Possessed (1931 film)

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Possessed

VHS cover
Directed by Clarence Brown
Produced by Clarence Brown
Harry Rapf
Irving Thalberg
Written by Play:
Edgar Selwyn
Adaptation:
Lenore J. Coffee
Starring Joan Crawford
Clark Gable
Wallace Ford
Skeets Gallagher
Music by William Axt
Charles Maxwell
Joseph Meyer
Cinematography Oliver T. Marsh
Editing by William LeVanway
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s) November 21, 1931
Running time 76 min.
Country Flag of the United States United States
Language English
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Possessed is an American 1931 MGM film, produced and directed by Clarence Brown. It was and co-produced by Harry Rapf and Irving Thalberg.[1]

The screenplay was written by Lenore J. Coffee, and adapted from the 1920 Broadway play The Mirage by Edgar Selwyn.

The film stars Joan Crawford and Clark Gable and is not to be confused with the 1947 noir film Possessed which starred Joan and Van Heflin.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Possessed (1931)
Possessed (1931)

The picture tells the story of Marian Martin (Joan Crawford), a small-town girl determining to give up the idea of marriage.

Her finances are paid by a wealthy attorney Mark Whitney (Clark Gable).

Marian life of luxury comes crashing down when Mark decides to run in the gubernatorial race.

A rival leaks her identity and Marian is forced to defend herself at one of Mark's election rallies.

Her story brings the crowd to tears, however, and Mark decides to propose to Marian.

[edit] Critical reception

The film was well received by film critics.

Critic Mordaunt Hall, writing for The New York Times, liked the film and the direction of Clarence Brown. He wrote, "Through Clarence Brown's able direction, handsome settings and a fairly well-written script, Possessed, ... is a gratifying entertainment. It is an adaptation of Edgar Selwyn's play Mirage,...the familiar theme or a small-town factory girl who becomes the mistress of a wealthy New Yorker is set forth with new ideas which result in surprises if not in a measure of suspense."[2]

[edit] Cast

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Possessed at the Internet Movie Database.
  2. ^ Hall, Mordaunt. The New York Times, film review, November 28, 1931.

[edit] External links