We first meet
Joan Crawford, star of the moody flashbackfest
Possessed,
wandering aimlessly through the city streets, moaning "David....David."
She goes to pieces in public and is rushed to the mental ward, where a
team of psychiatrists try to find out who she is and where she's been.
Who she is is a practical nurse, hired by
Raymond Massey to care for
Massey's invalid wife. While going about her duties,
Crawford renews her acquaintance with an old flame, architect
Van Heflin. Though
Heflin is indifferent,
Crawford is still crazy for the man. She remains so even after marrying her employer
Massey, whose wife has committed suicide. Any further details would give away the ending, but we can note that
Van Heflin's character name is David. Best scene:
Crawford, descending into schizophrenia, imagining that she's killed
Massey's vitriolic daughter
Geraldine Brooks. While the psycho-babble delivered in the asylum scenes is laughable,
Possessed still holds up well as one of the best of
Joan Crawford's Warner Bros. soap operas. This black-and-white film is also available in a colorized version, but don't blame us.
