Reply to Topic
Possessed (1947)
A very enjoyable, if uneven, example of 1940s noir and psychological drama. Much of the dreamy quality of the film is enhanced by the black and white shading, the settings, and Franz Waxman’s evocative score.
Joan Crawford stars in the complex role of a woman obsessed with a lover (Van Heflin) who is indifferent, and grows to resent her clinging. At the film’s opening we are presented with Crawford wandering downtown Los Angeles in a semi-catatonic state, who ends up in a psychiatric emergency hospital where she gradually relates how she deteriorated into her mental condition.
Raymond Massey plays her wealthy domestic employer whose wife commits suicide, and his daughter (Geraldine Brooks) falls for the same caddish man who has jilted Crawford. Massey and Crawford are brought together, and steadfastly face the future after a particularly serious event by Crawford.
The direction by Curtis Bernhardt and the screenplay itself are a little mixed, and some of the plot and emotional transitions might have been better handled. Still, this is a fascinating watch, and a prime example of Crawford’s breadth as an actress.
Doc’s rating: 6/10
p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 120%; }
. I haven't seen it on UK television for years so I don't know how they're presenting it now – certainly it should never be changed as it reveals the peculiarities of the era. One example I remember is "[n-word] brown" being used to describe the colour of an item of clothing.
