Possessed (1931) User Reviews

Fast-paced and racy

[preppy-3 · 8/10 · 13 October 2003]

Poor factory girl (Joan Crawford) goes to New York to find fame and fortune. She quickly becomes a "kept" woman for a rich lawyer (Clark Gable--without his moustache). But she can't keep her past away forever and things start to go terribly wrong.

Strong (for 1931), short (71 minutes) pre-Code drama. The script is sharp and believable, the direction good and there are some incredibly lavish settings. Also Crawford and Gable are just great in their roles and both of them look incredibly beautiful. There was a brief part at the end that I didn't buy, but that didn't destroy the picture at all. Well worth seeing for anybody, but a definite must for Crawford and Gable fans.

Crawford and Gable Doing What They Do Best...

[Piltdown_Man · 7/10 · 28 September 2005]

This is a very solid bit of movie-making. Well directed and edited. Little fluff. A script that is generally crisp and moves the plot forward.

Crawford is strong and likable as she moves from factory girl to "kept woman," apparently without missing a beat.

It's in these early Crawford films that you really see what the shouting was all about. She is beautiful, vulnerable, strong, sweet and, most importantly, a powerful screen presence. And she can show you all those sides of herself in the same scene.

Gable too, while playing a somewhat subservient role, gets to strut his stuff. He is at once, a "man's man" and "ladies man." Neat trick. Try it sometime.

One aspect of this film that you'll appreciate is its lack of moralizing. The story is out there for all to see, but we don't get it rubbed in our faces. Also, along the lines of Philip Barry ("The Philadelphia Story") we are allowed to see that money and power does not necessarily make a man bad, while struggle and poverty doesn't make him good, either.

As with all movies of this era, you have to allow for the changing morals and attitudes that have interceded in the following 70 years, but it's a testament to the writer and director that this still holds up.

Joan sings, dances, and gets slapped by Gable

[Jim Tritten · 8/10 · 18 August 2002]

Excellent soaper with a Joan Crawford billed above the soon-to-be superstar Clark Gable. The possibility of upward mobility afforded to women, especially at this time during the Great Depression, remains a theme of interest today. Women can play on men and get upward mobility but there is often a price to be paid -- and Joan pays it in this movie.

Excellent photography makes the best of the stars and Adrian's dressing of Joan. Notable train sequence in beginning of film has the poor Joan facing the possibility of the good life if she is willing to defy convention and joint those "inside the car." Gable teaches her how to act and she becomes a refined, but kept, woman. He refuses to marry her for all the "right" reasons but in the end, Joan is affected by society's opinion of women in her station.

Grandstand speech sequence at the end of the film is a bit too unbelievable but my wife was moved to tears when she saw it. One of Joan's better films. Recommended.

Mature pre-code Hollywood drama

[Jim West · 30 April 2000]

This movie goes to prove that pre-code Hollywood was much more mature and knew how to make movies of good taste on socially relevant issues. The theme of the woman who lives as a 'mistress' of the man she loves because he prefers not to get married was very daring in those days. The social background was also cleverly handled. One scene is particularly impressive and intelligent: when J. Crawford, just about to cross a railroad, stops to wait a train go slowly by and, through each window that passes, she has a glimpse of how the other half lives, just as though she were watching a movie. A visually very inspired moment.

Watch Gable and Crawford, not the very predictable plot!

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 1 June 2015]

I'm giving this one a 7/10 just based on the chemistry of Clark Gable and Joan Crawford alone! If it had been some other couple playing the leads this would only have warranted about a 5/10.

It's another take on one of Joan's shop girl roles that MGM so often cast her in, except here she (Marian) works in a box factory. The rather boorish Al Manning (Wallace Ford) thinks Marian is his for the asking, but Marian has bigger ideas. She has a conversation with a very drunk and wealthy Wally (Skeets Gallagher) who is enjoying the night air on the caboose of a train in the train yard, and he gives her his card and tells her to come see him.

