By Love Possessed (1961)

Neurotic woman engages in an affair with the law partner of her impotent husband.

Director:

John Sturges

Writers:

Charles Schnee (screenplay), James Gould Cozzens (novel),

Stars:

Lana Turner, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Jason Robards

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lana Turner	...	Marjorie Penrose
Efrem Zimbalist Jr.	...	Arthur Winner
Jason Robards	...	Julius Penrose (as Jason Robards Jr.)
George Hamilton	...	Warren Winner
Susan Kohner	...	Helen Detweiler
Thomas Mitchell	...	Noah Tuttle
Everett Sloane	...	Dr. Reggie Shaw
Yvonne Craig	...	Veronica Kovacs
Gilbert Green	...	Mr. Woolf
Frank Maxwell	...	Jerry Brophy
Carroll O'Connor	...	Bernie Breck
Jean Willes	...	Junie McCarthy
Barbara Bel Geddes	...	Clarissa Winner

Storyline

Neurotic woman engages in an affair with the law partner of her impotent husband.

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Plot Keywords:

affair | based on novel

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Taglines:

ALL OF THEM WERE BY LOVE POSSESSED! The bold best-seller that sent a fever through America now fires the screen!

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 December 1961 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Besat af kærlighed

Filming Locations:

Fitchburg, Massachusetts, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mirisch Corporation, The, Seven Arts Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In 1961, TWA began showing in-flight movies on a regular basis. This film kicked-off the program and became the first movie screened in-flight by an airline. See also Come September. But for the very first in-flight movie see The Lost World.

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Connections

Referenced in Queer as Folk USA: Episode #4.3 (2004)

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Soundtracks

"Solamente Una Vez"
(uncredited)
Written by Agustín Lara

User Reviews

Peyton Place wannabe is pale imitation...

What can be more laughable than a film that attempts to skewer wasp hypocrisy and small-town stereotyping, but uses such stereotyping in it's presentation of characters? This is an unabashed attempt to gather the Peyton Place fans by bringing back Lana Turner to a New England setting in Autumn, along with the period Boy-Man of angst, George Hamilton. While Turner is so good that she can do this type of role in her sleep, and still come off well, the rest of the cast is pretty wooden, especially Efrem Zimbalist. It's easy to see why he could portray an FBI agent on TV so well.

Nothing more than a turgid melodrama, so popular at the time, filmed in color with a panoramic view so that it could lure the women of 1961 away from the B&W small-screen TV daytime soap operas, to see the exact same stuff on a big screen. Pass on it and get Peyton Place instead, unless you're a Lana Turner fanatic.