Better than I expected

"By Love Possessed" is one of my favorite WASP novels. So I've always been curious about the movie version, even though I'd heard it was awful.

Well, IMO it's not nearly so awful as people say. It's actually pretty decent. Of course, the screenplay greatly simplifies a very long and complex novel. And I could fill 10 pages just listing all the differences between the novel and the film.

But the film does capture some of the book's main themes. Also on the plus side, the cast is excellent -- Thomas Mitchell and Jason Robards, in particular, are perfect embodiments of two of the book's main characters. Lana Turner and Barbara Bel Geddes are always a pleasure to watch, and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., really grew on me. The score is lovely. The art direction is eye catching and appropriate for the most part.

The biggest disappointment was how they handled Helen's suicide. Arthur is leaving to find Warren, and then with no preparation, we cut to everyone at Noah's house reacting to Helen's death. I can only imagine how confused someone who hasn't read the novel must be for the next 10 minutes.



"What I got don't need pearls." -- Linda Darnell (1923-65)