''Possessed'' is a 1931 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Clarence Brown Clarence Leon Brown (May 10, 1890 – August 17, 1987) was an American film director. Early life Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, to Larkin Harry Brown, a cotton manufacturer, and Katherine Ann Brown (née Gaw), Brown moved to Tennessee when he ...

, starring

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...

and

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...

, and released by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

. The film is the story of Marian Martin, a factory worker who rises to the top as the mistress of a wealthy attorney. The

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

by Lenore J. Coffee was adapted from the 1920

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

play ''

The Mirage The Mirage is a casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Hard Rock International. The 65-acre property includes a casino and 3,044 rooms. Mirage R ...

'' by

Edgar Selwyn Edgar Selwyn (October 20, 1875 – February 13, 1944) was a prominent figure in American theatre and film in the first half of the 20th century. An actor, playwright, theatre director, director and theatrical producer, producer on Broadway ( ...

. ''Possessed'' was the third of eight movie collaborations between Crawford and Gable.

Plot

Marian Martin (

) is a factory girl living with her mother in the working class section of Erie, Pennsylvania. Factory boy Al Manning (

Wallace Ford Wallace Ford (born Samuel Grundy Jones; 12 February 1898 – 11 June 1966) was an English-born naturalized American vaudevillian, stage performer and screen actor. Usually playing wise-cracking characters, he combined a tough but friendly-face ...

) hopes to marry her, but Marian is determined to find a better life. When a train makes a stop in town, Marian looks through the windows and sees the wealthy passengers. She then makes the acquaintance of one of the train passengers, Wally Stuart (

Richard "Skeets" Gallagher Richard "Skeets" Gallagher (July 28, 1891 – May 22, 1955) was an American actor. He had blue eyes and his naturally blond hair was tinged with grey from the age of sixteen. Biography He was born on July 28, 1891 in Terre Haute, Indiana ...

), a

New Yorker New Yorker or ''variant'' primarily refers to: * A resident of the State of New York ** Demographics of New York (state) * A resident of New York City ** List of people from New York City * ''The New Yorker'', a magazine founded in 1925 * ''The New ...

who gives her champagne and writes down his address, telling her to look him up if she ever makes it to New York. Marian, now tipsy from the champagne, happily returns home. Giggling, she tells Al and her mother that she was drinking down by the railroad tracks. Al, who was waiting for her and accuses her of being drunk, spots the piece of paper containing Wally's address in Marian's hand, grabs it from her, and tears it up. He then tells Marian that her actions are inappropriate and that she's staying with him. Marian lashes out, telling Al and her mother that no one owns her and that her life belongs to herself. She grabs the torn paper shreds up from the floor and pastes them back together, then leaves for New York City. There, she looks up Wally who gives her some advice on meeting and keeping wealthy men, which Marian uses to begin a relationship with his friend Mark Whitney (

), a divorced attorney. L-amante1931 gable+crawford

She eventually becomes Mark's mistress and he provides her with a complete make-over, educating her in the arts and culture of his social set. Three years pass and the two entertain with brio and style. Marian and Mark fall in love. To cover the fact of Marian being his kept woman, Mark devises a made-up back story of her being "Mrs. Moreland", a wealthy divorcee living comfortably off her alimony. Some time later, Al, now running a prosperous cement business, comes to the city hoping to land a big contract. He sees Marian and asks her to marry him, but she refuses. When Al learns that Marian is friends with Mark, Al hopes he can use Mark to help land that contract. Al has no idea of Marian and Mark's true relationship. When Mark decides to run for

gubernatorial A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

office, however, friends caution him that his relationship with Marian is a serious liability. When she overhears Mark talking with some politicians, she learns that he now plans to marry her, despite the fact that their relationship would cause a scandal. To support his gubernatorial bid, she lies to Mark, telling him that she no longer loves him. She tells him that she is going to marry Al instead. Marian decides to tell Al the truth. He rebuffs her, saying that he could never marry such a woman. He changes his mind when he realizes that in shutting her out of his life, he is also burning his bridges with Mark and that highway contract. A political rival learns of Marian's true identity and plans to leak that information at one of Mark's political rallies. At that rally, Mark has the crowd generally on his side. No one is aware that Marian is in the audience. His political rivals then drop shards of paper from the auditorium ceiling, each piece of paper with the text, "Who is Mrs. Moreland?" written on it. Seeing that text on the paper, Mark has a worried look on his face, he not knowing what to do. As the crowd rumbles, Marian steps up from the audience and tells them that she is Mrs. Moreland, and that Mark has always been an honorable man, who once belonged to her, but now belongs to them. The crowd cheers as she, sobbing, leaves. Outside, Mark catches up to her and tells her that from now on they will be together no matter what. Mark legitimizes their relationship by proposing marriage.

