Possessed

Released Jul 26, 1947

1h 48m

Mystery & Thriller

List

83%

12 Reviews

Tomatometer

76%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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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william d

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.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

ogn d

It looks like Joan Crawford is experiencing menopause from what I've seen.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

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.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Grand melodrama with Joan Crawford chewing the scenery. very entertaining!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/25/21

Full Review

steve d

Crawford gives one of her best performances.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

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.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

Full Review

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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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James Agee

TIME Magazine

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.

Mar 2, 2018

Full Review

Dan Callahan

Slant Magazine

Possessed does have a few very good insights into the self-abasing aggressiveness of unrequited love.

Rated: 3/4

Jun 7, 2005

Full Review

Moira Walsh

America Magazine

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.

Jul 15, 2021

Full Review

Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

...a portrait of a woman for whom logic and reason has washed away, lost in a spreading ocean of mental illness.

Rated: 3.5/4

Nov 22, 2020

Full Review

Jack Moffitt

Esquire Magazine

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.

Oct 21, 2020

Full Review

Josephine O'Neill

Daily Telegraph (Australia)

Possessed faintly echoes Lost Weekend, Seventh Veil - and has one camera shot straight from Stairway to Heaven. It is, however, a powerful and effective document - from which the susceptible will totter.

Apr 11, 2019

Full Review

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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: Jack L. Warner
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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