And the nominees were ...
- Deep Waters. Special visual effects by Ralph Hammeras, Fred Sersen, Edward Snyder; special audible effects by Roger Heman
- Portrait of Jennie. Special visual effects by Paul Eagler, J. McMillan Johnson, Russell Shearman, Clarence Slifer; special audible effects by Charles Freeman, James J. Stewart
And the Oscar went to ...
Portrait of Jennie. Special visual effects by Paul Eagler, J. McMillan Johnson, Russell Shearman, Clarence Slifer; special audible effects by Charles Freeman, James J. Stewart.
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| Portrait of Jennifer Jones as Jennie, painted for the film by Robert Brackman |
In modern-day Central Park, an artist (Joseph Cotten) encounters Jennie (Jennifer Jones), a young girl dressed in turn-of-the-century clothing. He asks if he can paint her portrait, but each time she comes for a sitting she seems to have aged by several years. They fall in love, but she dies in a storm at sea, whereupon he discovers that she was a ghost who could not rest until she found fulfillment in love. This rather odd business, based on a novel by Robert Nathan, is a testament to the obsession of its producer, David O. Selznick, with Jones: The whole thing is very much a portrait of Jennifer, including the actual portrait painted for the film by Robert Brackman. Selznick, as usual, tinkered and revised and introduced new elements during the filming, at one point hiring Jerome Robbins to choreograph a sequence that was cut from the final version of the film. The score, based on themes by Debussy, is by Dimitri Tiomkin, a replacement for Bernard Herrmann, who left after the shooting schedule became too extended, though his motif for Jennie, using a theremin, was retained. Joseph August, who received a nomination for cinematography, died before the film's completion; Lee Garmes finished it. Nominally directed by William Dieterle, the cast also includes Ethel Barrymore, Lillian Gish, Cecil Kellaway and David Wayne. The special effects Oscar was primarily for the climactic storm, although more subtle matte effects were used throughout the film. It was the sole Oscar win for each of the members of the effects team, although Johnson, who was also the credited art director for the film, received two more nominations for effects and three for art direction.
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