Par l'amour possédé

It is certainly not a great movie, but it makes enjoyable television watching. The cinematography is great. It's fun just watching the marvelous rooms with the elaborate woodwork, sweeping hallways. These folks live very well. The camera is quite static so it is a visually appealing, quiet movie with very literate characters. It is fun just watching these drab folks live among such rich colors. Their lives may not be a rich tapestry, but their backgrounds sure are.

OK, the plot is very melodramatic and a bit contrived. Folks have very big problems (infidelity, crimes, court drama, family break ups) but nothing much really seems to happen. They sure talk a lot. Oh well, but late at night, when you don't want to go to sleep, this is almost perfect.

James Gould Cozzens wrote two novels that were truly great-Guard of Honor and the Just and the Unjust--and ,occasionally, melodramatic junk that was wildly over praised at the time of publication.The ne plus ultra of his ;iterary artlessness was undoubtedly By Love Possessed. When it was published, it was a wildly praised best -seller. The only dissents came from Dwight McDonald, who wrote a hilarious assault on the book called "By Cozzens Possessed", and William F.Buckley, Jr. who took a page and a half to sink it beneath the waves in his National Review. Of course, like all melodramatic best sellers, it eventually had to be made into a Hollywood film. However, the only Hollywood directors at the time capable of making it into a good movie were Sirk (and maybe, just maybe, Preminger).Sirk, in fact, with his exquisitely controlled irony, and his insight into American manners and mores would have produced a chilly, superbly calibrated, yet compassionate melodrama, comparable to All that Heaven Allows, Written on The Wind, or Imitation of Life. Unfortunatly, Sirk had fled Hollywood, and Preminger was busy making Advise and Consent. So the decadent Hollywood system in its "genius' gave it John Sturges. Result: a movie that looks like a Sirk film( thanks to Russell Metty), sounds like a Sirk film, and has the cast and plot of a Sirk film..but isn't a Sirk film. Result..bloated, turgid, melodrama, without a drop of genuine wit, irony, compassion , or human insight. Well, maybe Cozzens deserved it, at least for this one. On the other hand, having carefully read Guard of Honor and The Just and the Unjust, both could be made into superb films-with the right direction and/or cast. Paul Thomas Anderson, are you paying attention?

There's nothing better than Lana's voice when she's being quietly emphatic about whatever ... she can purr with the best of them and takes you back to her earliest days in film. Otherwise, the movie seems to jump all over the place as far as plot/who we really want to focus on. In many ways Zimbalist and Robards should have switched parts: to see Hamilton get riled up each time he has a conversation with the incredibly passive Zimbalist is laughable. Great '60s period piece, great cast - the inimitable Thomas Mitchell (Pa O'Hara from "GWTW"), Everett Sloane and Barbara Bel Geddes ("Miss Ellie" from "Dallas") add to the fun of this soaper (I agree with the review that says "Sirk - without Sirk") and it was a good find.

This story of a small town in a New England-type setting has Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Jason Robards and Thomas Mitchell as attorneys in a law firm, and it seems that Mr. Mitchell is getting too old and senile to continue. At least, Efrem seems to think so, especially when an awkward situation arises, even though the "old man" is his father-in-law. But Jason Robards is more kind-hearted and doesn't want to hurt the old man. Jason has his own problems; he had some sort of skiing accident (or something like it) and uses a cane for his limp. But his main problem is that he drinks to compensate for feeling like less than a man and therefore withdraws from wife Lana Turner, who likes to feel appreciated as a wife and woman. What woman wouldn't? Efrem's character has problems, too. He's a black-is-black and white-is-white attorney, who thinks the letter of the law's answer to any particular situation is the best solution, instead of what may be best for all concerned in the long run - in comparison to lines from "Madame X," "Justice must be merciful, justice must be just." But Efrem's vision is very narrow. He lives unto himself, not seeming to need anyone, even his wife Barbara Bel Geddes. She calls him untouched, meaning nothing in his surroundings really affects him. Even people. Even his son, George Hamilton, feels neglected by his passive father. To finish out the cast is Susan Kohner, a young lady who's an orphan and was left well off by her deceased parents, and who happens to love George, but the feeling's not mutual. The "old man" Thomas Mitchell takes care of her and her trust fund. Despite the details I have gone into (I saw my copy of it last week), there isn't really that much happening and there's a lot of talk, talk, talk. My main problem with it is that Jason Robards had virtually nothing to do and his talents were wasted, to say the least. George Hamilton comes off the best with his natural flamboyant way. And, Efrem Zimbalist is perfectly cast as the passive, by-the-book father. While the beginning of the film may feel rather slow and lifeless, by the end of it, I realized that I had been enveloped in their world and had lost all track of time. Isn't that the point of film, to lose yourself in another world? Granted, this may not be your ideal film for escapism, but I have seen much worse.

Despite coming off the success of 1959's classic sudser, "Imitation of Life", and 1960's mystery/soap, "Portrait in Black", Lana Turner made a poor career choice with "By Love Possessed". Not a bad film exactly, it does pale in comparison to the other melodramas of Turner's later career. The great cast includes Efrem Zimbalist,Jr., Jason Robards, George Hamilton, Susan Kohner(the black daughter passing as white in "Imitation of Life"), and Barbara Bel Geddes. In this vehicle, Turner plays the alcoholic, pleasure-deprived wife of a handicapped lawyer(Robards). So, she begins an affair with his law partner(Zimbalist), despite the fact that he is married to Bel Geddes and has a son(Hamilton). Hamilton is involved in a lacking side plot in which he's in love with a rich, but mentally unstable local girl(Kohner). The film is super plush and has a great score. However, the character development is so lacking, that by the end of it all we don't care about them. Too bad. It could all have been so good. This movie's only worth a look if you're a big fan of Turner's.