Possessed (1931)

An ambitious factory girl meets a handsome, wealthy lawyer, but he's interested in her as a mistress, not a wife.

Director:

Clarence Brown (uncredited)

Writers:

Edgar Selwyn (play), Lenore J. Coffee (adaptation) (as Lenore Coffee)

Stars:

Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Wallace Ford

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Joan Crawford	...	Marian Martin
Clark Gable	...	Mark Whitney
Wallace Ford	...	Al Manning
Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher	...	Wally Stuart (as Skeets Gallagher)
Frank Conroy	...	Horace Travers
Marjorie White	...	Vernice LaVerne
John Miljan	...	John Driscoll
Clara Blandick	...	Mother Martin

Storyline

Marion is a factory worker who hopes to trade the assembly line, for a beautiful penthouse apartment. Mark Whitney, a wealthy and influential lawyer can make her dreams come true, but there is only one problem, he will give her everything but a marriage proposal. Will this affair ever lead to marriage?

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Plot Keywords:

mistress | lawyer | factory worker | governor | election | 

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Taglines:

The Story of a Girl who wouldn't be a "turnip in the dirt." (Print ad- Katoomba Daily, (Katoomba, NSW)) 5 March 1932)

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French German

Release Date:

21 November 1931 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Mirage

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

76 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The short films Trader Hound (1931) and I Love a Lassie (1931) played before this film in some theaters during its original theatrical run.

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Quotes

Wally: ...so you'd better listen. There's only one way for a girl to get along in this town, and that's with a man - a rich man to help her, but she must keep a cool head. When you meet a man, never look him in the eye.
Marian Martin, aka Mrs. Moreland: No?
Wally: No. Take a peek at the pocket book.
[She glances at his right pocket]
Wally: . No, wrong number. And one other thing before you go' Find out all you can about them and never tell them anuthing. Men like to think they're Christopher Columbus discovering America.

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Connections

Featured in The Pervert's Guide to Cinema (2006)

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Soundtracks

A Hot Time in the Old Town
(1896) (uncredited)
Music by Theodore A. Metz
Played during an electioneering scene

User Reviews

Joan sings, dances, and gets slapped by Gable

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.