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

Stanley Kubrick's 1980 adaptation of The Shining is renowned for its chilling final scene, which features a haunting photograph from the Overlook Hotel's 1921 Fourth of July ball. This image, showcasing Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) amidst a crowd from a time before he was born, has captivated audiences for decades. The original photograph used in the film had faded into obscurity until recently, when it was rediscovered 45 years after the movie's release.

Retired University of Winchester academic Alasdair Spark shared the fascinating journey of tracking down the original 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 this revelation, Spark shared a new scan from the image's original glass-plate negative and other supportive 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. The team faced challenges, fearing the photo might be lost to history.

Spark further elaborated that on-set photographer Murray Close, who captured the image of Nicholson used in the film, had mentioned the photograph was sourced from the BBC Hulton Library. Knowing that Hulton acquired Topical Press in 1958 and that Getty took over in 1991, Spark was inspired to search through Getty'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.

"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 discovery is a thrilling revelation for fans of The Shining. Stephen King's original novel, released in 1977, has been adapted twice: once by Kubrick in 1980 and again in a more book-accurate 1997 miniseries by horror maestro Mick Garris.