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There's always something simmering beneath the quaint and placid surface of small-town New England lives -- and that includes the usual maladies of alcoholism, rape, and suicide. At least this is the case if you go by the tortuous tale told in By Love Possessed, a Peyton Place knock-off, directed with glossy intensity by the usually reliable action director John Sturges (Bad Day at Black Rock and The Magnificent Seven). The tale chronicles the miserable lives of Arthur Winner (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.), Julius Penrose (Jason Robards Jr.), and Noah Tuttle (Thomas Mitchell) -- legal counseling partners in a law firm that could probably use some good counseling themselves. Arthur's wife Clarissa (Barbara Bel Geddes) has nothing but contempt for poor Arthur because she considers their marriage as more a business deal than a love match. Then there's Julius's wife Marjorie (Lana Turner) who has become a full-time alcoholic ever since Julius has been rendered impotent by an automobile accident. Arthur and Marjorie's frustrations both gel into an illicit romantic union. Arthur certainly needs some kind of diversion since his son Warren (George Hamilton) refuses to follow in his father's footsteps by becoming a lawyer. As if that weren't enough, he also refuses to marry Helen Detweiller (Susan Kohner), the girl Arthur wants him to marry because she is rolling in money and is also the ward of Noah. Instead, Warren runs off with the local town whore (Yvonne Craig), who accuses Warren of raping her. Despondent, Helen resorts to desperate measures when she is rejected, and Arthur realizes that he must begin to reconsider his life choices.
Original Release
06/13/1961
US Release
06/13/1961
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Lana Turner | Marjorie Penrose |
Efrem Zimbalist Jr. | Arthur Winner |
Jason Robards | Julius Penrose |
George Hamilton | Warren Winner |
Susan Kohner | Helen Detweiler |
Thomas Mitchell | Noah Tuttle |
Everett Sloane | Dr. Reggie Shaw |
Yvonne Craig | Veronica Kovacs |
Gilbert Green | Mr. Woolf / Woolf |
Frank Maxwell | Jerry Brophy |
Directors
Writers
Charles Schnee, James Gould Cozzens, Ketti Frings, Isobel Lennart, William Roberts
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Lana Turner | Marjorie Penrose |
Efrem Zimbalist Jr. | Arthur Winner |
Jason Robards | Julius Penrose |
George Hamilton | Warren Winner |
Susan Kohner | Helen Detweiler |
Thomas Mitchell | Noah Tuttle |
Everett Sloane | Dr. Reggie Shaw |
Yvonne Craig | Veronica Kovacs |
Gilbert Green | Mr. Woolf / Woolf |
Frank Maxwell | Jerry Brophy |
Carroll O'Connor | Bernie Breck |
Jean Willes | Junie McCarthy |
Barbara Bel Geddes | Clarissa Winner |
Claire Carleton | Mrs. Kovacs |
Harry Holcombe | Dr. Trowbridge - Pastor |
George Holmes | Club Patron |
Mari Lynn | Sydney |
Robert Malcolm | Charles - Men's Room Attendant |
Lester Matthews | Club Patron |
Murray Pollack | Club Patron |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
Walter Mirisch | Producer |