Customer Reviews

By Love Possessed [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Lana Turner will be perhaps always best remembered as one of Hollywood's most glamourous personalities during her hey day in the 1940's at MGM when she was known as the sweater girl and starred in such unforgettable films as "The Postman Always Rings twice". However I personally find her just as interesting in her later efforts when she formed a highly successful collaboration with Producer Ross Hunter. Hunter was responsible for giving Lana Turner a fresh new screen persona and revived her career in a number of very successful high glamour melodramas such as "Imitation of life", "Portrait in Black" and Madame X", which kept her in prominence in Hollywood for most of the 1960's. "By Love Possessed", while a lesser effort than the above mentioned films was made straight after her first two Ross Hunter outings and is definately out of the same mould piling on the glamour and dramatic situations in a beautiful production which perhaps only lacks the masterful hand of Ross Hunter to have made it a truly memorable entry in the series of glossy melodramas that Lana Turner specialised in through the early sixties.

Based on the 1957 Pulitizer Prize winning novel of the same name by James Gould Cozzen, "By Love Possessed", set in a properous New England town tells the stories of the intermingled lives of three upright blue blooded families, the Penroses, the Winners and the Tuttles. All three families are from the gilded world of "old money", and run the local law firm which is by tradition passed down to each succeeding generation of males when they graduate from Harvard. The seemingly perfectly ordered lives of this priviledged group however betrays many problems that are glossed over for the sake of public appearances and their standing in th elocal community. Recent Harvard graduate Warren Winner (George Hamilton), is continually in direct conflict with his repressed father Arthur (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) who himself is locked in a marriage with the daughter (Barbara Bel Geddes),of senior partner Noah Tuttle (Thomas Mitchell) which was basically expected of him despite the lack of any real love between the pair. Meanwhile alcoholic and love deprived Marjorie Penrose (Lana Turner) is on the point of divorcing her unloving semi invalid husband Julius Penrose (Jason Robards), and indulges in a brief afair with former love Arthur as a way of filling th eempty void in her affluent but empty life. While Warren is pursued by the lonely Helen Detweiler(Susan Kohner), who is a ward of his grandfather and who he is expected to eventually marry, he instead finds his pleasure in the arms of less lofty company in particular those of waitress Veronica Kovacs (Yvonne Craig), who when rejected by Warren lays charges of rape against him. In the rapidly crumbling order of things in their neat lives an avalanche of long hidden emotions and family conflict surfaces and while some of it results in tragedy such as the suicide of Helen, other elements work towards a new beginning with a new honesty among many of the members of these formrly upright and seemingly perfect blue blooded clans. Marjorie puts off her plans to leave the cold Julius and both commit to work towards trying to save their marriage while Arthur after many years of not being able to reveal his feelings for his son joins together with him and with the support of his wife Clarissa prepares to tackle the charges brought against Warren in court.

"By Love possessed", had the perfect literary source and it was inevitable that it would make it to the screen with a glamourous figure like Lana Turner taking the lead. Despite being a Pulitizer Prize winner the story of course is pure soap but of th emost enjoyable kind. Although this was not a Ross Hunter production it has all the hallmarks of his efforts from around this time with beautiful colour photography, lavish sets and many stunning outfits for its glamourously photographed leading lady. Strangely "By Love Possessed", didn't provide Lana Turner with as lengthy or meaty role as such vehicles as "Imitation of Life". Much of the action does take place at the law firm among its partners with Lana Turner off screen however she does make the most of her scenes and she displays an easy chemistry with Efrem Zimbalist Jr. and especially George Hamilton who would join her again at th eend of the 1960's decade in the infamous "Survivors" television series. Turner is still very much the star here however despite her smaller screen time and she was that unique commodity in the early 1960's where she was a by then mature actress who was still being showcased in glossy goodlooking vehicles without having to yet go down the "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?", path way. The supporting cast of "By Love Possessed is uniformly fine and a wonderful illustration of the great talent that was still available for character parts just as Hollywood's studio system was ending. Jason Robards, Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (who was soon to find everlasting fame as part of the hit television series "The F.B.I"), Barbara Bel Geddes (long before stardom on "Dallas",) and veteran performer Thomas Mitchell in his second last film appearance all add their considerable acting credentials to the proceedings and make this soapish story more creditable than it probably deserves to be. The "younger ", generation are represented by George Hamilton well into his bland leading man stage and long before he revealed his fine comic talents in films such as "Love at First Bite", and by an interesting performance by Susan Kohner as the tragic Helen. Kohner had previously worked to great effect with Lana Turner in "Imitation of Life" in 1959 but sadly here has few scenes with her. The rich New England atmosphere is a great asset to this story with much of the story taking place in the fall/Autumn to further emphasize the rich outer appearance of much of the lives of these intermingled families. John Sturges still best remembered for his sterling direction on "The Magnificent Seven", here steers a very different acting ship but manages to take a fairly unexciting story and give it the pace and emphasis to overcome some of its weaknesses.

