: Kubrick’s iconic 1980 film and Mick Garris’ faithful 1997 miniseries.
