BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

LeonLouisRicci Distinctive Pre-Code Feminist Picture with a Great looking Joan Crawford well before Her Success and Star Status deranged Her Mind. She is absolutely Stunning here and blows Clark Gable off the Screen. He could hardly keep up with those Eyes and Emoting that show why Joan was a Continuing Star for Ten Years running until She got a little Older, ran out of Steam and was Revived by Her Oscar turn in Mildred Pierce (1940) that Renewed Her Status. She would ride that Second Wind for Decades.This is a somewhat Cynical Depression Era Escapist Picture with a couple of Outstanding Visual Scenes that are Unforgettable. The Dialog is Believable and Engaging as the two Stars drive the Proceedings to an End that Belies the Credibility that came before.It is a Concise Story about Moral Conflict and Survival at what Cost and is Highly Recommended for Joan Crawford Newbies to see what all the Fuss was about. Clark Gable seems a bit Stiff, but next to the Allure that was Crawford in 1931 He could have only been a Shadow in Light of Joan's Performance.

Michael_Elliott Possessed (1931) ** 1/2 (out of 4)A poor factory worker (Joan Crawford) turns her back on the man (Wallace Ford) who loves her and heads off to NYC where she becomes the mistress to a powerful attorney (Clark Gable). The first thirty-minutes of this film contain some very good drama and a couple great sequences but as the film moves on the screenplay becomes rather lazy and the movie falls apart. There are a number of great sequences early in the movie and that includes a terrific scene with Joan watching a train pass her by. Looking inside the train, this scene is meant to show her that there might be a better life outside her small town. Another great scene is when Crawford tells Ford that she plans to move to New York City. Ford never really gets credit for being a good actor but he handles the drama here very well. The second half of the film falls into pure melodrama, which leads to an incredibly stupid ending that ruins everything that came before. Ford's character pops back towards the end of the film and this throws a conflict in Crawford and Gable's relationship but this drama never works. Crawford is very good in her role but I think she was better at playing the poor girl in the start of the film. Gable turns in another very good performance and I'm really having fun watching these pre-fame Gable movies because it's easy to see why he became a legend.

Piltdown_Man This is a very solid bit of movie-making. Well directed and edited. Little fluff. A script that is generally crisp and moves the plot forward.Crawford is strong and likable as she moves from factory girl to "kept woman," apparently without missing a beat.It's in these early Crawford films that you really see what the shouting was all about. She is beautiful, vulnerable, strong, sweet and, most importantly, a powerful screen presence. And she can show you all those sides of herself in the same scene.Gable too, while playing a somewhat subservient role, gets to strut his stuff. He is at once, a "man's man" and "ladies man." Neat trick. Try it sometime.One aspect of this film that you'll appreciate is its lack of moralizing. The story is out there for all to see, but we don't get it rubbed in our faces. Also, along the lines of Philip Barry ("The Philadelphia Story") we are allowed to see that money and power does not necessarily make a man bad, while struggle and poverty doesn't make him good, either.As with all movies of this era, you have to allow for the changing morals and attitudes that have interceded in the following 70 years, but it's a testament to the writer and director that this still holds up.

bkoganbing Joan Crawford is a girl who longs for a better and faster life than she has in Podunkville, USA with factory worker Wallace Ford eager for her hand in marriage. She journeys to NYC where she charms Clark Gable, a lawyer with political ambitions, into a relationship. Not marriage, mind you, though to keep the relationship secret she now goes by the name of a widow.I was reminded of that line from Goodfellas where the wise guys bring girl friends to the Copacabana on Thursday night and wives on Friday night. I guess Gable doesn't qualify to go on Friday nights. Today the whole premise of the film is ridiculous because these two are both unmarried adults. Class distinctions just ain't what they used to be.Women have certainly come a long way from 1931 where apparently the only career choices open to them were wife and mom or the kept Possessed woman. That's why the film is so dated. But Gable and Crawford make it interesting to watch, but it's in neither of their top 10 lists.In Possessed there is a really nice torch ballad entitled How Long Will It Last which Crawford sings. But a better version of it was done by Bing Crosby in one of his early Brunswick recordings.