Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film adaptation of The Shining is renowned for its haunting conclusion, particularly the final shot—a photograph from the Overlook Hotel’s 1921 Fourth of July ball featuring Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) front and center, despite not being born at the time. This image, which had Nicholson superimposed over a real photo, had faded into obscurity until now. Exciting news for fans: the original 1921 Fourth of July ball photograph has been rediscovered 45 years after the film's release.
Retired University of Winchester academic Alasdair Spark shared the journey of unearthing this iconic image on Getty's Instagram. He explained, “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. Valentines Day Ball, 14 February 1921, at the Empress Rooms, the Royal Palace Hotel, Kensington." Alongside his revelation, Spark included a new scan from the image’s original glass-plate negative and supporting handwritten documents.
Spark, along with New York Times staffer Arick Toller and numerous dedicated Redditors, embarked on a challenging search to locate the image. He recounted via Getty, “It was starting to seem impossible, every cross-reference to Casani failed to match. Other likely places that were suggested didn’t match. 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 disclosed 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 acquired Topical Press in 1958 and that Getty took over in 1991, Spark decided to delve into the agency’s vast collection. Their 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 revelation is sure to delight fans of the film. Stephen King’s novel The Shining was published in 1977 and has inspired two adaptations: Kubrick's iconic film and Mick Garris’ faithful 1997 miniseries.
