Iconic Shining Photo Found After 45 Years

Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film "The Shining" features what is arguably one of the most unforgettable final shots in cinematic history. The eerily unsettling photograph from the Overlook Hotel’s 1921 Fourth of July ball places Jack Torrance—played by Jack Nicholson—front and center, decades before his character's time. For the film, Nicholson was digitally added to a genuine, altered photograph, and after its cinematic use, the original image faded into obscurity. That is, until now. Fans of the film will be thrilled to learn that this original 1921 Fourth of July ball photo has been rediscovered, a full 45 years after the movie's release.

Retired University of Winchester academic Alasdair Spark detailed the discovery process on Getty's Instagram. "Following the earlier identification by facial recognition software of the unknown man in the photograph as Santos Casani, a London ballroom dancer, I can confirm the photo was one of three taken by the Topical Press Agency at a St. Valentine's Day Ball on February 14, 1921, at the Empress Rooms in Kensington's Royal Palace Hotel," he explained. The post also featured a fresh scan from the image’s original glass-plate negative, along with supporting handwritten documents.

Spark described how he, New York Times staffer Arick Toller, and a dedicated group of Redditors embarked on an extensive search to locate the original. "It began to seem impossible; every cross-reference to Casani failed to yield a match. Other promising leads turned out to be dead ends," he wrote via Getty. "Some archives we couldn't access, leading us to fear the photo might be permanently lost to history." ⁠

The historian further explained that he had learned from on-set photographer Murray Close—who captured the image of Nicholson superimposed over Casani—that the source material came from the BBC Hulton Library. Knowing that Hulton acquired Topical Press in 1958 and Getty Images took over in 1991, Spark had the idea to comb through the agency's vast archive of millions of photos. Their search revealed the image had been licensed to Hawk Films, Kubrick's production company, on October 10, 1978—clearly for use in "The Shining."

"While Joan Smith had dated the photo to 1923, Stanley Kubrick insisted it was from 1921—and he was right," Spark concluded. "The photo doesn't contain the celebrities I once speculated about, such as the Trix Sisters, nor the bankers, financiers, or presidents imagined by others like Rob Ager. There are no devil worshippers, either. No one was composited into the image except Jack Nicholson. It simply shows a group of ordinary Londoners enjoying a Monday evening—'All the best people,' as the Overlook Hotel's manager would say."

If this discovery doesn't warm the heart of any film enthusiast, it's hard to imagine what will. Stephen King's novel "The Shining" was published in 1977 and has been adapted twice: first in Kubrick's iconic film, and later in the more book-accurate 1997 miniseries directed by horror maestro Mick Garris.