Now Marian goes home to mom and an angry Al - he smells the liquor on her breath - and they have it out. She says she is leaving town and going to meet up with Wally in New York. She says that if she was a man they'd think it was right for her to use her brains to get what she can however she can. Now that last statement is an odd one because Marian behaves quite naively for the next 15 minutes of the film, not brainy at all. She DOES go to New York and she DOES look up Wally...who has little or no memory of her and is displeased to see her. But she catches him in one of his rare sober moments and he tells her upfront the invitation was never sincere, neither is he, and NO he will not introduce her to any of his rich friends. Marian is dejected and ejected. Her lucky break? Two of Wally's rich friends are on the way into his apartment as she leaves and she simply follows them back in. She just plainly asks them if they are rich and single because she has no time to waste on them if they are not!

Now this is all very stupid obvious behavior from Marian, who could easily have become a sadder but wiser girl if any of these men had the drive or ambition to make her one, but she lucks out. Gable's character (Mark Whitney) takes an instant liking to her honesty - you'll find out later why exactly, and the two are an instant couple, but not a married couple, for the next three years, traveling the globe together. Whitney even gives her a fake name and identity - Mrs. Moreland, a divorcée - so they can explain her expensive lifestyle as emanating from alimony. Mark shows her how to speak, how to dress, how to command a household of servants, how to host a dinner party - a complete makeover from the country mouse she was.

Then complications arise. Marian wants marriage that Mark won't give her, and New York's political machine wants Mark to become governor- and that means no mistress. How will this all work out? Watch and find out.

Like I said, nothing unusual here for early 30's MGM - the shop girl and the wealthy guy and the entailing Cinderella transformation, the small minded small town boyfriend, the mom who waits back home with a light in the window, the respectability that a mistress never has, etc. But every time Gable and Crawford are together you can feel the electricity - which was real by the way. The two had an affair for years but never got married because they figured they'd fight as man and wife.

And then there are a couple of coincidences. Here Joan takes on the identity of a divorcée and is taught the etiquette her station as Mark's companion will require. In 1950 she is also given a new name "Lorna Hanson Forbes" and the identity of a divorcée so she can be a married gangster's social companion and mistress with no questions asked. Then there is a film starring Joan with an identical name - "Possessed" - made in 1947. It has a completely different storyline though and is made by a different studio - Warner Brothers.

I'd say watch it, try not to get put out by the forgettable plot with a rather unsatisfactory ending and just note the great chemistry between Gable and Crawford, and really good acting in the supporting roles especially by Skeets Gallagher and Wallace Ford. Recommended.

A Woman's Struggle

[jem132 · 7/10 · 15 March 2007]

Clarence Brown's Pre-Code 1931 drama POSSESSED is an engaging film enhanced considerably by the star presence of a young and beautiful Joan Crawford.

Crawford shines as poor factory worker Marian Martin, a girl from the "wrong side of the tracks". After another grubby day on the assembly line and an unwanted proposal from a poor suitor (Wallace Ford) Marian glimpses another side of life on a train passing through town. She makes her way to the city and quickly finds that as a woman she must make more than a few sacrifices if she is to enjoy the "good life". Meeting handsome lawyer Mark Whitney (Clark Gable)makes all her financial dreams come true, yet Marian still longs for the one thing Whitney will not give her-a marriage proposal.

Brown creates an effective melodrama that interestingly examines some of the social mores and topical concerns of the 1930's. The position of women in society is the key theme addressed by the competent director, with Crawford's portrayal being both realistic and touching. Crawford makes great use of the close-up to express inner thoughts and feelings, suggesting a whole range of emotions when she overhears Gable speak of his reluctance towards marriage. Crawford is the film's best asset and she does some great work here, providing the most memorable scenes in the picture.

The film's other triumph is the slick narrative economy employed by Brown. POSSESSED clocks in at around 73 minutes and is a very efficiently-produced film. MGM's trademark opulent production design suits the penthouse scenes well, with Crawford looking terrific in jewels and well-cut dresses. Cinematographer Oliver T. Marsh provides some inspired visual style in an early scene that sees Marian standing in awe at the luxury and splendor passing by her on the train. The juxtaposition of Marian's two lifestyles in this short sequence is a nice effect.

