Possessed (1947)

Academy Award winner Joan Crawford earned another Best Actress nomination for her tour-de-force performance in Possessed (1947) which opens with Crawford portraying a woman found wandering the streets of Los Angeles. Taken to a mental hospital, she weaves a harrowing tale of insanity, murder and the passion by which provides the basis for the film's apt title. Louise Howell's (Crawford) psychiatrist learns that she is a nurse hired to care for a dying woman and that she rekindled a former romance with her patient's neighbor, David Sutton (Van Heflin). But the suicide of her charge and rejection by the man she loves drive Howell to madness--and murder. Or do they? Is Howell's harrowing story true or the misperception of a deranged mind? Is Howell guilty of murder or an innocent victim of something far more sinister? Directed by Curtis Bernhardt, the film features a superb performances from its impressive cast, all richly underscored by the music of the great Franz Waxman.

• crime
• drama
• film
• noir