Iconic Final Shot of The Shining Found After 45 Years

Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation of The Shining features one of the most iconic and chilling final shots in film history: a photograph from the Overlook Hotel’s 1921 Fourth of July ball, prominently featuring Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) in a setting decades before his birth. This image, where Nicholson was digitally inserted into a real photograph, had long faded into obscurity—until now. The original 1921 Fourth of July ball photograph has been rediscovered 45 years after the film's release, much to the delight of The Shining enthusiasts.

Retired academic Alasdair Spark from the University of Winchester shared the fascinating journey of uncovering 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 his post, Spark included a new scan from the original glass-plate negative and supporting handwritten documents.

Spark, along with New York Times staffer Arick Toller and numerous dedicated Redditors, embarked on an extensive search to find the image. He recounted the challenges via Getty, saying, “It was starting to seem impossible, every cross-reference to Casani failed to match. Other likely places that were suggested didn’t match. There were some places we could not find images for and we started to fear that meant the photo might be lost to history, and never be found.”

Spark also shared insights from on-set photographer Murray Close, who confirmed the original photograph was sourced from the BBC Hulton Library. Aware that Hulton had acquired Topical Press in 1958 and that Getty later took over in 1991, Spark decided to comb through the agency’s vast archives. Their efforts paid off when they found that the image was licensed to Hawk Films, Kubrick’s production company, on October 10, 1978, for use in The Shining.

Spark concluded, “Joan Smith had said the photo dated from 1923. Stanley Kubrick had said 1921 and he was correct. 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 sure to resonate deeply with fans of the film. Stephen King’s novel The Shining, released in 1977, has been adapted into two notable versions: Kubrick’s iconic 1980 film and Mick Garris’ more faithful 1997 miniseries.