"Shining's Iconic Final Shot Photo Found After 45 Years"

Stanley Kubrick's 1980 adaptation of The Shining is renowned for its chilling conclusion, featuring a haunting photograph from the Overlook Hotel's 1921 Fourth of July ball. This image, showcasing Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) amidst a crowd despite not being born yet, has captivated audiences for decades. The original photograph, altered for the film, had faded into obscurity until recently. Now, 45 years after the film's release, the original 1921 Fourth of July ball photograph has finally been unearthed.

Retired University of Winchester academic Alasdair Spark shared the fascinating journey of locating the 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 image's original glass-plate negative, accompanied by handwritten documents corroborating the photo's authenticity.

Spark, along with New York Times staffer Arick Toller and dedicated Redditors, embarked on a challenging 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," Spark 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 further revealed that he had previously been informed by on-set photographer Murray Close, who captured the image of Nicholson that was superimposed over Casani for the film, that the picture originated from the BBC Hulton Library. Knowing that Hulton acquired Topical Press in 1958 and that Getty later took over in 1991, Spark was inspired to delve into the agency's vast archives. Their search led them to discover that the image was licensed to Hawk Films, Kubrick’s production company, on October 10, 1978, specifically 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 discovery is a heartwarming revelation for cinephiles and fans of The Shining. Stephen King's novel, released in 1977, has been adapted twice: Kubrick’s iconic film and the 1997 miniseries directed by horror maestro Mick Garris, which closely followed the book.