Possessed

Overview

We first meet Joan Crawford, star of this moody flashbackfest, wandering aimlessly through the city streets. She goes to pieces in public and is rushed to the mental ward, where a team of psychiatrists try to find out who she is and where she's been.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/13/2018
UPC:	0888574642259
Original Release:	1947
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:48:00
Sales rank:	44,083

Special Features

Commentary by film historian Drew Casper; Featurette: Possessed: the quintessential film noir; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Joan Crawford	Louise Howell
Van Heflin	David Sutton
Raymond Massey	Dean Graham
Geraldine Brooks	Carol Graham
Moroni Olsen	Ames
Stanley Ridges	Willard
John Ridgely	Harker
Nana Bryant	Pauline Graham
Erskine Sanford	Dr. Max Sherman
Peter Miles	Wynn Graham
Isabel Withers	Nurse Rosen
Lisa Golm	Elsie
Douglas Kennedy	Assistant District Attorney
Monte Blue	Caretaker
Don McGuire	Dr. Craig
Rory Mallinson	Coroner's Assistant
Clifton Young	Intern
Griff Barnett	Coroner
Ralph Dunn	Motorman
Max Wagner	Man in Cafe
Richard Bartell	Man in Cafe
Frank Marlowe	Proprietor
Rose Plummer	Woman in Cafe
Robert Lowell	Face
Richard Walsh	Face
Jack Mower	Man
James Conaty	Foreman
Creighton Hale	Secretary
Jane Harker	1st College Girl
Martha Montgomery	2nd College Girl
Jacob Gimpel	Walter Sveldon
Nell Craig	Nurse
Bunty Cutler	Nurse
Henry Sylvester	Dean's Secretary
Sarah Padden	Caretaker's Wife
Wheaton Chambers	Waiter
Eddie Hart	Bartender
Philo McCullough	Edwards
Paul Bradley	Wedding Guest
Peggy Leon	Wedding Guest
Jeffrey Sayre	Dance Extra
Tris Coffin	Man at Concert

Technical Credits

Silvia Richards

Ranald MacDougall

Clarence Brown	Director
Curtis Bernhardt	Director
Silvia Richards	Screenwriter
Ranald MacDougall	Screenwriter
Robert Burks	Special Effects
William McGann	Special Effects
Jerry Wald	Producer
Robert B. Lee	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Joan Crawford won an Academy Award in 1945 for Mildred Pierce, and, two years later, she was trying her utmost to win another. Her gripping, melodramatic star turn helped make Possessed a hit and a prime example of post-war film noir. Crawford can't find happiness with either Van Heflin or Raymond Massey, and her fiery emotions drive her into a lethal frenzy. Based on Rita Weiman's book One Man's Secret, Possessed is told almost entirely in flashbacks, the goal being to figure out what drove Crawford's character crazy. As a dark psychological study, this is Hollywood at its moodiest; love has rarely seemed so perilous and fraught with anxiety. German director Curtis Bernhardt was known for making emotional films that appealed to women. Crawford got her Oscar nomination, but Loretta Young won the statuette that year for The Farmer's Daughter.