45 Years Later, Shining's Final Shot Found

Stanley Kubrick's 1980 adaptation of The Shining features one of horror cinema's most unforgettable final shots: a deeply unsettling photograph from the Overlook Hotel’s 1921 Fourth of July ball, showing Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) prominently positioned despite not having been born at the time. Nicholson was digitally added to an authentic photograph that had been specially altered for the movie—yet the original faded into obscurity after filming. Until now. That’s right, Shining fans—the original 1921 Fourth of July ball photo has been rediscovered a remarkable 45 years after the film’s release.

Retired University of Winchester academic Alasdair Spark detailed the search for the image on Getty's Instagram. “After facial recognition software identified the unknown man at the end of The Shining 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 the Royal Palace Hotel, Kensington,” he explained. The post also featured a fresh scan from the original glass-plate negative alongside supporting handwritten documents.

Spark shared that he, New York Times staffer Arick Toller, and numerous dedicated Redditors embarked on an exhaustive search to locate the image. “It started to feel impossible—every cross-reference to Casani came up empty. Other suggested locations also didn’t match,” he wrote via Getty. “We couldn’t find pictures of some venues and worried the original might be lost to history forever.” ⁠

The historian further explained that on-set photographer Murray Close—who took the picture of Nicholson superimposed over Casani—had told him the image originally came from the BBC Hulton Library. Knowing that Hulton acquired Topical Press in 1958 and Getty took over in 1991, Spark decided to comb through the agency’s vast image archive. There, they discovered the photo had been licensed to Hawk Films, Kubrick’s production company, on October 10, 1978—undoubtedly for use in The Shining.

“Joan Smith dated the photo to 1923, but Stanley Kubrick said 1921—and he was right,” Spark concluded. “The picture doesn’t include any of the celebrities I suspected—like the Trix Sisters—nor the financiers or presidents suggested by analysts such as Rob Ager. There are no devil worshippers, either. No one was added to the photo except Jack Nicholson. It’s simply a group of ordinary Londoners enjoying a Monday evening. ‘All the best people,’ as the Overlook Hotel’s manager said.”

If this discovery doesn’t touch the heart of any film lover, what will? Stephen King’s novel The Shining was published in 1977 and has seen two adaptations: Kubrick’s legendary film and horror master Mick Garris’ faithful 1997 miniseries.