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Possessed

Play trailer Poster for Possessed 1947 1h 48m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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83% Tomatometer 12 Reviews 76% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
After collapsing, disoriented, in a Los Angeles diner, Louise (Joan Crawford) recounts the events of her life to a psychiatrist. While working as a nurse for the wife of wealthy Dean Graham (Raymond Massey), she falls in love with the Grahams' neighbor, David (Van Heflin), who rejects her affection. Following the death of Dean's wife, Louise becomes the new Mrs. Graham, but her dangerous fixation on David continues. She grows increasingly unstable as her obsession leads to madness and violence.
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Possessed

Critics Reviews

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James Agee TIME Magazine 03/02/2018
The weaknesses in this unusual movie do not greatly matter beside the fact that a lot of people who have a lot to give are giving it all they've got. Go to Full Review Dan Callahan Slant Magazine 06/07/2005
3/4
Possessed does have a few very good insights into the self-abasing aggressiveness of unrequited love. Go to Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Oct 26
3/4
Misdiagnosed in some circles as a film noir, this is actually a full-blooded melodrama in line with many other Crawford flicks. Go to Full Review Moira Walsh America Magazine 07/15/2021
The end result is that a potentially moving and illuminating inquiry into the workings of an unbalanced mind emerges as a jumble of contradictory scenes, many engrossing as individual units but lacking cohesion. Go to Full Review Josh Larsen LarsenOnFilm 11/22/2020
3.5/4
...a portrait of a woman for whom logic and reason has washed away, lost in a spreading ocean of mental illness. Go to Full Review Jack Moffitt Esquire Magazine 10/21/2020
It required great courage for Joan Crawford to play it and for Warner Brothers to produce it. The screen's never exhibited so ruthless a study of an undisciplined mind at work. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Mitch M Aug 25 The ending and the beginning do not even faintly match up, leaving so many plot holes that’s it impossible to imagine how a project such as this was ever green-stamped in the first place. Terribly overrated. See more william d @acsdoug 02/01/2022 What a great example of the noir genre of the 1940s. The film looks great; Director Bernhardt did a masterful job. Joan Crawford gives a great performance. See more 04/24/2021 Before there was Fatal Attraction's Alex Forrest there was Joan Crawford's portrayal of Louise Howell, a woman madly obsessed with a man. Possessed is a must-watch for fans of Crawford. See more 03/25/2021 Grand melodrama with Joan Crawford chewing the scenery. very entertaining! See more steve d 07/22/2020 Crawford gives one of her best performances. See more 07/19/2019 She loves him when he goes away for months. She loves him when he refuses to marry her. But when callow David Sutton chooses to marry someone else, Louise Howell's love for him takes a darker turn. Give her a gun and she'll love him to death. Joan Crawford reteams with producer Jerry Wald of her Academy Award winning Mildred Pierce and claims a 1947 Best Actress Oscar nomination for her portrayal of tempestuous, mentally unstable Louise. 'I love you' is such an inadequate way of saying I love you, Louise says. It doesn't quite describe how much it hurts sometimes. With Crawford at her film-noir-queen best, be assured it hurts so good. See more Read all reviews
Possessed

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Cast & Crew

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Curtis Bernhardt

Director

Joan Crawford

Louise Howell Graham

Van Heflin

David Sutton

Raymond Massey

Dean Graham

Geraldine Brooks

Carol Graham

Stanley Ridges

Dr. Harvey Williard

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Possessed

Possessed (1947) Possessed (1947) Possessed (1947) Possessed (1947) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis After collapsing, disoriented, in a Los Angeles diner, Louise (Joan Crawford) recounts the events of her life to a psychiatrist. While working as a nurse for the wife of wealthy Dean Graham (Raymond Massey), she falls in love with the Grahams' neighbor, David (Van Heflin), who rejects her affection. Following the death of Dean's wife, Louise becomes the new Mrs. Graham, but her dangerous fixation on David continues. She grows increasingly unstable as her obsession leads to madness and violence.
Director
Curtis Bernhardt
Producer
Jerry Wald
Screenwriter
Ranald MacDougall, Lawrence Menkin, Silvia Richards, Rita Weiman
Distributor
Warner Bros.
Production Co
Warner Brothers, First National Pictures
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 26, 1947, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 1, 2009
Runtime
1h 48m
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