The film is let down by Gable's distinct blandness and an average script. Gable conspicuously lacks presence alongside Crawford in their scenes and his dialogue delivery is very wooden here. I have noticed that in Gable's early films he really did have trouble trying to emote on camera. Luckily for Gable, Crawford manages to cover for him in their romantic scenes, putting in a top-drawer 'cover all bases' performance.

Worth seeing for Crawford, the themes and it's production design.

7/10.

Possessed (1931) **1/2

[JoeKarlosi · 6/10 · 21 September 2009]

I came by this movie when someone I know at work gave me a still-sealed copy from the Warner Archive Collection; they'd sent him two of the same title by mistake. Since it was Clark Gable and Joan Crawford I decided I'd give it a chance. Joan plays a factory worker who gets tired of the hum-drum life she leads and isn't interested in the man who's longed to marry her since they were kids (Wallace Ford) so she leaves it all and travels to New York City where she plays mistress to a wealthy lawyer (Gable) to get the kind of high living she wants. Three years later, Ford still wants to marry her, and Gable intends to run for Governor but his chances may be jeopardized by living with a woman. This pre-code film was nothing earth shattering, but had good performances from Crawford and Gable, and for me an added surprise bonus with a strong turn by Wallace Ford. I think through this movie it's easy to see Crawford's talents and how Gable was destined to become a big star. Director Clarence Brown has a nice touch, and some shots are very impressive. The one which stood out most for me is early on where Joan longingly observes well-to-do people interacting on a slow-moving train, as we see them through the windows of each passing car. When I see artistic flourishes like this in so many early '30s pictures (and many silents), my old defense of Tod Browning's Dracula for being dull due to it being an early talkie certainly falls flat. **1/2 out of ****

Crawford & Gable dazzle

[hankochai · 8/10 · 17 October 2005]

*Contains spoilers* This is a great example of a pre-code "Woman's Picture." Although Joan Crawford's character starts out baldly and brazenly out for a rich man (Clark Gable), she ends up with one she loves dearly and begins to chafe at the tramp label. She sacrifices that love, and the money, for Gable's sake. And throughout, she's never cheap or vulgar but has an honesty and kindness about her.

I think it's beside the point to call this picture "dated" -- it is almost 75 years old after all. Rather, it's a movie that came out of a very specific period in cinema. Crawford is fantastic -- as others have noted, you understand why she was such a big star when you see pictures like this. This is well before she descended into melodrama and camp...instead, she is remarkably naturalistic. Gable is virile and charismatic as always. And the ending is romantic, too.

The perfect depression movie

[1930s_Time_Machine · 7/10 · 26 June 2023]

If you want a film to epitomise The Great Depression then this is for you. Although Warner Brothers are associated with pictures showing the plight of 'the little people' this superbly made, well acted MGM film focuses on just one young woman's struggle which because her character is so richly written and believable, it gives an authentic insight into the reality of the early thirties. Unlike a lot of films from 1931, this one takes you to what seems like a real place.

Joan Crawford may not be the world's most likeable actress but you'll not be able to tear your eyes from her in this. Her character is beautifully written with a naturalness that's fairly uncommon in 1931. She is unusually honest with an authenticity you'd associate with films made decades later but she is still most definitely a person who could only exist in the early thirties.

What also makes this so much better than some of its contemporaries is the high class direction. Although not one of Hollywood's best known directors these days, Clarence Brown was an astonishing filmmaker. A few months earlier he had made another of 1931's best films: A FREE SOUL. There's no stagey acting with a static cast awkwardly reading their lines in order. Brown makes everything flow just right. Watching this, something made so well, you'll wonder so many early talkies were so utterly terrible.

