Actors: Joan Crawford, Van Heflin, Raymond Massey, Geraldine Brooks, Stanley Ridges
Directors: Curtis Bernhardt
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Archive Collection
Release Date: October 21, 2014
Run Time: 108 minutes
Film: 4 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2.5 out of 5 stars
If you are a Joan Crawford fan then “Possessed” is a must watched. Her tour-de-force performance earned here another Best Actress nomination. There is something about Crawford as an actress that has yet to be replaced in films. “Possessed” is a nice film noir title that keep your interest the entire film. It has murder, intrigue and plenty of passion. Warner Archive Collection was behind this release and produced a beautiful transfer for the black-and-white classic. The film has some outstanding shots courtsey of Joseph A. Valentine, who was responsible for “Shadow of a Doubt”, “Rope” and “Victor Fleming’s Joan of Arc”. If you are a fan of this film, I highly recommend this release.
Official Premise: Possessed (1947) opens with Crawford portraying a woman found wandering the streets of Los Angeles. Taken to a mental hospital, she weaves a harrowing tale of insanity, murder and the passion by which provides the basis for the film’s apt title. Louise Howell’s (Crawford) psychiatrist learns that she is a nurse hired to care for a dying woman and that she rekindled a former romance with her patient’s neighbor, David Sutton (Van Heflin). But the suicide of her charge and rejection by the man she loves drive Howell to madness–and murder. Or do they? Is Howell’s harrowing story true or the misperception of a deranged mind? Is Howell guilty of murder or an innocent victim of something far more sinister?
I have watched plenty of black and white films on Blu-ray and this film doesn’t look that it is 67 years old at all. I also loved the film’s original mono track, the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, delivers the dialogue very clear and Oscar winner Franz Waxman (“Sunset Boulevard”) amazing score. The special features are taken from Warner’s 2005 DVD release. There is a commentary track with Film Historian Drew Casper. It is quite in-depth and tehcnical. There is a short featurette “Possessed: The Quintessential Film Noir” looking into the films genre elements. Lastly there is the original theatrical trailer included.