''Portrait from Life'' (also known as ''Lost Daughter'', and in the U.S. as ''The Girl in the Painting'') is a 1948 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Terence Fisher Terence Fisher (23 February 1904 – 18 June 1980) was a British film director best known for his work for Hammer Films. He was the first to bring gothic horror alive in full colour, and the sexual overtones and explicit horror in his films, ...

and starring

Mai Zetterling Mai Elisabeth Zetterling (; 24 May 1925 – 17 March 1994) was a Swedish film director, novelist and actor. Early life Zetterling was born in Västerås, Sweden to a working class family. She started her career as an actor at the age of 17 at D ...

Robert Beatty Robert Rutherford Beatty (19 October 1909 – 3 March 1992) was a Canadian actor who worked in film, television and radio for most of his career and was especially known in the UK. Early years Beatty was born in Hamilton, Ontario, the son of ...

and

Guy Rolfe Guy Rolfe (born Edwin Arthur Rolfe, 27 December 1911 – 19 October 2003) was a British actor. Career Rolfe was born in Kilburn, London. Before turning to acting at the age of 24 he was a professional boxer and racing driver, making his stage ...

Plot

A British Army officer, Major Lawrence (

), is on leave from being stationed in occupied Germany just after WW2 when he sees a painting of a beautiful young girl called Hildegard in a London art gallery. While viewing the painting he is approached by an old man, Professor Franz Menzel (

Arnold Marlé Arnold Marlé (15 September 1887 – 21 February 1970) was a German actor who appeared largely in British films and television programmes. Stage work His theatre work included appearances on the London stage, and a year-and-a-half-long run on B ...

), who escaped from Nazi Germany in the 1930s leaving his family behind and claims to be the young girl's father. Major Lawrence agrees to search for the young girl when he returns to Germany. On returning to Germany and after a long search Major Lawrence eventually tracks down the young girl but she is suffering from amnesia and living with a German couple who claim to be her parents. As Lawrence investigates, the circumstances of the young girl's past become more complicated.

Partial cast

as Hildegard / Lidia *

as Campbell Reid *

as Major Lawrence *

Herbert Lom Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru (11 September 1917 – 27 September 2012), known professionally as Herbert Lom (), was a Czech-British actor who moved to the United Kingdom in 1939. In a career lasting more than 60 ye ...

as Fritz Kottler Hendlemann *

Patrick Holt Patrick Holt (31 January 1912 – 12 October 1993) was an English film and television actor. Biography Born Patrick G. Parsons in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, Holt spent some of his childhood in India with his uncle, after which he was sen ...

as Ferguson *

as Professor Franz Menzel *

Sybille Binder Sybille Binder (5 January 1895 – 30 June 1962) was an Austrian actress of Jewish descent whose career of over 40 years was based variously in her home country, Germany and Britain, where she found success in films during the 1940s. Career Bi ...

as Eitel Hendlemann *

Thora Hird Dame Thora Hird (28 May 1911 – 15 March 2003) was an English actress and comedian, presenter and writer. In a career spanning over 70 years, she appeared in more than 100 film and television roles, becoming a household name and a Briti ...

as Mrs. Skinner *

Gerard Heinz Gerard Heinz (born Gerhard Hinze; 2 January 1904 – 20 November 1972) was a German actor. Heinz was born in Hamburg, Germany and later moved to Britain, where he changed his name. He appeared in almost 60 films (including ''Caravan''), and a n ...

as Heine *

Yvonne Owen Maire Yvonne Owen (28 July 1923 – December 1990) was a British stage and film actress. Life and career Born in London in 1923, she was married to Alan Badel for 40 years; they had a daughter Sarah. In 1946 she appeared in the West End mel ...

as Helen * Philo Hauser as Hans Ackermann * Pete Murray as Lt. Keith * Gordon Bell as Captain Roberts *

Nelly Arno Nelly Aronowsky (15 July 1892 – September 1966), known professionally as Nelly Arno, was a German-born British theatre, film and radio actress. Aronowsky was born in Karlsruhe to Abraham Aronowsky and Fanny (''née'' Maysel). She had a you ...

as Anna Skutetsky *

Cyril Chamberlain Cyril Chamberlain (8 March 1909 – 5 December 1974) was an English film and television actor. He appeared in a number of the early '' Carry On'', ''Doctor'' and '' St. Trinian's'' films. Chamberlain was born on 8 March 1909 in London and die ...

as Supervisor *

Betty Lynne Betty Lynne (1911–2011) was a British film actress. During the late 1930s she played the female lead in a number of quota quickies, several of them for Warner Bros. at Teddington Studios. In 1939 she co-starred with Robert Newton in the thrille ...

as Interpreter * Anthony Steel as Bridegroom * John Blythe as Club Manager

Production

Anthony Steel has one of his earliest film appearances.

Critical reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' wrote, "the new picture at the Little Carnegie stems from an intriguing idea, and there are several very effective sequences in the drama, plus a fine performance by the Swedish actress, Mai Zetterling. Indeed, if the whole of ''The Girl in the Painting'' were as good as its parts, the posting of this notice would be a much more pleasant task. Too much, rather than too little, story and plodding direction are the principal faults"; while Allmovie described it as "an over-orchestrated "guilty pleasure" from the glory days of British romance pictures."

Box office

The film made a profit of £4,100.

References

External links

* {{Terence Fisher 1948 films Films directed by Terence Fisher British drama films 1948 drama films Films with screenplays by Muriel Box Films with screenplays by Sydney Box Films set in Germany Films set in London Films set in 1946 Films about amnesia Films scored by Benjamin Frankel British black-and-white films 1940s British films