Review of Portrait of Jennie (1948) by Jennifer H — 20 Apr 2010

[center]Greetings in the Name of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,[/center].

[center]and Welcome to the St. James Journal[/center].

[left][font=Arial Black]Making of the Old World, a New World[/font][/left].

[left]I recently saw the 1948 b&w classic, Portrait of Jennie starring Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotton. Revisiting this enchanted masterwork on cable again, I know I have to review it here.[/left].

[left]The experience of seeing it as a youth, and seeing it again from the perspective of the 21st century in the Last Days of what Martin Luther King, Jr called this "Old World," is well worth sharing and discussing.[/left].

[left]It is the difference between an "Old World" view of life, death, and spirituality, and the "New World" view. There will be a "New Heavens," and a "New Earth" "in which righteousness will dwell."[/left].

[center][font=Arial Black]Notes and Thoughts: The All-Inclusive Art[/font][/center].

As a reflection on life, film is the all-inclusive art. It encompasses all other arts, crafts, and sciences. There is a wonderful opportunity to employ a large number of people of many diverse occupations and skills.

[font=Arial Black]Film, Painting, and Novella[/font].

An outstanding example of this is the Portrait of Jennie from the film by William Dieterle, the painting for the film by Robert Brackman, and the novella that started it all by Robert Nathan. Book, painting, and film along with all the other attendant arts and crafts are truly exemplary.

[font=Arial Black]Master Minds, Master Works[/font].

When all come together so exquisitely -- humanity and technology; masters, apprentices, and their tools; in this particular case, we can easily say the end result is a haunting, and enduring masterpiece.

More to come. Got to run.

In His Service,.

Al.