Possessed (1947 film)
Encyclopedia
Possessed is a 1947 Warner Bros.
film starring Joan Crawford
, Van Heflin
, and Raymond Massey
in a tale about an unstable woman's obsession with her ex-lover. The screenplay by Ranald MacDougall
and Silvia Richards
was based upon a story by Rita Weiman. The film was directed by Curtis Bernhardt
and produced by Jerry Wald
. Possessed received one Academy Award nomination for Best Actress (Crawford).
Louise Howell is an emotionally unstable woman working as a nurse to the invalid wife of Dean Graham in the Graham home. Louise is in love with neighbor David Sutton, an engineer, who loathes her smothering obsession with him; he ends the relationship and leaves the area to Louise's great hurt. Shortly after, Graham's wife drowns. Louise remains in the home to care for the two Graham children: young Wynn and college-age Carol.
Time passes and David re-enters the scene, having taken an engineering job with Graham. He is surprised to find Louise with the family. Louise — still obsessed with David — makes a pass and is rebuffed. Moments later, Graham proposes to Louise and she accepts to salvage her pride.
Carol takes a fancy to David, much to the consternation of Louise, who tries to dissuade Carol from establishing a relationship with him. Louise's mind begins to decline with her obsession over David; she hears voices, has hallucinations, and believes her husband's first wife is still alive.
When David and Carol consider marriage, Louise tries to end their relationship. Graham is concerned about Louise's mental state and tries to persuade her to see a doctor. Believing her husband, David, and Carol are all against her and trying to put her away, Louise bursts into David's apartment and kills him in a schizophrenic episode.
The psychiatrist to whom Louise has recounted her story pronounces her insane and not responsible for her actions. He laments that he had not seen her sooner, as he is sure that if he had, the tragedy could have been avoided. He tells Graham that he intends to help Louise back to sanity, though the process will be long and arduous, with much pain and suffering in store for her. Graham pledges his full support and vows that he always be there for her, no matter how difficult it becomes.
During production director Curtis Bernhardt accidentally kept referring to Crawford as "Bette" as he had just finished filming A Stolen Life with Bette Davis
. Crawford tried unsuccessfully to convince Warner Bros. to change the film's title to The Secret since she had already starred in a film by the same name
earlier in her career.
in Time
wrote, "Most of it is filmed with unusual imaginativeness and force. The film is uncommonly well acted. Miss Crawford is generally excellent", while Howard Barnes in the New York Herald Tribune
argued, "[Crawford] has obviously studied the aspects of insanity to recreate a rather terrifying portrait of a woman possessed by devils."
The film was entered into the 1947 Cannes Film Festival
.
: Joan Crawford.
, the dreamlike tone that is a seminal characteristic of film noir
."
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
film starring Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
, Van Heflin
Van Heflin
Emmett Evan "Van" Heflin, Jr. was an American film and theatre actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man...
, and Raymond Massey
Raymond Massey
Raymond Hart Massey was a Canadian/American actor.-Early life:Massey was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Anna , who was born in Illinois, and Chester Daniel Massey, the wealthy owner of the Massey-Ferguson Tractor Company. Massey's family could trace their ancestry back to the American...
in a tale about an unstable woman's obsession with her ex-lover. The screenplay by Ranald MacDougall
Ranald MacDougall
Ranald MacDougall was an American screenwriter who scripted such films as Mildred Pierce , The Unsuspected , June Bride , and The Naked Jungle ....
and Silvia Richards
Silvia Richards
Silvia Richards was a screenwriter whose most notable films were made during the 1940s and 50s. She wrote screenplays for the German director Fritz Lang, several "film noir" classics, and later she wrote television scripts. Her work was interrupted by the McCarthy Hearings...
was based upon a story by Rita Weiman. The film was directed by Curtis Bernhardt
Curtis Bernhardt
Curtis Bernhardt was a German film director born in Worms, Germany, under the name Kurt Bernhardt. Some of his American films were called "woman's films" including the Joan Crawford film Possessed . Bernhardt trained as an actor in Germany, and performed on the stage, before starting as a film...
and produced by Jerry Wald
Jerry Wald
Jerry Wald was an American producer and screenwriter for motion pictures and radio shows.Born Jerome Irving Wald in Brooklyn, New York, he had a brother and sons who were active in show business. Jerry began writing a radio column for the New York Evening Graphic while a student at New York...
. Possessed received one Academy Award nomination for Best Actress (Crawford).
