- In a London nursing home, Jean Wilson, a happily-married American woman, while in a state of semi-consciousness, hears Jimmy Del Palma angrily berate the hospital management for the out-dated treatment used on his wife who later dies. When she is well again, Jean rents the former home of Del Palma, a famous concert pianist, and his late wife. Not knowing why, she begins to fall in love with the absent man and on hearing about his wife's death, dreams of taking her place. Her dream comes close to becoming reality.—Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>
- Lady Possessed 1952, with James Mason and June Havoc, is a poignant story of frightening possession and obsessive love. -- (Interestingly enough, the book it is based on was written by Pamela Kellino who was James Mason's current wife at the time the film was made. She also plays Sybil, the friend of the main character, Jean).
The story opens with Jean Wilson (June Havoc) losing her first baby in a London nursing home. Coincidentally, famous singer and piano player Jimmy Del Palma (James Mason) forcibly removes his wife Madeline from the same hospital, berating them for not having up- to- date methods of curing his wife of her serious illness. A few days later Madeline (who had been a famous artist known as Cigale) dies at their home.
When the grief-stricken Del Palma has his agents sell their grand (Manderly-like) manor house to the Wilsons, Jean almost immediately feels an intense sympathy for the loving couple, although she had never met them. She cannot enjoy living in their beautiful home, as she feels obsessed with grief and pain for them in their separation.
A day or two later, Jean begins to have the feeling that Madeline is instructing her to find something in the house for Jimmy. Also fears begin to form in her thoughts that Madeline's spirit is trying to possess her so she might live again.
Jean falls in love with the performer from the portrait his wife had painted of him, and learns intimate details of the Del Palma's relationship from Mrs. Burrows, (Odette Myrtle), the Del Palmas caretaker.
After Jimmy has sold his home, he returns to the house once more and visits their bedroom. Unaware that Mrs. Burrows has seen him from the guest room, Jimmy sits on Madeline's bed and is convulsed by grief. He is drinking heavily and cries loudly as he begs her to come back to him. After that Jean visualizes the singer's hands on the piano keyboard.
When Jean tells Tom of her fear of possession, he thinks she is over-imaginative and sensitive, and decides she is still recovering from losing their child. He thinks that living in the beautiful home of the Del Palmas she had wanted so badly would cure her depression. Tom tells Jean that possession only exists in vampire films or in people's minds.
When Jean and her friend Sybil (Pamela Kellino) attend Jimmy's next live concert, Jean finds an opportunity (after the show) to request a quick view of the performer's hands. When she sees the ring and wristwatch match her imaginings, she is frightened and later confides in her friend.
Jean and Sybil consult a famous spiritualist (Fay Compton) who arranges a seance to quell Madeline's spirit. Making notes of the private lives of the Del Palmas, Madame Brune makes use of the caretaker's knowledge imparted to Jean, and soon writes to Jimmy inviting him to a seance to contact his wife's spirit.
The medium writes to Jimmy at the theatre, mentioning that she feels his wife is urgently trying to contact him. She does not mention Jean Wilson and her fears, but tells him what Mrs. Burrows had revealed. and other facts about their marriage. (He does not know that anyone was aware of his actions).
Jean does not think Jimmy will come to the seance, as she has found the letter in the loft that Madeline intended her to find.
Wondering how the medium discovered these facts about his wife, a skeptical Jimmy attends the seance and breaks it up. Jean falls to the floor unconscious, as he has overturned the table and run drunkenly from the scene.
Unaware that Jean has bought his home and is the woman at the seance, Jimmy becomes acquainted with her that night after his concert. She has her hair dyed black like his wife's, and wears similar clothing. She befriends him and he soon likes her for her sympathy. They go dancing, but he spurns her talk of love. She thinks more and more that she is becoming the dead woman, as more thoughts take shape in her mind.
Impressed by Jean's great sympathy for his loss, Jimmy forms a relationship with her in a few days. He tells her he cannot marry her, as he cannot recover from his grief for a long time.. She agrees, but slyly thinks he will take the bait and eventually think she is Madeline who has returned to him in a different form. Jean decides Jimmy should have Madeline's letter to reawaken his love for her.
In a few days Jean learns that Jimmy and his agents are touring Europe for several weeks, and he has invited her to fly to Sweden that very night!
Jean's husband Tom worries about her sanity when she tells him she is leaving him and going with Del Palma on a lengthy tour of Europe. (He does not believe that his wife knows the singer, as they had recently moved into the house that week and she had never met him!).
He consults the hospital psychologist Dr. Stepanek, (Stephen Geray), who believes that the imaginative Jean had picked up the Del Palma's grief from the atmosphere at the hospital and the house, and having a grief of her own, formed an imaginary tie with Jimmy.
Tom, however, is determined and meets Del Palma at the theater just before his next concert and asks him to stay away from Jean, who is very ill. Jimmy cannot answer, as he is in shock as he goes on stage, for his grief has been awakened anew. Jean had found the letter in the loft, (the attic), and mailed it to Jimmy.
He has finally read the letter from Madeline which had poignantly expressed her love and devotion for her husband, and expresses that she cannot tell him of her cancer. He crashes the piano chords as he dashes out of the theater. and returns to his former home to discover who had mailed Madeline's letter ten months after her death. As of yet, he does not know that Jean and Tom are the new owners.
Reentering the house, Jimmy is dumbfounded to find Jean there, as she had been packing for the tour.. He is very angry that she did not reveal that she was married and also did not tell him she lived in the house and mailed the letter!
Jean admits her deception in impersonating Madeline, sitting in the theater, attending the seance -- all to reawaken Jimmy to Madeline's love again. She claims to be the reincarnation of his wife, and says her possession by Madeline started right after she and Tom moved there.
Halfway up the stairway, Jimmy waylays Jean and reacts very angrily to her cruel reminders of his wife. When she retaliates by reminding Jimmy that he had caused his wife to die sooner by removing her from the hospital and had "killed her", he throws her down the remaining steps as he runs out stating that he is through with Jean and she can find someone new to torment!
. Jean gets up and runs away from the house, heading for the train station . When she tries to throw herself in front of the train, Tom and Dr. Stepanek arrive just in time to save her.
One gets the idea that she really is under a very powerful spell. The fact that they are in the gorgeous home (stated in the book) she wanted so badly only about a week and cannot enjoy it should have triggered Tom to go to a psychologist (Maybe Dr. Stepanek) right then.
The doctor had met Jean in the hospital and had advised Tom to indulge in Jean's whim to own a lovely home if possible. He sure made an effort.
Don't want to create a spoiler, but the movie ended with the spell seeming to be lifting from Jean and she gets back with Tom. Most of the stories and films of possession I have seen seem to end like a spell to be broken. I can only say that the book differs in unique ways.
I'd give the film an 8 out of ten. It could have been even better if more of the book had been imparted. I really enjoyed the book and have seen the film several times.
One thing constant in the story (like in the book) is the weird fact that the suffering singing idol can have an affair with anyone when he is still grieving for his wife less than a year later!
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