Iconic 'The Shining' Final Shot Photo Found After 45 Years

Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film adaptation of "The Shining" is renowned for its chilling final shot: a photograph from the Overlook Hotel’s 1921 Fourth of July ball, featuring Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) prominently displayed despite not being born at the time. This iconic image was created by superimposing Nicholson onto an original photograph, which had remained elusive until recently. After 45 years since the film's release, the original 1921 Fourth of July ball photograph has finally been discovered.

Alasdair Spark, a retired academic from the University of Winchester, detailed the journey to find the image on Getty's Instagram. He shared that the man in the photograph, previously identified by facial recognition software as Santos Casani, a London ballroom dancer, was part of a photo taken by the Topical Press Agency at a St. Valentine's Day Ball on February 14, 1921, at the Empress Rooms in the Royal Palace Hotel, Kensington. Spark's post also featured a new scan from the original glass-plate negative and supporting handwritten documents.

The search for the image was a collaborative effort involving Spark, New York Times staffer Arick Toller, and numerous enthusiastic Redditors. Spark described the process as a "wild goose chase," noting the difficulty in finding the correct image among numerous cross-references and potential sources. At one point, they feared the photograph might be lost to history.

Spark revealed that on-set photographer Murray Close, who captured the image of Nicholson used in the film, mentioned that the original picture came from the BBC Hulton Library. Knowing that Hulton had acquired Topical Press in 1958 and that Getty took over in 1991, Spark decided to search through Getty's vast collection of images. This search 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 by correcting the date of the photograph, confirming Kubrick's assertion that it was from 1921, not 1923 as previously suggested by Joan Smith. He noted that the photo depicted ordinary Londoners at a social event, debunking various theories about the presence of celebrities, bankers, or even devil worshippers. The only alteration was the addition of Jack Nicholson.

This discovery is sure to delight fans of "The Shining." Stephen King's novel, released in 1977, has been adapted into two notable versions: Kubrick's iconic film and Mick Garris' 1997 miniseries, which stayed closer to the book.