Plot
A woman is found wandering Los Angeles, unable to say anything other than "David." Admitted to hospital, she is coaxed into recounting her life.Louise Howell is an emotionally unstable woman working as a nurse to the invalid wife of Dean Graham in the Graham home. Louise is in love with neighbor David Sutton, an engineer, who loathes her smothering obsession with him; he ends the relationship and leaves the area to Louise's great hurt. Shortly after, Graham's wife drowns. Louise remains in the home to care for the two Graham children: young Wynn and college-age Carol.
Time passes and David re-enters the scene, having taken an engineering job with Graham. He is surprised to find Louise with the family. Louise — still obsessed with David — makes a pass and is rebuffed. Moments later, Graham proposes to Louise and she accepts to salvage her pride.
Carol takes a fancy to David, much to the consternation of Louise, who tries to dissuade Carol from establishing a relationship with him. Louise's mind begins to decline with her obsession over David; she hears voices, has hallucinations, and believes her husband's first wife is still alive.
When David and Carol consider marriage, Louise tries to end their relationship. Graham is concerned about Louise's mental state and tries to persuade her to see a doctor. Believing her husband, David, and Carol are all against her and trying to put her away, Louise bursts into David's apartment and kills him in a schizophrenic episode.
The psychiatrist to whom Louise has recounted her story pronounces her insane and not responsible for her actions. He laments that he had not seen her sooner, as he is sure that if he had, the tragedy could have been avoided. He tells Graham that he intends to help Louise back to sanity, though the process will be long and arduous, with much pain and suffering in store for her. Graham pledges his full support and vows that he always be there for her, no matter how difficult it becomes.
Cast
- Joan CrawfordJoan CrawfordJoan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
as Louise Howell - Van HeflinVan HeflinEmmett Evan "Van" Heflin, Jr. was an American film and theatre actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man...
as David Sutton - Raymond MasseyRaymond MasseyRaymond Hart Massey was a Canadian/American actor.-Early life:Massey was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Anna , who was born in Illinois, and Chester Daniel Massey, the wealthy owner of the Massey-Ferguson Tractor Company. Massey's family could trace their ancestry back to the American...
as Dean Graham - Geraldine Brooks as Carol Graham
- Stanley Ridges as Dr. Willard
- John Ridgely as Chief Investigator
- Moroni Olsen as Dr. Ames
- Erskine Sanford as Dr. Sherman
Production notes
Crawford spent time visiting mental wards and talking to psychiatrists to prepare for her role, and said the part was the most difficult she ever played.During production director Curtis Bernhardt accidentally kept referring to Crawford as "Bette" as he had just finished filming A Stolen Life with Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
. Crawford tried unsuccessfully to convince Warner Bros. to change the film's title to The Secret since she had already starred in a film by the same name
Possessed (1931 film)
Possessed is a Pre-Code 1931 drama film directed by Clarence Brown, starring Joan Crawford and Clark Gable, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film is the story of Marian Martin, a factory worker who rises to the top as the mistress of a wealthy attorney. The screenplay by Lenore J. Coffee...
earlier in her career.
Box office gross
The movie was a hit earning $3,027,000 at the worldwide box office on a budget of $2,592,000.Reception
James AgeeJames Agee
James Rufus Agee was an American author, journalist, poet, screenwriter and film critic. In the 1940s, he was one of the most influential film critics in the U.S...
in Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
wrote, "Most of it is filmed with unusual imaginativeness and force. The film is uncommonly well acted. Miss Crawford is generally excellent", while Howard Barnes in the New York Herald Tribune
New York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...
argued, "[Crawford] has obviously studied the aspects of insanity to recreate a rather terrifying portrait of a woman possessed by devils."
The film was entered into the 1947 Cannes Film Festival
1947 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :The entire jury at this festival were French.*Georges Huisman *Raymond Borderie *Georges Carriere *Chosson *Joseph Dotti *Escoute *Jean Grémillon...
.
Awards and nominations
Academy Award nomination (1947) for Best ActressAcademy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
: Joan Crawford.
Analysis
Film Noir notes, "By developing the plot from the point-of-view of a neurotic and skillfully using flashback and fantasy scenes in a straightforward manner, the distinction between reality and Louise's imagination is blurred. That makes Possessed a prime example of oneirismOneiric (film theory)
In a film theory context, the term oneiric refers to the depiction of dream-like states in films, or to the use of the metaphor of a dream or the dream-state to analyze a film. The connection between dreams and films has been long established; "The dream factory" “...has become a household...
, the dreamlike tone that is a seminal characteristic of film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
."