The story centres on Crawford's character Marian who decides to quit the humdrum of factory life in a nameless nowhere for the big city. She's not the usual sweet and innocent pure young thing about to get corrupted by a callous cynical millionaire: she knows exactly what she needs to do and she wants to do that. The only way for a girl like her to survive in the big city, she is told, is to hook a man, a rich man. This is exactly what she sets out to do and although it's not smooth sailing, she finds a good sugar daddy (and a young one) in the form of Clarke Gable, who himself is on top form. His character is not the lazy stereotype rich man so often seen in early talkies. He and also loveable anti-hero Wallace Ford are both as complex and layered as anyone in a modern film.

Overall, the naturalistic acting, imaginative direction and properly written characters make this picture entertaining, insightful and fun.

Early Crawford and Gable in an intelligent film

[atlasmb · 8/10 · 19 September 2014]

I am not a Joan Crawford fan, but I have come to appreciate her acting, especially in her early career. This film, released in 1931, shows her promise as an actress (not to mention Gable, who always displayed a magnetism that lit up the screen). Joan would star in another film titled "Possessed" in 1947, but they are two different stories. In this pre-Code story, adapted from a play, she is Marian Martin, a small-town girl who works in a box factory, but is determined to get ahead, though she sees no prospects locally.

A train passing through town slows and stops in front of her. Through the windows, she sees highlights of the high life, the life of the big city, promising wealth and romance. It is a wonderful scene. As a result, she makes her way to New York City, where she meets Mark Whitney (Clark Gable), a wealthy, unmarried attorney who immediately likes her no-nonsense honesty. They become involved, but he has no plans to marry her.

Crawford is vivacious and convincing in the role, showing a wide range of emotions. The film spotlights her beauty and her talent. In one scene, she sings in French, German and English. The song is "How Long Will it Last?"--an appropriate choice. The script is intelligent and the directing is clever and inventive.

There is only one section of the film that did not ring true, but it sets up a scene that is the dramatic climax of the film. As a whole, this film is well worth seeing.

Don't confuse this with the 1947 Joan Crawford movie!

[Pat-54 · 7/10 · 17 November 1998]

Joan Crawford made two films, both with the title; "Possessed." This is the 1931 version (the other was made in 1947) and the two stories are nothing alike. Clark Gable is in this one, and it's a delight to see the two superstars together. (Supposedly, they were having a torrid affair at the time this was filmed).

Rather great stuff, if you can find a watchable copy...natural and warm

[secondtake · 8/10 · 2 May 2014]

Possessed (1931)

A wonderful Joan Crawford film not to be confused with her second, completely unrelated, also wonderful movie of the same title (yes) from 1947. This one, to be sure, also stars Clark Gable, and it dates from the years when Gable and Crawford had an intermittent, steamy affair. The chemistry is good, the filming excellent (and sometimes breathtaking), and the overall story a lively pre-code, Depression-era tale of succeeding.

But success at what cost? That's the key. You love Crawford's rise, and her methods are sincere even if not as sweet and homespun as the first scene would imply. It's not that she's corrupted, but that she discovers the excitement of the big city, and the truth that there really is sincerity there as much as in the little town she came from.

Gable represents every girl's dream, of course. He's suave, warm, funny. And rich. Their interactions are natural throughout, and the pace lively (as most of the famous pre-Code films are).

The filming is excellent, including a somewhat famous long take of Crawford, near the beginning, watching a train slowly amble by as a parade of different scenes unfolds through each window. It's worth seeing just for that scene alone (if you like great cinematography, and the aura of old Hollywood).

Clarence Brown is the uncredited (!) director here, and he's terrific. See "A Free Soul" made at the same time for another (even better) film showing off his ability to make dialogs crisp and true. (He's more famous for his many movies with Garbo, but he did a slew with Crawford.)

If you think there is a predictability here, you're going to be partly wrong. See this one, not because it's a classic, but because it's very very good, and forgotten. You will have trouble finding a good version, however. The one I found was on iTunes and it was so terrible (harsh tones, highlights so washed out you couldn't see their faces in many scenes) I don't recommend it. (I wrote to complain and got a quick refund, an apology, and a promise to look into it. I don't know if that fixed the problem, however, in Spring 2014.) Anyway, find a good copy somehow. Do it.

