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Lady Possessed is a 1952 American film noir mystery film directed by William Spier and Roy Kellino and starring James Mason and June Havoc.[1] Mason and his wife Pamela produced and wrote the film themselves, based on Pamela's novel Del Palma (originally published as A Lady Possessed in Britain, 1943).[2][3] They chose Pamela's ex-husband Roy Kellino, with whom she remained close, to direct the film. It was a critical and commercial failure, losing the Masons much of the money they had invested in it.[4]
| Lady Possessed | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | William Spier Roy Kellino |
| Screenplay by | Pamela Mason James Mason |
| Based on | the novel Del Palma by Pamela Mason |
| Produced by | James Mason |
| Starring | James Mason June Havoc |
| Cinematography | Karl Struss |
| Edited by | Arthur Roberts |
| Music by | Nathan Scott |
| Color process | Black and white |
Production company | Portland Pictures |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 87 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The film's sets were designed by the art director Frank Arrigo.[2]
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While barely conscious, Jean Wilson (June Havoc), a patient in a London hospital, overhears Jimmy Del Palma (James Mason) berating hospital staff for their treatment of his wife, who then dies shortly afterwards. To recuperate following a miscarriage, Jean coincidentally rents the former country home of Del Palma, a famous pianist, and his wife. She starts to fall in love with the absent musician and dreams of taking his dead wife's place, even of being taken over and possessed by her. With the encouragement of her friend Sybil (Pamela Mason), Jean arranges a seance with a medium in an attempt to contact the dead woman.
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- James Mason as Jimmy Del Palma
- June Havoc as Jean Wilson
- Stephen Dunne as Tom Wilson
- Fay Compton as Mme. Brune
- Pamela Mason as Sybil (as Pamela Kellino)
- Steven Geray as Dr. Stepanek
- Diana Graves as Medium
- Odette Myrtil as Mrs. Burrows
- Eileen Erskine as Violet
- John Monaghan as Dave (as John P. Monaghan)
- Vivian Bonnell as Calypso Singer (as Enid Mosier)
- Judy Osborne as Secretary (as Judy Osborn)
- Alma Lawton as Nurse[5][6]
Bosley Crowther in The New York Times called it "a bleak little drama of neuroses," concluding "And since Miss Kellino and Mr. Mason take credit for writing the script, the much celebrated English couple have only themselves to blame. That goes double for Mr. Mason, who also produced the film";[7] TV Guide wrote "Neither the performances nor the narrow direction are able to help save this confusing script."[8] and Classic Film Freak wrote "Lady Possessed is a film that’s hard to find and will most likely stay that way as there isn’t much to recommend it outside of James Mason’s performance, though even that gets overwhelmed by a disjointed plot."[9]
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