Cast

as Marian Martin *

as Mark Whitney *

as Al Manning *

as Wally Stuart (billed as Skeets Gallagher) * Frank Conroy as Horace Travers *

Marjorie White Marjorie White (born Marjorie Ann Guthrie, July 22, 1904 – August 21, 1935) was a Canadian-born actress of stage and film. Career Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, she was the first-born child of a grain merchant, Robert Guthrie, and his wif ...

as Vernice LaVerne *

John Miljan John Miljan (November 9, 1892 – January 24, 1960) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1924 and 1958. Biography Born in 1892, Miljan was the tall, smooth-talking villain in Hollywood films for almost four deca ...

as John Driscoll *

Clara Blandick Clara Blandick (born Clara Blanchard Dickey; June 4, 1876 – April 15, 1962) was an American character, film, stage and theater actress. She played Aunt Em in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939). As a character actress, sh ...

as Marian's mother Uncredited Cast * Norman Ainsley as Ambrose - Wally's Butler *

Jack Baxley Andrew Jackson Baxley (July 4, 1884 – December 10, 1950) was an American character actor of the 1930s and 1940s. He appeared in over 100 films over his career, many in unnamed, un-credited roles. Occasionally he would receive small, named roles ...

as 'League of Nations' Heckler *

Wade Boteler Wade Boteler (October 3, 1888 – May 7, 1943) was an American film actor and writer. He appeared in more than 430 films between 1919 and 1943. Biography He was born in Santa Ana, California, and died in Hollywood, California, from a heart ...

as 'Answer That One' Heckler *

as Man on Merry-Go-Round * André Cheron as Monsieur Lavell - Party Guest *

Gino Corrado Gino Corrado (born Gino Liserani; 9 February 1893 – 23 December 1982) was an Italian-born film actor."Obituaries." ''Variety'' (Archive: 1905-2000); Los Angeles. Vol. 309, Iss. 10, (Jan 5, 1983): 78-79. Via Proquest. He appeared in more ...

as Signor Martini - Party Guest *

Phyllis Crane Phyllis Crane (August 7, 1914October 12, 1982) was a Canadian-born American film actress. She appeared in over 45 films between 1928 and 1937. Career Crane signed with Columbia Pictures in 1934.Jean Del Val Jean Del Val (born Jean Jacques Gauthier; 17 November 1891 – 13 March 1975) was a French-born actor, also credited as Jean Gauthier and Jean Gautier. Career He played roles during the Hollywood silent era, beginning with ''The Fortunes of F ...

as Waiter * Florence Enright as Undetermined Secondary Role *

Bess Flowers Bess Flowers (November 23, 1898 – July 28, 1984) was an American actress best known for her work as an extra in hundreds of films. She was known as "The Queen of the Hollywood Extras," appearing in more than 350 feature films and numerous ...

as Party Guest * Francis Ford as Drunken Husband * Mary Gordon as Woman at Political Rally * James T. Mack as Elevator Operator *

Fred Malatesta Fred Malatesta (April 18, 1889 – April 8, 1952) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 110 films between 1915 and 1941. He was born in Naples, Italy, and died in Burbank, California. Selected filmography * ''Sherlock Holme ...

as Party Waiter * Alphonse Martell as French Waiter *

Wilfred Noy Wilfred Noy (born Wilfred Noy Blumberg, 24 December 1883 – 29 March 1948) was an English film director, actor, screenwriter and producer of the silent era. Noy was the maternal uncle of Leslie Howard.Eforgan, Estel. Leslie Howard: The Los ...

as Bertram - Mark's Butler *

Jack Pennick Ronald Jack Pennick (December 7, 1895 – August 16, 1964) was an American film actor. After working as a gold miner as a young man, serving as a US Marine, he would go on to appear in more than 140 films between 1926 and 1962. Pennick was a ...

as 'Parole for Convicts' Heckler *

Ruth Renick Ruth Renick (born Ruth Griffin; September 23, 1893 - May 7, 1984) was an American actress on stage and in films. She made her debut in film in 1919, in a silent film. Her career spanned the shift to "talkies", and Renick had her last role in a ...

as Undetermined Secondary Role *

Joan Standing Joan Standing (21 June 1903 – 3 February 1979) was an English actress best known for playing Nurse Briggs in the 1931 horror film ''Dracula''. She appeared in more than 60 films between 1919 and 1940. Partial filmography * '' The Loves o ...

as Whitney's Secretary *

Larry Steers Lawrence Wells Steers (February 14, 1888 – February 15, 1951) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 550 films between 1917 and 1951. He was born in Indiana, and died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. Partial filmography * ' ...

as Party Guest *

Barbara Tennant Barbara Tennant (19 May 1892 – 18 March 1982) was an English actress. She appeared in over a hundred silent films between 1912 and 1928. Early life Barbara Tennant was born in London, and began performing there. She moved to North America a ...

as Undetermined Secondary Role *

Wilhelm von Brincken Wilhelm von Brincken (May 27, 1881 – January 18, 1946), also known as Wilhelm L. von Brincken, William Vaughn, William von Brinken, and William Vaughan, was a German diplomat and spy during World War I, who went on to become an American charac ...

as Baron von Bergen - Party Guest * Walter Walker as Whitney for Governor Supporter

Reception

Critic

Mordaunt Hall Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 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. ... The familiar theme of 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.

Box office

According to MGM records the film earned $1,030,000 in the US and Canada and $492,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $611,000.

References

External links

* * * * * {{Authority control 1931 drama films 1931 films American black-and-white films American films based on plays Films directed by Clarence Brown Films produced by Irving Thalberg Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films produced by Harry Rapf American drama films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films