Vintage soap perhaps but "By Love Possessed",overcomes many of its weaknesses in story and content with its fine cast of seasoned professionals and by a beautifully mounted presentation the like of which became a real rarity as the next decade wore on and harsh realism in story telling took over. Certainly it isn't in the same caliber as some of Lana Turner's other similiar efforts from this time like "Peyton Place, "Imitation of Life", or "Madame X", but it is a respectable effort in its own right and required viewing for those that enjoy well mounted, star filled romantic stories. Enjoy!

Perhaps this movie borders on soap opera (being mainly about personal relationships, something mainly sorely lacking in modern day films with emphasis on action/special effects). BUT

an insight is gained into the lives of old New England money vis a vis their work (in this case, the practice of law), their marriages and their relationship with their children. They live exactly as they are supposed to, as they were raised to live. And yet despite problems do manage to find meaning and love.

Add sterling performances by Ephraim Zimbalist Jr., character actors Carroll O'Connor and (if I'm not mistaken) Thomas Mitchell, and even a very young George Hamilton and Susan Koener (excuse if her last name is misspelled), and an extra special performance by Jason Robards, Jr. (his scenes with Lana Turner especially reveal the differences between a New York trained actor and a Hollywood trained actor), which makes the film worth viewing no matter what.

Lana Turner is startlingly beautiful. Her acting is in and out. Still, she belongs in the film with her strange vulnerability, like silk flowing in the wind.

When you think of old Hollywood, the first person that comes to mind is Lana Turner. She's really old enough to be my mother but she was a very beautiful women and a very powerful actress. I have all her films. Granted in todays age she comes off a bit campy but these were great movies. What also impressed me about this movie was the music. Back then orchestras were used unlike the canned background music of todays films which usually leave me empty. The music of these older films had great theme music for each character. This is a great movie to watch anytime. Check out her other classics like "Madamme X" and "Imatation of Life" especially if you like a great tear jerker. She was the queen of them thats for sure.

Filmed in 1961, "By Love Possessed" was a scandelous movie for people's morales but tame today. This movie is about a small community of new England lawyers and families who are involved with cheating, lying, and adultry. While the exciting ones play, the boring ones are in their elements of a June and Ward Beaver home. Lana Turner has star billing but this movie is more like a soap opera and shifts between different scenes with different characters. Future Miss Ellie of the t.v. show Dallas, Barbara Bel Geddes plays the same role as the wife of Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as she did as Miss Ellie on Dallas and surprisingly doesn't look much different. A very young George Hamilton plays the son of Zimbalist and Geddes and gets into a very bad legal charge, which can damaged his chances of becoming a lawyer. Susan Kohner, who was Lana Turner's agent's daughter, plays the niece of Bel Geddess and hopes to be the financee of George Hamilton. Susan looks very much like a young Natalie Wood but her acting is predictable and limited. Kohner had a much better part in "Imitation of Life" as the mixed white daughter of a black maid. Yvonne Craig "Batgirl" makes a very conviencing whore, who gets George Hamilton into trouble. Jason Robbards Jr, a fine actor, has a limited role as Lana Turner's impotent crippled husband. However, the one you can't wait to always see is the beautiful Lana Turner. At age 40, Lana looks better than she ever has. Lana furs and costumes were no short of luxury and she knew how to act. Movie had some unresolved endings but I buy this alone because of Lana Turner. A must for your Lana Turner collection.

Sex, love, alcohol, rich folks behaving badly what more could you want in a movie. Lana Turner at her best.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It strayed so far from the book. This movie insulted the author. What was the screenwriter thinking?