Possessed (1931) in Color — Starring Joan Crawford & Clark Gable

Possessed (1931) — Buy This Classic in Color

Discover Possessed, the 1931 pre-Code romantic drama starring Joan Crawford and Clark Gable, now available as a professionally colorized version. Own this classic movie in color as a DRM-free MP4 digital download for just €15.00.

Plot Summary

Marian Martin is a factory worker trapped in a small, dreary paper-mill town where the smokestacks belch gray clouds over identical wooden houses and the rhythm of life is dictated by the shriek of the factory whistle, morning and night. She dreams of escaping her dead-end existence with a fierce, burning ambition that sets her apart from her resigned neighbors and her well-meaning but unimaginative boyfriend Al Manning, who cannot understand why the life that satisfies everyone else in town is not enough for Marian. One transformative evening, a luxury passenger train stops briefly at the local crossing, and Marian walks along the tracks, peering through the illuminated windows at the glamorous passengers inside — couples in evening dress drinking champagne, laughing, living the kind of life she has only seen in magazine photographs. That single moment crystallizes her determination, and she boards a train for New York City the very next morning, leaving behind everything and everyone she has ever known. In the dazzling metropolis, Marian’s sharp intelligence, natural elegance, and striking beauty quickly catch the eye of Mark Whitney, a wealthy, sophisticated, and deeply ambitious lawyer with eyes firmly set on the governor’s mansion and perhaps beyond. He sets her up in a lavish Park Avenue apartment, surrounds her with beautiful clothes and cultured friends, and she becomes his mistress, embracing with passionate enthusiasm the luxury, intellectual stimulation, and sophisticated social world she always craved. Marian proves herself far more than a decorative companion — she learns languages, studies politics, and becomes a genuine asset to Mark’s career, hosting dinners for influential power brokers and charming the political establishment with her quick wit and natural grace. But as Mark rises ever higher in politics and his campaign for the governorship gains unstoppable momentum, their unconventional arrangement becomes an increasingly dangerous liability that his political enemies are eager to exploit. When Al Manning, the factory boyfriend from her past, arrives in New York and threatens to expose the truth about Marian’s origins and her arrangement with Mark, she must decide how far she will go to protect the man she has come to genuinely love and the life they have built together. This classic movie is a bold and electrifying pre-Code drama about ambition, class, reinvention, and the price of desire.

Cast & Crew

Director: Clarence Brown

Stars: Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Wallace Ford, Frank Conroy, Marjorie White

Why Buy This Classic in Color?

Possessed was originally filmed in black and white during the daring pre-Code era when Hollywood explored adult themes with an unusual frankness and sophistication that would vanish entirely once the Production Code was strictly enforced in 1934. This professionally colorized restoration brings new glamour and visual drama to every scene with frame-by-frame precision, from the factory town’s grim, soot-covered streets and the pale light of the paper mill where Marian slaves away, to the sparkling New York apartments with their art deco furnishings and silk drapes where Marian reinvents herself as a woman of culture and refinement, to the political rallies and elegant dinner parties where ambition and desire intertwine in dangerous ways. The colorization adds visual richness and emotional depth to the film’s central contrast between the drab poverty of small-town industrial life and the glittering wealth of New York’s upper class, making Marian’s transformation from mill worker to sophisticate even more striking and cinematically powerful. The colorized version preserves all the boldness and electric chemistry of this restored classic film. Now also available in colour.

Buy Possessed in color today for just €15.00. Your DRM-free MP4 download is available for instant access.

Historical Significance

Released in 1931, Possessed was one of the defining screen pairings of Joan Crawford and Clark Gable, two of MGM’s most magnetic and bankable stars who appeared together in eight films throughout the 1930s, generating an on-screen chemistry that audiences found irresistible and that fueled persistent rumors of an off-screen romance. The film’s frank and unapologetic treatment of a kept-woman arrangement — Marian is openly Mark’s mistress, lives in an apartment he pays for, and the film never punishes her for this choice — was entirely characteristic of pre-Code Hollywood’s willingness to tackle subjects that would soon be forbidden under the Hays Code’s strict enforcement, making it a fascinating and revealing document of a brief moment when American cinema spoke honestly about sex, class, and ambition. Director Clarence Brown, one of MGM’s most reliable and sophisticated craftsmen, elicited from Crawford a performance of surprising intelligence and depth that proved she could carry dramatic material far beyond the jazz-baby roles that had made her famous in silent films. The iconic train sequence, in which Marian peers through illuminated windows at the privileged life she craves, has become one of the most frequently analyzed and referenced scenes in pre-Code cinema, a visual metaphor for class aspiration that still resonates powerfully. Through modern colorization, this glamorous and boldly adult pre-Code classic reaches new audiences.

Technical Details

• Format: MP4 digital download
• Resolution: HD restored
• Colorized: Professionally colorized from original black and white
• Audio: Original mono restored
• Runtime: Approximately 76 minutes
• DRM-free: Yes — watch on any device
• Instant download: Available immediately after purchase
• Price: €15.00

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Movie-Specific Questions

Q: Is this the same Possessed as the 1947 film?
A: No, this is a completely different film. This 1931 version is a bold pre-Code romantic drama about ambition, class mobility, and a woman who refuses to accept the life she was born into, while the 1947 film starring the same Joan Crawford is a dark psychological thriller about obsession and mental illness.

Q: How many films did Crawford and Gable make together?
A: Joan Crawford and Clark Gable appeared together in eight films between 1931 and 1940, and Possessed was one of their most popular and electrically charged early pairings, establishing the on-screen chemistry that made them one of Hollywood’s most beloved duos.

Q: What does ‘pre-Code’ mean?
A: Pre-Code refers to the period from roughly 1930 to mid-1934 when Hollywood films were made before the strict enforcement of the Production Code (Hays Code), allowing much more frank depictions of sexuality, crime, and morally complex characters than would be permitted in American films for the next three decades.

Digital Download Questions

Q: What format is the download?
A: The film is delivered as an MP4 file that plays on virtually any device.

Q: Is there DRM on the file?
A: No. The download is completely DRM-free so you can watch it on any device without restrictions.

Q: How quickly can I watch after purchase?
A: Your download link is available instantly after payment, so you can start watching within minutes.

Related Colorized Classics

• Ladies of Leisure (1930)
• City for Conquest (1940)
• The Bride Wore Red (1937)
• The Champ (1931)
• Unfaithfully Yours (1948)