His Movie Review: By Love Possessed (1961)

Why he watched it: Was on the DVR

His rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

His review: I have enjoyed exploring old movies; classics, award winners, big hits. I try to watch them from the time the were released, knowing that even good films can feel dated after decades. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t, as with current films. But old films are windows into the past, a nostalgic time trip for a couple hours that also reinforces how humans don’t change. Clothes and words change, but motivations and feelings remain the same.

I’m not sure how this movie got onto my DVR–either intentionally or unintentionally, it was there and I decided to give it a watch. Its movie as soap opera–affairs and their consequences, family dynamics, and bad choices. The center is Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as a lawyer dealing with a egoistic son, a caring but passionless marriage, and a partner with a secret. He’s a stickler for the rightness of the law, but eventually has to decide between doing what is legal vs doing what right. Zimbalist creates a likeable character who cares for others and we like him for it.

George Hamilton, as his son, is appealing for the opposite reason. He’s arrogantly honest in his self-interest. He wants to escape the small town and father’s shadow, but hasn’t found the motive. His scenes with Helen (Susan Kohner), a local girl deeply in love with him, are what make this film stand out to me. They are moments of emotional abuse–he takes advantage of her emotional and physical affections all the while telling her he will leave her behind and cannot be held back by a marriage to her. At first, we could argue that contemporary audiences are more attuned to this abuse, while audiences as the time may have taken him an acceptable rogue.

However, the story tells us, then and now, that his actions are not to be tolerated. Susan commits suicide (revealing a family history of depression and suicide); when Hamilton finds out after he’s finally left town, he returns to his father, the repentant soul. The family comes together at the end.

It’s not too overwrought, and the performances are worthwhile. But its a film you could watch with one eye while multitasking and not miss too much. A fine excursion, but not a classic.