Going after the good life without shame and without regret.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 17 March 2017]

Having left school at the age of 12, Joan Crawford's Marian never learned to spell regret. And as perfect as the are together, her handsome attorney lover Clark Gable doesn't want to marry her to risk finding out her imperfections. It's a perfect relationship, but as much of a lady Joan becomes after leaving her factory town, she desires that quality called respectability. As much of an obvious gold digger she is, she's open about it, and that's what Gable likes about her, tired of the phoniness he's encountered before. But as his reputation grows and his political clout increases, she's a danger to him, something she refuses to be.

Almost semi-autobiographical, this parallels Crawford's rise up the ladder from uneducated chorus girl to extra to rising starlet, to by this time, superstar. It's also Gable's first hit, and the sparks fly from the moment she intrudes on Skeets Gallagher's business meeting and wins him over. Earlier, a drunken Skeets advised her to get out of her factory town and board the train to the other side of the tracks. If the sight of her tired mother Clara Blandick doesn't convince her that it's time, it's content suitor Wallace Ford. By the time Crawford has gotten in to deep, she fights the tears back as she's too far in, and her only choice to save him and her self respect is to get out.

This plot line sounds like the special dialog added to the Judy Garland speech in the middle of "Dear Mr. Gable". This isn't just your typical Joan Crawford tearjerker. There is something special about this film, for me not just being one of the very first Crawford film I recall seeing on home video, but in its tale of moral struggle and misplaced ambition as well. Crawford isn't just some beautiful ice statue; she has all the right ingredients for super-stardom, and under the direction of veteran director Clarence Brown, reaches it with no yellow brick road to skip down. With this film, her legendary status became assured.

possessed

[mossgrymk · 5/10 · 11 October 2020]

Classic case of the wrong director. This kind of Depression era, small town babe on the make in the Big City type stuff needs a light, breezy, sassy Roy Del Ruth or Mervin Le Roy. Instead, the job's been outsourced to heavy Clarence Brown and after a good beginning, with Skeets Gallagher excellent as the jaded roue Mad Hatter who lures Joan Crawford's poor Pennsylvanian down the rich rabbit hole, things get melodramatic and dull with a general lack of humor or pzazz in usually good Lenore Coffey's script. Plus this film is asking the viewer to buy that there actually exists a world where a girl would throw over Clark Gable for Wallace Ford! Incredible. Give it a C.

Probably Gable & Crawford's best film

[nickandrew · 14 July 2002]

In 1931, rising star Clark Gable & already established star Joan Crawford made three films together at MGM. This is probably the best of those three, and maybe the best of all eight they did over a nine-year period (STRANGE CARGO in 1940 follows second best). Crawford is a poor Pennsylvania factory worker, who decides to go to New York to find fortune and happiness, eventually with married lawyer Gable. The plot relies on the familiar "Crawford formula" of a rags-to-riches story. 3 out of 4 stars.

Dated with Corny Conclusion, But Still Delightful to See

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 28 September 2013]

The ambitious box factory worker Marian (Joan Crawford) lives in the countryside and dreams on having a luxury lifestyle, with a comfortable apartment, jewels and money. When her friend and also worker Al Manning (Wallace Ford) proposes to marry her, she goes to the train station and meets the millionaire Wally (Skeets Gallagher) that invites Marian to go to New York. On the arrival, she meets the prominent lawyer and aspirant to politician Mark Whitney (Clark Gable) and becomes his mistress. Three years later, Marian has become a refined woman and her dream has come true, but she falls in love with Whitney. When Manning visits her, he has become a self-made man and he believes that Marion has married a wealthy man. Soon Marian realizes that she is only the perfect mistress but not Whitney's wife. When he runs to governor, Marion sacrifices her relationship with Whitney to avoid a scandal that could damage his image in the elections.

