What it’s about
Private nurse Louise Howell (Crawford) is desperately in love with charming engineer David Simmons (Heflin), who finds Louise attractive but more than a little cloying. Not long after her patient Mrs. Graham dies, the courtly, influential Mr. Graham (Massey), who has employed David, proposes to Louise. She accepts, hoping this will draw David back. He’s drawn back all right, but not to her, and Louise’s tenuous mental state further deteriorates.
Why we love it
A dark character study told in flashbacks, “Possessed” finds Joan Crawford doing what she does best: acting unhinged. Joan earned another Oscar nomination for it, but the supporting players also elevate the proceedings, primarily Heflin and Massey, both first-rate actors. The young Geraldine Brooks makes a radiant debut playing Massey’s grown daughter.
Joan Crawford, Van Heflin, Raymond Massey, Geraldine Brooks, Stanley Ridges Curtis Bernhardt