By Love Possessed (1961)

Adult drama which in other hands might have been soapy or turgid. Of course there is something to be said for a lurid melodrama. This just doesn't happen to be one.It's about a suburban Massachusetts law firm and the interrelationships of the partners and their families. Lana Turner is top billed. She gives a quiet, rather different performance (for her). She plays a gentle drinker, a touching figure. She's well paired with Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., as her husband's law partner, whom she turns to when hubby (Jason Robards, Jr.) proves emotionally unavailable. (Zimbalist, in turn, is married to Barbara Bel Geddes. George Hamilton plays their son. George is involved with Susan Kohner, the ward of the third and final law partner, Thomas Mitchell.) Zimbalist gives a nice performance. Never a flashy actor, he's perfectly cast here in a conservative role, a man with a conscience and a man of character. The story is told very well and without undue histrionics or flamboyance. The one thing that doesn't seem to work is the subplot involving Yvonne Craig as a trampy chick Hamilton gets involved with, who refers to herself in the third person. For me that just seemed unreal. Unfortunately, this segment is central to the plot.A certain amount of the film was shot on location. The opening is downtown Fitchburg, Massachusetts, and the elegant homes are in Groton.The story takes a while to build. The first half hour is not especially gripping. After all, it was made to be seen in a theater, where you bought your ticket and settled in, not on TV, where you can change the channel. The screenplay (by Charles Schnee, using a pseudonym) tends to merely sketch in a lot of things. Apparently it was based on a large book. It's like you feel you have to go back and read that book. Occasionally, the motivations of the characters seem to need more explanation. On the other hand, this works, from time to time, it keeps you guessing, which is in itself, interesting and a reason to keep watching.

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.

If you've been reading my reviews under my username for the past two months, you probably know that I've been going through various films and TV appearances of the original "Dallas" cast in chronological order since the day after the new one on TNT premiered. So it's now 1961 with a Barbara Bel Geddes performance in a role familiar to anyone who knows her as Miss Ellie on the show-that of a mother and wife who's not afraid to confront and comfort her husband and son without at least trying to understand their troubles. Hubby is Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. and son is George Hamilton. The latter gets mixed in with a woman named Veronica played by Yvonne Craig-you know, the one who later became Batgirl on the Adam West series. Supposedly the leading lady is Lana Turner but her scenes come and go so much that it feels she's just as much support as a pre-Archie Bunker Carroll O'Connor as a cop, or Thomas Mitchell-a player of my favorite movie, It's a Wonderful Life-who commands the screen whenever he's on which is much more than Ms. Turner, I must say. Other worthy players of note include Susan Kohner-reuniting with her previous co-star from Imitation of Live, Ms. Turner-and Jason Robards, Jr., years before his consecutive Oscar wins for All the Presidents Men and Julia. I really liked the way the complexities of the characterizations were handled here and how the subject of accusation of rape was addressed. So on that note, I highly recommend By Love Possessed.

I had to see Lana Turner with Efrem Zimbalist, or the other way around. It was a curiosity – superstar with moderate actor. However, she did have some less than star quality leading men. Zimbalist is GQ for sure, and that voice - attractive shell but hollow performance.There have been other films with the same deficits of this one that have come across. Usually, the higher caliber actors can put it over. Someone must have called for flat line, and they all adhered. What comes out is exactly what one can find on daytime soaps. Everyone was at some stage of pathetic. That would except the Mitchell character, who was a breath of fresh air. They could have called this "All Fall Down." Too bad Helen didn't pass around the cleaning fluid and clear out all the suds. The simultaneous make-ups at the end were so low on the meter, they hardly registered. This one lacked a pulse from start to finish.