"Possessed" is a dated movie with a corny conclusion, but still delightful to see despite the amoral story. Joan Crawford and Clark Gable have a perfect chemistry and there are witty dialogs. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Possuída" ("Possessed")

Interesting, but...

[stills-6 · 6/10 · 25 July 2001]

I hesitate to criticize this movie because it was made in 1931, and, really, what more do you want? Clark Gable and Joan Crawford for crying out loud!

But it's way too short for what it's trying to do. Much of the interesting action is missing. Also, after the first 20 minutes or so it gets very stagey and static - with one exception where Crawford skulks around in the study. She's great and has a real flair for being hurtful when it suits her. Unfortunately, Gable is not a terrific actor to begin with, and when his character has no affectations he can fall back on, like in Mogambo or It Happened One Night, he's quite stiff.

Overall, I'd recommend this movie just as I'd recommend almost all movies made before 1939 that have made it this far.

Solid pre-Code, with a couple of baffling quirks

[marcslope · 7/10 · 3 September 2013]

Nobody wrote better screen soap operas than Lenore Coffee, and she introduces some surprisingly modern notions of being-a-kept-woman in this pre-Code star vehicle for Joan Crawford, in her ambitious-gal-from-the-wrong-side-of-the-tracks phase. To escape the numbing mediocrity of her small-town box factory and unappealing suitor (Wallace Ford), she decamps to the Big Apple and soon meets up-and-coming lawyer-politician Clark Gable. Gable was 30 and unpolished, and isn't quite convincing as a man about town still smarting from a disastrous first marriage; ten years later he'd have been ideal. The camera loves Crawford, and Coffee is refreshingly nonjudgmental about the affair the pair pursues, though a couple of odd quirks pop up in its telling. To steer gossips away, the pair pretends she's a widow, which seems not only unnecessary but pointless; how is this going to throw anyone off their scent? And though she's clearly a kept woman, when old boyfriend Ford visits her and learns The Truth, she assures him there's nothing dirty going on; either she's lying or this is a very peculiar mistress relationship. It's swift and breezy with terse dialog, and though the 11th-hour plot turnabout is as unconvincing as every commenter says it is, one is entertained up to the end.

Crawford and Gable Have an Electrifying Chemistry!!!

[kidboots · 10/10 · 17 August 2012]

"Possessed" was rushed into production after the disappointing "This Modern Age" which, despite it's title, was very passe. The one satisfying thing that Joan Crawford took away was being able to play opposite one of her acting idols, Pauline Frederick, and she soaked up the older actress's refinement and speech. More than any other director (except maybe George Cukor) "Possessed" director Clarence Brown was able to really get inside MGM's star actresses and show their heart. Brown shot on location and with a brand new 360 degree camera platform was able to capture the depth of the first scene when Crawford, as Marian Martin, emerges with a dusty crowd from the paper box factory which is the hub of the run down town. She is joined by her small town sweetheart Al Manning (Wallace Ford) and their conversation shows Marian's desolation at being imprisoned by her drab and dreary surroundings. "Tired" he asks, "Not just tired - dead" she replies.

Marian suddenly gets a glimpse of how the other half live - a private railway car owned by a Manhattan millionaire and as each lighted window goes by each full of luxurious "haves" dangled before the eyes of Marian - the "have not". When Wally (the always welcome "Skeets" Gallagher) offers Marian a glass of champagne she is determined to get away - "Off to the big city to be done wrong" he questions, she replies "to be done right"!!! and impulsively he gives her his card with his Park Avenue address little realising she will follow through.

She meets Mark Whitney (Clark Gable) a wealthy lawyer with political ambitions who is charmed by her honesty ("I'm glad you're rich, I couldn't waste my time on anyone poor"!!) As the years go by she becomes the perfect mistress but while they both love each other, Mark has the memory of his first wife dragging his name through the mud after her affair with a chauffeur and he is determined not to let any woman do that to him again. One night during dinner an old friend drops by - with his mistress, Vernice (peppy Marjorie White), as he drunkenly exclaims "I couldn't bring my wife here" and "you have your sweetie, I have mine". Even though there is no comparison, Marian realises they are both sisters under the skin and that, deep down, she craves the respectability of marriage.

