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. This image prominently displays Jack Torrance (played by Jack Nicholson), who, in reality, had not yet been born at the time the photo was supposedly taken. The film used a manipulated version of an original photograph, which had since faded into obscurity—until now. After 45 years since the film's release, the original 1921 Fourth of July ball photograph has been rediscovered.
Retired University of Winchester academic Alasdair Spark shared insights into the process 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." The post also showcased a new scan from the original glass-plate negative and included supporting handwritten documents.
Spark detailed the collaborative effort with New York Times staffer Arick Toller and dedicated Redditors in their quest to find 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,” he noted 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 mentioned that on-set photographer Murray Close, who captured the image of Nicholson that was superimposed over Casani, had indicated the photograph was sourced from the BBC Hulton Library. Spark knew that Hulton had acquired Topical Press in 1958, and Getty later took over in 1991, prompting him to sift through the agency’s vast archives. This led to the discovery that the image was licensed to Hawk Films, Kubrick’s production company, on October 10, 1978, for use in The Shining.
Spark concluded, “Joan Smith had said the photo dated from 1923. Stanley Kubrick had said 1921 and he was correct. 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 Shining. Stephen King's novel, first published in 1977, has been adapted into two notable versions: Kubrick’s iconic 1980 film and Mick Garris’ faithful 1997 miniseries.
