A WOMAN POSSESSED
UK, 1958, 68 minutes, Black-and-white.
Margaretta Scott, Francis Matthews, Kay Callard, Alison Leggatt, Ian Fleming, Jan Holden.
Directed by Max Varnel.
This is a small melodrama from the late 1950s. Audiences who are interested in a portrait of a possessive mother will want to watch Margaretta Scott as a society woman, her husband killed long since in a car accident, her transferring all her love and affection and attention to her son, John, Francis Matthews, who is now returning from the United States where he has trained as a doctor.
The film builds up the portrait of the matron and her ally, the maid, Emma (Alison Leggatt) who has similarly devoted her life and attention to Master John. Interestingly, the woman of the title is obviously the mother – but, throughout the film and, especially, with the surprise ending, it is the maid who is also a woman possessed.
The audience sees John bringing his fiancee from the United States (Kay Callard) and is primed to watch the shock reaction of the mother. Externally, she is rather composed and well-mannered. Internally, she is resentful. Emma also suffers from the shock of seeing the fiancee.
The mother has many plans, including converting part of their mention into a surgery for her son – who has other plans and wants to discuss things with his fiancee. In many ways, he is weak and accommodating, yet he wants to stand by his wife. He met her at hospital and she has a heart condition, collapsing several times throughout the film. He goes with his mother to a very fashionable restaurant that they both went to regularly in the past, eventually taking his fiancee there.
A genial and critical character is the mother’s brother, Uncle Walter, who tries to inject some realism into the situation. One of the kitchen maids is also something of a down-to-earth character and befriends the fiancee.
There are many interactions and, eventually, a seeming reconciliation between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to be, only to have the fiancee collapse and administered the wrong pills. John accuses his mother, but the maid, Emma, confesses.
There is a sense of anticipation with the renovations when a door is locked because a floor in the room for renovations could collapse – but, in fact, nothing comes of that, only a sense of menace.
The director, Max Parnell was born in France, directed films and television in England but then transferred to Melbourne where he directed many television shows over some decades.