Thanks to it's stars, Crawford and Gable (I don't think they were ever better paired) you really believe in the story and there are rocky roads ahead with the appearance of a face from Marian's past, Al Manning. Once "poor dumb Al" he is now an opportunistic contractor who brings all his hick town prejudices and narrow mindedness with him. Once he realises Marian is not the respectable widow he thought but mistress to the powerful Whitney he calls her every name he can think of (ironically because it was the money she sent home that enabled him to be put through business college, thanks to her mother). Yet he still wants her to use her influence with Whitney to secure his contract.

Crawford comes into her own in the last half hour with all her dramatic talent as well as those beautiful tear filled eyes. She overhears a conversation and realises that unless she is out of Whitney's life he will never fulfill his political ambitions, so the scene is set for an "all stops pulled out" emotional confession with Marian making it clear to a shocked Mark that she was only using him and she is still a grasping factory girl at heart. Of course it couldn't end that way and in another emotional scene, in the midst of a rally, Marian stands up to the crowd to confess that she is the mysterious woman who was once in his life but has stepped aside for the good of his career.

With their electrifying chemistry it is no surprise that both stars started on a torrid affair during this movie. They may well have married if they were free but the studio was already fending off threats from Gable's first wife (he was now married to wife number 2) and it was thought that if it came out there would be a scandal for two of MGM's most up and coming stars.

"Possessed" was also originally banned in England for it's depiction of two people living in sin and actually enjoying it!!

You certainly picked yourself a swell sugar daddy

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 3 January 2014]

Small town factory worker Joan Crawford wants out of her cramped life and doesn't want to marry Wallace Ford. Can't say that I blame her on either count. So Joan heads off to the big city and eventually catches the eye of up-and-coming politician Clark Gable. The two enter into an "arrangement" but over time that becomes problematic for Gable's political career. Enter Crawford's ex Ford to stir things up.

Despite all the talk about feminist themes, this seemed like a pretty ordinary pre-Code programmer to me. At the end of the day, it's still another story about how a woman needs a man and marriage to be fulfilled and happy. That's not feminism last time I checked. The chemistry between the leads is nice but the trappings are dry and creaky at times. Joan gets to sing and is good. Why some seem to dislike the sappy ending I'm not sure. Some people just prefer downbeat endings I guess. Personally, I think the ending saves the movie. This is a decent film of its type and time. Not one of the best but OK. Gable and Crawford fans will like it more than most.

Great Except for Ending!

[rensamuels · 8/10 · 22 March 2007]

I love this film and watch it a lot. The ending is a bit sappy, and generally I turn it off after Joan tells Clark that she's not really in love with him. It's funny how many writers say they like it because of the "feminist" issues. Isn't it enough that the acting is good, the comedy is sophisticated and Joan sings a wonderful song in German, French and English? (The writer who said Bing Crosby did it better is just silly; how can one compare the two singers?) Are movies more valuable because they're about "important" themes? Is all the literature we've treasured over the centuries great because of anything other than it reflects the realities of love and life and death?

If You Liked it Then You Should Have Put a Ring on It

[richardchatten · 6/10 · 6 August 2017]

Adapted by Lenore Coffee from a 1920 play, 'The Mirage', by Edgar Selwyn, 'Possessed' is a shameless piece of pre-code escapism from MGM largely free of the redeeming social comment to be found in most contemporaneous films from other studios. It became one of the top-grossing films of the grimmest year of the Depression, when countless women in dead-end jobs married to no-hopers in small towns doubtless found it a tonic to see Joan Crawford break her shackles, go to the Big City and quickly become showered with nice clothes, expensive jewelry and a luxurious apartment. (Less enthralled was the British censor, who banned the film.)

