possess ( 1947 ) be one of joan crawford last great outing a the grand dame of warner brother and in a film so deeply disturb that even today it tend to hold an audience spellbound in it neurotic tension . after a woman be find wander the street and collapse inside a diner and mutter the name david she be rush to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation . of course and you just know this be go to end sadly . crawford play louise howell and nurse to an ail wealthy recluse . at the same time and she take up romantically with the neighbor and david sutton ( van helfin ) . but david recognizes something odd about louise and something tragic and flaw and oh and so mentally unstable that it scar him into call the whole affair off much to louise dismay and chagrin . when louise elderly charge suddenly die under mysterious circumstance and dean graham ( raymond massey ) and the rich widower and ask her to stay on . this and of course and eventually lead to louise become dean wife . however and louise happiness a the newly christen socialite of the realm be threaten by dean daughter and carol ( geraldine brook ) who blame or perhaps intuitively suspect that the death of her mother be no accident . what be particularly shock about this film be the way in which director and curtis bernhardt bait his audience with snippet of murderous intent that be play out for maximum effect and then and later expose a merely the ravenously dangerous thought of the film protagonist . yet and if louise can not discern between what be real and what she imagine out of thin air and then how can we and a an audience . crawford performance a louise be impressive to say the very least . most convincingly she deteriorate from a congenial heroine to dangerous psychotic before our very eyes . warner dvd transfer be not up to snuff . the gray scale have be render with deep solid black and the maximum amount of detail present even in the darkest scene . but there way too much film grain in many scene and some severe water damage about 48 minute into the film ( that last for less than a minute but give the illusion of a cluster of fire fly dart about the screen ) . the audio be mono but clean up . extra include drew casper audio commentary that be spooky in it own right and as well a a featurette proclaim possess a the quintessential film noir the latter be a bone of contention for this reviewer . although possess be a fine example of film noir story telling and it pal to mildred pierce as far a crawford film noir vehicle go .