Billed above the title, even in her youth at 25 going on 40 Crawford was by no stretch of the imagination a great beauty, which I suspect was part of her appeal to female audiences; if she could get her claws into Clark Gable and his money ("I'm glad you're rich, I couldn't waste my time on anyone poor!") and become an elegant courtesan, then maybe there was still a chance for them.

SPOILER COMING: Naturally she starts wringing her hands at the lack of security or respectability provided by this arrangement, and when she learns that their relationship may hurt his run for Governor makes the usual big show of Not Really Loving Gable in order to make one of those Noble Self-Sacrifices That Only She Knows the Truth About. Fortunately all is resolved in an extravagantly bizarre finale at a huge political rally (which looks as if half the film's budget was spent on it), which initially bears a striking resemblance to the one in 'Citizen Kane' crashed by Boss Jim Geddes. This time the uninvited guest is Crawford as 'Mrs. Moreland', and instead of ruination as in 'Kane' we get an abrupt reconciliation and a happy resolution for Gable & Crawford. The End.

Joan Crawford at her best!

[JohnHowardReid · 9/10 · 29 July 2015]

From its very opening shot in which the camera tracks rapidly with the workers leaving a box factory, we know that we are in for a stylistic treat. In fact the promise of this inventive opening is soon realized in a remarkable sequence in which our heroine is stopped by a slowly moving train at a level crossing. As various compartments glide past, we are flashed with images of the life styles enjoyed by the very rich. Thus, this truly riveting movie gets off to a solid start which engages our rapt attention from beginning to end. The pace is fast, production values are gratifyingly lavish, and the technical credits are all as smooth and polished as burnished gold. And even more importantly, the screenplay is not only polished and intelligent, but fashioned with delightful subtlety, wit, ingenuity and originality. And aside from one or two false moments (particularly the heroine's defense at the election rally), it is totally believable.

Although she was handed what was virtually her stock role for this period, Joan Crawford imbues the determined heroine not only with sympathy but with feelings that always seem totally genuine. She transcends acting. Also perfectly at ease in his role, Gable turns in a vigorously realistic characterization. The support players are likewise fully in tune, with Skeets Gallagher as a reluctant mentor and Marjorie White as the hideous Vernice contributing stand-out performances.

Joan Crawford as a kept woman?

[rickrudge · 6/10 · 31 January 2017]

Possessed (1931)

This is a great pre-code melodrama about a poor girl from the wrong side of the tracks trying to make it big. Marian Martin (Joan Crawford) sees how the other half lives from window scenes in a passing railroad car, and resigns to getting some of that, by any means possible.

She moves to the big city and becomes the mistress to a successful lawyer, Mark Whitney (Clark Gable). She falls for the dog, but Mark isn't the marrying kind. On top of that, Marian is still not really accepted by rich society anyway. It gets a little preachy, but generally a good movie.

This is one of Crawford's best with her showing off her complete range of strong, vulnerable, nice, and bitchy. Gable is his trademarked strong self as far as male romantic leads go, who have previously, traditionally been, well, kind of feminine. Gable's Mark character is a man's man and yet could be romantic, when called for, which made him a favorite with both women and men. Crawford saw this in Clark Gable early on and had him star in a lot of her movies.

I think that Possessed was later remade in 1947 with Joan Crawford doing Van Heflin.

Interesting failure...

[moonspinner55 · 5/10 · 12 May 2002]

Joan Crawford's first of two different films to be titled "Possessed", this one a creaky, campy Depression-era drama co-starring an oddly bland Clark Gable. Estimable screenwriter Lenore Coffee adapted Edgar Selwyn's play "The Mirage", and was probably a very good choice for the project since she comes at the material from the female point-of-view. Crawford plays a factory-girl from the sticks who relocates to New York and falls in love with a wealthy attorney. Film was considered risqué for its time, but today only the evocative photography is arresting (especially an early sequence showing lives on a train through the windows, a shot which is never topped for the rest of the picture). Overall, a trite soaper, but definitely worth-catching for the curiosity value alone. ** from ****